Husband on SSP..can I claim JSA? Confused!

[siennasmummy]

Hi,

My husband works full time, I'm a stay at home mum...but now looking for work and have been for the last few months.

We do claim tax credits but I don't actually claim a penny for myself as I'm not entitled to anything due to my husband working.

 

I also don't really know anything about the benefits system as before I stayed at home, I always worked.

 

My husband is currently off sick from work. He picked up a full wage on Friday (which is a month in arrears for sick pay) and has been informed that he is not receiving any company sick pay, just SSP and at the end of September will just receive that for the period 9th August to 5th September.

 

Which is going to leave us in a right mess financially.

 

My question is this....due to my husband currently only receiving SSP temporarily, can I claim income based JSA for the weeks he is off sick? As I'm pretty sure if we were both unemployed and receiving benefits, we would be picking up more than he will be getting.

 

Thanks for any advice.

[reallymadwoman]

Your husband should be able to claim ESA to top up his sick pay, and include you on the claim. If he can claim, this would be a far better option than you claiming JSA and subjecting yourself to the sanctions regime unnecessarily. You may also be entitled to some help with rent or council tax - you would need to make a separate claim for this to the council, there's usually a link on their website.

[Nystagmite]

I think he can actually claim income support. You can't claim ESA and SSP.

 

If he claims working tax credits, they may be too high for income support / JSA.

[estellyn]

How much is the working tax credit plus ssp that he receives?

 

How long is he likely to be off sick?

[siennasmummy]

He gets £23 per week working tax credit and as he hasn't actually received the pay yet, I'm not sure what SSP is...whatever it is per week. He is off for a least a month, possibly more. Thank you for the comments. I have no idea what ESA is and I wouldn't have the first clue how to go about trying to claim any of these benefits.

 

He would probably return to work before they were all sorted out anyway.

 

Somebody suggested that we ask for a crisis loan when he receives his SSP. Is that a good idea?

 

Many thanks.

[siennasmummy]

I mean I'm not sure what the weekly rate of pay for SSP is

[colin11]

SSP is £88.45 a week

[blondebubbles]

He can continue to claim WTC for 28 weeks when off sick.

 

You cannot claim SSP and ESA at the same time.

[siennasmummy]

Thank you, I also forgot to say...we have a 6 year old daughter. We get child tax credits for her. Are we better off going into the job centre and explaining the situation or should we wait until he actually gets paid the SSP into the bank and then contact them?

[reallymadwoman]

Apologies about the confusion over ESA - I'd forgotten you can't claim at the same time as SSP.

 

Unfortunately, I think that unless you can get some additional help with rent or council tax, you may be entitled to nothing extra at all as SSP plus tax credits may exceed the income limit for receiving benefits. There's a benefits calculator here which will give you a reasonable guide as to whether you're entitled to anything http://benefits-calculator.turn2us.org.uk

 

If you're really struggling, e.g. with mortgage, bills, you should contact the lender/bank/supplier and explain to them as soon as possible. You may be able to take payment holidays or something like that until things improve. I don't think crisis loans exist any more, I have a feeling they've been passed over to councils to administer so the rules will vary. It can't hurt to try though - your local CAB might be able to point you in the right direction. As another suggestion, if your husband belongs to a union, are they able to help on a charitable basis? Finally, depending upon his condition, there may be other charities that could help.

[estellyn]

You would only get a few pounds extra in JsA if you claimed. You may be better off adding up what your husband's projected income is for this tax year (including SSP for the periods you expect him to be off sick) - if it will be greater than £2500 less than last tax year, then you can call tax credits and they will increase the award.

 

If you rent your property you may be entitled to housing benefit and should apply immediately.

 

You may also be entitled to council tax reduction, and should apply asap.