Have any of you childminders claimed Incapacity Benefit?

[Picante]

I have had two weeks off sick with morning sickness. I had written off any income for that period but a friend mentioned I could claim statutory sick pay.

I've had a look on the government site and it looks like if you are self-employed you can claim incapacity benefit even for a short period of time.

Has anyone done this?

You should speak to Citizens advice bureau - they usually understand these things very well!
The problem I find with government sites is that because there are so many departments, finding out the answer to a simple enough question can be a mine field. I have used CAB regarding the rules about Incapacity Benefit and found them very helpful. But I dont knwo if you can claim it just because you're self employed. When I first received it (OK I was in FT employment then) I didn't get it until I was off sick for 26 weeks, because I wasn't eligible for it. IT is worth asking, although you may not get paid it for a while as the claims process can take a while.

Did you not get a help pack about being self employed when you first registered? There might be a phone number for advice/help.

I had to take 2 weeks off work last year. The doctor at the hospital wrote me a 'sick note' saying I needed that time off to recover.

I phoned the local job centre plus and they sent me out a form to fill in to claim incapacity benefit. As it happens, I didn't do it as one of the families I have wanted to pay me even though I wasn't working ( I did try and decline) so left it at that. But from what they told me if shouldn't have been too hard to do.

I claimed it for 6 weeks 18 months ago. You need to have a sick note from your doctor to claim & to have paid National Insurance for at least 26 weeks in the last 60 weeks to qualify. You ring a freephone number & they then ring you back fill in the details over the phone & send the form to you to check & sign. Payment is sent through a few days later.

Great thanks everyone - sounds like it's worth doing.