Is anybody else claiming ESA?
I have been getting basic SSP from work which has now run out after 28 weeks.
I phoned benefits ppl this morning, 45 minutes on the phone, they will send me out form to check over and I must then post in my GP sick notes.
You hear such horror stories in the news about ppl having to go for ATOS medical and being refused benefit.
How do we stand on this when currently still having treatment?
(Radiotherapy to start on Monday and herceptin to the end of the year)
I do have a job to go back to. But don’t feel up to it at the moment.
Hi, I had esa from January. Have now gone back to work. They did send me a questionnaire to fill in about 5 months after I started to claim however I went back to my job before they needed to complete it. I think this is prior to be called to interview…there is a bit about cancer that your doc has to fill in.
They did lose my last fit note…but hey back to work!!!
Hi ladies I hope you don’t mind that I join in this chat regarding ESA and employers! i had a similar experience when I was diagnosed while working. From the day of my 1st B/C operation i was being paid company sick pay which they told me would last 9 weeks and after that SSP for a certain period of time so i calculated what i thought was the correct date at which time i had to contact the ESA people to start claiming while i was off work.
Entirely by chance ~ I discovered that my employer had completely misinformed me as to when i had to apply for ESA and without me realising it i had not received money from anyone for about 6 weeks (I was in my local Co-op when my debit card was declined and thats when i knew!!). As soon as I rang the ESA office and got the ball rolling it was relatively simple, just a week or so to wait until they started payments (including back payments to when my SSP had finished 6 weeks before that).
But there was also another hiccup back in spring of 2014 when the ESA wrote to say that because of the reason for me not working (B/C treatment), they were waiting on a backlog of assessments to be done by their medical team to determine whether i would be entitled to be put into the Support Group of ESA which eventually I was, which not only means you are medically unfit for work and do not have to attend work related groups, but also the rate of benefit is much higher (and to my complete surprise because of the delay in assessing me they paid me the back payments which was a tidy sum!!).
So anyone waiting to or applying for ESA, make sure you fill out those forms and give them all the evidence they need to put you in the right group so that you dont lose out.
My review in due Feb 15th this year, so I hope that it all goes well considering that I am still not fit for work until my GP/Specialist Nurse thinks I am. At the moment, it’s all I can do to make it from one day to the next without cracking up! What use would I be to an employer until I feel that I can do a proper few hours a day work without having to stop and rest or feeling rubbish?
Cheers, Michele x