Person with MH problems should not be better off no working

[YourTidyScroller]

Just that really. Someone working a minimum wage job full-time should not be worse off than someone not working due to mental health problems and claiming benefits.
I know several people in this situation claiming UC for housing benefit, council tax, ESA, disability top up and PIP. They all have no work record and few qualifications so would probably only get a minimum wage job. But their income would reduce. So they have a financial incentive not to recover.

@Serencwtch I am sorry to hear that.
I actually have had psychosis that is managed by medication. Please do not assume I have no relevant experience.

They may have been eligible for services under thd Care Act 2014 and receive a personal budget from adult social care

And I have already said I am talking about three different friends who do not work due to mental ill health, and get more than they would in national minimum wage jobs.

Here we go again. As someone who is a physically disabled wheelchair user, but also has diagnosed PTSD, Panic Disorder, GAD and OCD, I would take the physical disabilities ANY day over the mental stuff.

Being in pain and not being able to walk is horrible. Not being in control of your brain, thoughts and actions is absolutely fucking terrifying.

I can work from my wheelchair. I couldn't work when I didn't know who I was, when I was hallucinating, when I was experiencing constant flashbacks and when I was rocking in the corner wanting to die.

HTH.

Why wouldn't they be "entitled" to pip do you have privy to their medical information? I do understand that pip can be tricky to apply for and be awarded but you can appeal decisions.

@YourTidyScroller a basic question how can you support companies paying so little that being on benefits pays better ? especially with the cost of living etc

It can be when you include housing benefit no capability to work plus enhanced PIP. People get enhanced pip for good reason and find it quite sad reading thread after thread of bitterness about money someone who is very unwell receives, hardly something to be jealous about is it

So on your very limited experience of knowing 3 people who have mental health issues who were able to work you think everyone can
I spent over 20 years working with acutley mentally ill people ,they had conditions such as Schizophrenia schizo affective disorder,Bipolar Disorder etc some of these people will never be able to work

My friend gets a personal budget for her personal care, but has to employ carers for anything above this using PIP.

What does this have to do with the question in the OP?

Perhaps they’ve always had MH issues and as a consequence can’t get a well paid job ? People in this position should always be supported. Why do you want things to be harder for someone ?

That's actually all right you know there is nothing wrong with having a standard of living.

Really? You have no inference skills whatsoever? How odd.

The OP is implying that mental illness is unworthy of PIP/other benefits, so I am sharing a perspective that it can actually be more debilitating than physical disabilities.

I hope that helps you understand.

Why does it have to be a well paid job? Lots of people work minimum wage jobs.

I think it’s very relevant and clearly shows that every person is individual and that MH conditions can be extremely debilitating and incompatible with working in some cases.

Isn’t this one of the issues being reviewed by Labour currently? So hopefully it’s going to be addressed.

@SquashedSquid except I said nothing of the sort.

Why are people thinking the OP is saying no one should get disability benefits?

These threads are so frustrating, it's totally reasonable to ask why anyone would have to take a cut in income to work.

And yet inevitably within a few posts people claim that the OP doesn't believe in MH issues, thinks no one should get benefits, that benefits should leave them in abject poverty, and that anyone with MH issues can work. None of which has been suggested.

But some with MH issues may not even have gained the qualifications and/or skills to get a minimum wage job. Why do you think they should suffer and have their already difficult lives made harder ?

What are the details of their circumstances?

Disabilities? How they are affected. What benefits are they on? How much do they get?

No one said that wasn't the case.

That's not strictly true. She will have had a social care assessment & financial assessment as part of that.
Social care is means tested so if she is paying for carers it's because she has income or savings above the threshold or she is topping up the hours she is being funded for.

She won't be 'paying for carers out of PIP' as it doesn't work like that at all. PIP & social care funding are 2 completely different things.
Plus PIP is a tiny amount when it comes to paying for carers & would only be covering a few hours a month.

FYI I have 4 hours social care funding a week that I don't pay for at all - it comes out of the council social care budget. I also claim PIP which is a completely separate process.

Effectively you're saying that people with a physical disability are more entitled than those with a mental disability - and surprise, surprise you're physically disabled....🤔

So if I were to say that all disabled people should not have benefits totalling more than a NMW job because SOME are able to work you'd be happy with that? Just like disabilities, MH issues can be wide ranging and just because some can function on a day-to day basis and cope with being at work, there are many who can't. You come across as the kind of person who would tell someone in a MH crises to "pull yourself together and get over it".

I would hazard a guess that you have never suffered poor mental health.