Thanks for the info, the total amount involved will definitely be under 6K. Nice to know that my ESA won't be affected.

Hi all, I'm currently receiving income based ESA. Today I've received a letter from my employers stating that due to my ill health my terminated (this is not unexpected and in fact is a bit of a relief...) and that I will shortly receive a months wages in lieu of notice plus some accrued holiday pay. I'm worried now about how this money will affect my ESA. Will my ESA reduced for a time, or stopped completely? Will I have to make a brand new claim and go through yet another torture session with Atos? I've done a great deal of googling and not been able to find out much - the only concrete information is relating to new ESA claims, not existing ones like mine ..... Am hoping that someone else on here been in this situation and can let me know what to expect... Thanks...

Thanks for the replies. Some more info then. I'm not in a pension scheme and have been in the job since the end of 2010. I've been looking for my contract of employment but haven't been able to find it. However I did come a 1 page document called 'terms and conditions of employment' which does give some info. It seems that due my length of service I have to give them one month's notice, but they only have to give me 1 week. There's no information regarding what happens to notice periods or untaken holiday in case of long term illness, it just says to refer to the Employee Handbook, which helpfully I can't find.... I appreciate that it might be best for me to wait and let them dismiss me, but in all honesty, unless I stand to lose a lot of money, I'd just prefer to get all it over with as soon as possible so that I can move on.

Hi all, I've been off work due to illness for a year now and have finally admitted to myself that I won't ever be going back. I've therefore about to write to my employers with my resignation. Before I do though, I just want to make sure I know what I'm entitled to and that I don't get ripped off in any way. I've googled and googled but haven't been able to find definitive answers to the questions below. I'm hoping someone on here has been in a similar situation and can provide some info. I gather that any holiday pay I've accrued is still owing to me, but what happens where there is a 'use it or lose' clause in your employment contract? I had 3 weeks holiday pay owing to me in January this year, but any holiday owing has, by contract, to be taken by the end of January or be lost. However, as I'm ill I wasn't in a position to take all my holiday. Have I lost that 3 weeks pay or am I still entitled to it? (I have asked my employers, but they've been vague in their replies... ) My SSP stopped in March and I've been on ESA ever since. If I resign will I still be owed month's wages in lieu of notice or will I get nothing at all as I'm not currently receiving any pay from my employers? Is it correct that neither holiday pay or money paid in lieu of notice will affect my ESA? Hoping someone can help...

Hi all, Following advice I found on this forum I recently sent a Notice of Appropriation letter to First Direct to make sure they don't take my benefits to pay bank charges. To put all this in context, this is an account I've had for about 18 years. I haven't had an overdraft facility or credit card for most of that time because I don't want or need either of them. FD have always been fine with me while I was working and my wages were being paid in every month, but since I became too ill to work about a year ago their attitude seems to have changed and the gloves are off. My account is currently in credit, although I was recently charged £10 for a bounced direct debit. The reply goes as follows: This is unhelpful on so many levels. To begin with, I sent a detailed breakdown of my incomings and outgoings to FD along with the Notice of Appropriation, and this already shows that I have no spare money and need every penny of my ESA for basic essentials. I really don't know what else they could need or want in this respect, unless it's a detailed breakdown of my shopping list to prove that the money I reserve for food actually does get spent on food. Next is the seven days notice they require before each credit and the payment it's to cover. I assume that therefore they want or expect me to write to or phone them (at my own expense) every two weeks when my ESA is due to arrive and let them know how I intend to spend it. That seems completely unreasonable to me. And then, after being unhelpful, they threaten me (twice) with closure of my account. A nice touch indeed. I could get angry about this, but there's no point. For some time I've been thinking of moving to a more ethical bank and this letter provoked me into finally doing it. I've already been on the phone to the Cooperative bank and opened a Cashminder account with them. They're fully aware of my situation and were quite understanding about it. As soon as all the details arrive and all my payments are transferred over, it's goodbye First Direct! P.S. Apologies for having a bit of a rant!