Can anyone help with income support eligibility

[HauntedLittleLunatic]

Brief scenario.

My mum has just lost her partner. She has barely worked for the last 3m due to visiting and caring for him.

She is legally employed but works as an agency worker do only gets paid for the hours worked and has therefore had minimal income for last 3m and would like to take more time to grieve.

We are going round in circles. The bereavement benefit helpline flag up that she should get JSA/IS and the JSA/IS helpline say no but that she will get bereavement benefits which she is not entitled to.

I think that when she rang IS helpline she told them she is working 18-20hrs,which she does when she works.

Entitled to website won't let me put her as employed with 0hrs worked -as is the current scenario.

I guess the question I'm asking is she able to claim IS for a short time (6 weeks?) To allow her time off work to grieve. If not she will be having to go back before the funeral even just to put food on the table :(

She has to be working under 16 hours for income support.

But she is working less than 16 atm. She is working zero but not job seeking. Can she claim income support 'temporarily'?

No, she has to be jobseeking to claim benefits.

She can't jobseek cos she has a job, but low income. She might as well give up work cos she can't pay her rent let alone food bills if she doesn't.

She could claim Employment support Allowance but will need a medical certificate from her GP ( that shouldn't be a problem in the circumstances )

They will start to pay 71 pounds a week while she is assessed this usually takes 13 weeks by which time she may be ready to work again

She could then claim Housing benefit ( help with rent )and Council Tax Benefit

Oh, almost certainly she would be found fit for work following the work capability assessment at which point she could appeal or return to work or start claiming JSA

The appeal process takes approx 6months meanwhile your mum would need to continue getting medical certficates but would also still receive 71 pounds / week

That's really useful. Entitled to did suggest shevwould be entitled to housing and coucil tax benefit to be fair, and we will be going to the council offices tomorrow to follow that up. (but I thought you had to be getting IS to be getting those so we shall see.

I shall also look up the employment support allowance.

"She can't jobseek cos she has a job, but low income"

If she is working under 16 hours per week, she can claim JSA.

Unfortunately, she isn't entitled to get IS on the grounds of bereavement.

www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/benefits_e/benefits_sick_or_disabled_people_and_carers_ew/employment_and_support_allowance.htm

this might help

But she can't get has cos she is not seeking work.

And I know she can't get IS because of bereavement, but was questioning whether she would get it because of a low income (which is an indirect and hopefully temporary result of bereavement).

I've had look at ESA - would she claim that on grounds of depression? Does she just need a sick note for that? (am on my phone and direct.gov is horrid on a mobile).

I'm not trying to claim stuff she isn't entitled to BTW just making sure we have covered all options. I am genuinely confused ATM as one benefits helpline say she is entitles to XY and Z but when try to process that claim they say no, but claim ABC from the first helpline..and we end up in circles.

Your mum would need a sick note when she starts her ESA claim, and depression is a valid reason to be off work soshe wouldn't be getting anything she's not entitled to.

When the claim is assessed they look at how depression is affecting the claimant at that point they decided if it should continue or not.