When I got my secondaries diagnosis, I got into a flat panic about money. I’d had difficulty getting permanent jobs after my primary treatment, though had, for a while, had no trouble getting well paid temporary work (which at the time,came without perks such as life cover, medical insurance etc. that was given to permanent staff). Now, staff are “protected” against being deprived of such benefits by being given rolling temporary contracts and it just made gettting work impossible! I did not feel protected.
As I’m a graduate, I responded to one of those adverts encouraging people to go one year post graduate teacher training courses (PGCE) with training bursaries. Got ill with secondaries during the course and had to drop out in the last term. Thought “What will I do now, I’m unemployable now I’m terminal?” Anyway, I’m surviving but an expert on the benefits system!
Don’t give up your current job unless you are forced to. Use Employment Law and Disability Discrimination Law to the utmost. If they really want you gone, they may bribe you with a generous augmented Early Retirement pension. Check out your usual options at this time anyway.
Although you feel bad now (most of us felt terrrible until our treatment started working) you may find in a few months you feel much better. Don’t therefore resign too quickly and don’t let your husband become your carer too quickly. Getting new jobs can be tough. Many people live for ages with bone mets and once they get pain relief from bisphosponates feel very normal. I was in severe pain when I had to drop out of my teacher training course, but after 3 months of Arimidex and Pamidronate, I felt a total fraud that I wasn’t working. I also missed the company and daily routine you get from working (as well as the money). A few years down the line, I’m no longer feeling as well as I was (have more than bone mets now) and know I can’t work. However, I’m separated and do all of the chores by myself with no carer, so it can be done.
Things to check out:
*Pension and Permanent Health Insurance options from current employer
*Incapacity Benefit (an unemployment benefit for those unable to work and below State Pension Age)
*Disability Living Allowance (there are personal care and mobility components) available to both employed and unemployed people and it is not means tested
*If your new combined income is low, Tax Credit and, if you have children in fulltime education Child Tax Credit
*Again if you have children between 16 and 19 in fulltime secondary education, check out EMA
*If you get Disability Living Allowance mobility component, the Blue Badge (from the authority who collects your Council Tax) and also car tax exemption (from DVLA)
I found out about most of these by using search engines and applied for everything by myself. Others have found their Citizens Advice Bureau or Macmillan Nurse helpful. It worries me, however, how many people just hand over all the paperwork to a Macmillan Nurse who fills in everything for them and they never see the forms again. Your signature is on the forms so you should read them and check you agree with what has been said. Keep photocopies of everything in case it gets lost in the system or you have to appeal. Get proof of posting (free) at your Post Office.
Many benefits are backdated to the date you request the forms, so applying for the paperwork quickly makes good sense. If there is likely to be any significant gap between your Statutory Sick Pay finishing and being able to begin claiming Incapacity Benefit, do claim Job Seekers Allowance. As well as the small amount of benefit, it keeps going your National Insurance records so safeguarding your rights to Incapacity Benefit when eligible and a full State Pension at State Pension Age. A while back, there was someone on the forums complaining that Benefits staff were being unhelpful and inflexible because of a broken NI record. Benefits staff have to work within the law and have little discretion, so you MUST ensure an unbroken NI record somehow, even if it means the indignity of signing on.