Claiming ESA - how will our circumstances change?

[sb6699]

My DH needs to have an operation on his back and has been advised he is entitled to claim ESA until he is fit to return to work.

Can anyone tell me exactly how much this will work out on a weekly basis.

Can we also claim HB and CB as I am worried how we will pay our rent.

Will our Child Tax Credit award change?

TIA

Anyone?

Have you run your circs through the Turn2Us site? It's a very good place to start if you're not sure what help you're entitled to. Good luck

Thanks for that. It was very helpful (but have worked out that HB wont cover the rent - the LHA seems completely unrealistic!).

My DH is an agency worker so wasnt sure whether he was classed as employed. A separate company bills the agency and sorts out his tax and he just works wherever there is work going rather than on a contract.

Think I'll still have to go and see CAB as if I've done it correctly there is no way we can afford to pay the surplus rent and I'm not even sure the LL will accept HB (although hopefully we'll only be claiming for 6 months max).

You may be able to get some Disability Living Allowance to top up your husband's income whilst he is unfit for work, also your Local Authority will have something called a Discretionary Housing Fund. This is not something which is widely advertised, but it is a fund of money the council can use to pay the difference between housing benefit and actual rent. It is a limited fund and run on a case by case basis (i.e. they will assess your application based on it's individual merits). Worth a shot I'd say in your circumstance. I don't know if you work, but if you don't, or only work limted hours, you may also be entitled to Carers Allowance if your husband is entitled to DLA.

Thanks! I had never heard of the Discretionary Housing Fund - certainly something I can look into.

I am really concerned about the rent. I dont mind going without luxuries for a while and even putting off the bills and catching up when he goes back to work but keeping a roof over our families heads is obviously paramount and I'm not sure whether my LL will be very understanding.

I dont work but when we went to the DHSS office it was them who told us to apply for ESA. They didnt mention anything else so I'm assuming we wont qualify for DLA.

SB6699 the DWP will not necessarily advise you about all the benefits you could be entitled to - that is not what they consider their role to be, and that is why millions of pounds of benefits go unclaimed every year, because people do not know they are entitled to them.

Follow the Turn2us link given above, or contact Citizens Advice Bureau - you can do this via their website and they also have a phone line for basic advice. They will also be able to advise you about the Discretionary Housing Payment (sorry, not fund as I said before!). You can also apply yourself - the form is quite straightforward, and you should be able to download it from your local council's website.

Rent is a massive problem for everyone nowadays, now the government have cut the Local Authority housing allowance. I have a partner, a 2 year old boy and a baby on the way, we currently live in an average 3 bedroom house in the inner city. If both me and my partner lose our jobs (I'm being made redundant in March) we would have to move and find a 2 bedroom flat with no garden on an estate, in an area with crap schools. They are effectively ghettoising anyone who is unfortunate enough to lose their jobs for whatever reason.

Good luck!

Really appreciate the input.

Its no wonder benefits are being unclaimed if DWP dont advise accordingly. For folk like me who have never claimed and could only think of contacting CAB, the information is difficult to find unless you know where to look. Their own website seems very vague when it comes to details

I had never even heard of ESA until last week!