Care for CM

[inkymelon]

Hi,

My neighbour is a CM who has been signed off by her doctor but can't stop working as she needs to pay the rent. I believe she charges very little and has never included a charge for sick leave.
I am not a mother, I'm just a concerned friend who has joined Mumsnet in order to seek advice on her behalf.
Surely there is some kind of government loan or aid for CMs that she could apply for? She has continued to work despite her doctors advice and looks like she has lost the will to live. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

This might help www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/eligibility and she should also check with citizens advice about anything else she might be able to claim.

This is one of the problems of being self employed.

She’s self employed. It’s one of the drawbacks. I’m assuming that, as she’s carrying on working, she doesn’t have insurance to cover this.

As per above, she may be entitled to employment and support allowance, and should take advice on whether she can claim housing benefit.

It is possible to take out insurance for this in future

This is probably one of the biggest pitfalls for the self employed. There is no sick pay/compassionate leave/holiday pay etc. If you can’t work, there is no one to pay you. As harsh as it sounds, your neighbour would have known this when she was doing the job, we all just hope it won’t be a problem for us.

As for what she can do moving forward, would she be entitled to any benefits/tax credits? Childminding is a really hard job to do if you are unwell/struggling, so I do really feel for her.

Thank you all for your comments and advice. It has been very helpful and I finally have some solid information that I can pass onto her. I feel it’s the best that I can do for her. Again, thank you so much.