benefits

[sonika786]

i m sonika.i have lupus from last 8 years and i am also suffering from thyroid.i have a lots if pains in my body specially in the the morning.bottom of feet paining very much.i cant go for work becoz i feel very tird.which benefits i can apply?

[fabwheelie]

Hi In UK the main social security benefits are

(1) ESA (Employment support allowance) for those who can't work .... you will have to be assessed if you are capable of working, and they also look at things such as have you worked previously and therefore made National insurance contributions, and they also look at if you have any other income ... this link has some basic details .... gov.uk/employment-support-a...

(2) There is also PIP (personal independance payments) which is not dependent on any other income you have, or wheter you work but looks at what kind of extra help you may need because of your disabilities

It may be worth seeing if your local council social servives have a wellfare rights officer who could help you, as the forms to fill in are very long, and not really that well designed for people with fatigue and pain. Also people often have to appeal initial decisions made as to what thay think you are entitled to.... I found wellfare rights more help than CAB, particularly if you do have to appeal any decisions

Basically to get either ESA or PIP or both, they ask you to fill in a form For ESA it's about what you can and can't do for PIP it's more about what help you need (even if you don't actually get that help at the moment). They score you "points" based on what you put on the form and from that assess your entitlement

For ESA these links show how they score you

benefitsandwork.co.uk/emplo...

benefitsandwork.co.uk/emplo...

For PIP this link shows how they score you benefitsandwork.co.uk/perso...

It's worth speaking to your GP and any consultants and making sure they fully know what you struggle with as you may need them to give you letters to support your claim to back up what you tell the benefits office

Here is a link to some info I've wrote about ESA benefits previously

healthunlocked.com/lupusuk/...

It's worth looking up how they score you based on what you put on the form, and try to fit your symptoms and what you put on the form to how they will score you. Often people with Luus get points from a number of differnet "tasks/activities" which then add up to give them enough points to be entitled to benefits.

Pain and fatigue should be taken into account as to wether you can do something or not, and whether you can do something reliably and repeatedly should also be taken into account so it's fine to use the "it varies option" but then go into detail about what you can and can't do.

I personally tried to also say things like what I was like "on average" re if I can or can't do the tasks/ activity they asked so as to "stear them" in the right direction to give my the "points" eg I can physically stand and sit, but because of pain on average I can not sit for more than 15 to 20 minutes and I can't stand for more than 10 minutes. I can walk/ ("mobilise") but can't on average do more than 200 meters as it worsens my fatigue and pain, and I can't repeatedly walk as it makes me worse after that activity, and even for days afterwards, so I have to pace all my activities, and if I do an activity one day eg walk to local shops I can't then do that later that day or the next day because of the fatigue it has caused me

Under Topics on this health unlocked site there are other posts under the topic "work and benefits" which may be useful

Also if you are a member of the charity Lupus UK you can access guides that help you make a claim lupusuk.org.uk/benefits/

Good Luck

[Keep-positive]

Is it true that people who have been receiving DLA each month have been missed out on four weekly payments as there are 7 months with 31 days and 4 months with 30 days. E.g. the benefit entitlement is worked out on weekly but is paid monthly so on average claimants have been under paid there benefit