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Help please with sick pay entitlement!
Hello
I don't know if anyone can help with my query but here goes!
I was dx on 6th dec and have been off work since, today I found out that I am only entitled to 4 mths sick pay. I have been with my company for 9 years and had an excellent sick record!
However I know the 4 mths full pay is good but so far they said I get 88 days as at nov I had 72 and since then I've used another 25 and just got another sick note for another 10 so that leaves me with 37 days till April as its rolling apparently.
I'm gutted because there is only my wage coming in my partner is a househusband because it was cheaper to leave work than pay for childrcare and so we only get my money and some tax credit which we barely manage to live on now!
I don't get housing benefit or anything else don't know what we are going to do! Its bad enough I have cancer now I'm worried we won't have any money to feed the children or pay the bills.
Any advice would be good!
Love Fran
Hi Fran
The extra worry about money is just what we dont need when going through treatment for cancer. I get 3 months full pay and then 3 months half pay and this runs out in a few weeks, so I have been on half pay for nearly 3 months, my partner is retired and has a small private pension which means we are just above the level for benefits. You will be entitled to SSP for six months so this will continue after your full pay. Have you got a HR department you could talk too? You need to be careful about the rolling year and how this will affect any future sickness. If I go off sick within 1 year of going back then I will not be entitled to the full 3 months full pay and 3 months half pay. Hopefully I am going back next week so will at least be back part time before my sick pay runs out.
Macmillan have benefits advisors, who were really good when I spoke to them, maybe its worth giving them a call or talking to your BCN to be put in contact
Anne
Hi Anne, so you get half pay aswell I don't know about that they just sent me a table of how it works and there was no mention of half pay! Just gutted all those years of not taking sick meant nothing!
So Does ssp only start when your pay stops? Or can you get that when you are on half payto top it up? I only get just over 1k a mth which is nothing for 4 people to live on but tax credits pay for shopping!
I haven't even spoken to my bcn since before xmas! She hasn't rung me but I might ring her and see if she can help!
Thanks for the advice appreciate it!
Love fran xx
Hi Fran
As Anne mentioned in her post Macmillan offer advice and information on financial issues. The number to call them on is 0808 808 00 00 and the weblink for further detail is:-
http://www.macmillan.org.uk/HowWeCanHelp/FinancialSupport/FinancialSupport.aspx
I hope this is helpful.
Best wishes Sam, BCC Facilitator
Thanks Sam I'll try them tomorrow I'm just waiting for it to be clarified from work!
Just can't believe it, I mean we barely scrape by every month. But this news has just knocked me down again and I'm still waiting to hear about my results!I'm Not in a good place tonight!
Love fran
Hi Fran
SSP starts when you first go on sick leave, its £81.60 a week and if you earn more than this you wont see any difference in your take home pay.
Hope you get some clarification soon
Anne
Hi Fran
It's just a thought but have you checked to see if you have any critical illness insurance at all? If you have you should try claiming on that.
I hope you get something sorted soon, try not to worry too much.
Weme
Depending on how long you expect to be off work and how ill you are feeling (and can reasonably predict to feel in the near future, based on your treatment plan) and also on the age(
of your child(ren), is there any choice about you becoming the house-parent (maybe temporarily) while you are off and letting your partner register as employable to claim benefits? Might you get more that way? I think if you're talking to Macmillan (they are great!) they could also help you explore that option, even if only to reject it. Your partner might be able to claim to be your "carer" (some carers get state benefits) if treatment leaves you really whacked out. Being unable to care effectively for your child might be a useful marker of needing a carer yourself, even if it's not a role you have chosen before now.
It's just an alternative way of looking at it: if you are both at home anyway, and IF one of you needs to stay home, who would gain more by being designated as (nominally at least!) the one willing ready and able to go out? You did have an arrangement, but cancer changes lots of things and it may no longer serve your purposes best
to continue as before. Sometimes changing the thinking is the hardest part - a bit like when my Dad revolutionised our Christmas afternoon by quitting trundling out the best china and glassware in favour of paper plates and a big black bin-bag! Mum was horrified - until she realised nobody had to wash up!
Wishing you the best of luck - you don't need this hassle when you're dealing with major illness.
Hello Hymil,
I've never thought of it like that! He has been the househusband for the past year and we found out he was entitled to 6 months contribution based benefits so he has had that now and cant get anything. He had planned to try and get a job in january when our youngest started nursery but that has fallen by the wayside whilst we are dealing with this.
I looked at the carer option but it says you can only get a carers allowance if i'm on disability benefit..which I'm not. I've had a snb and wle in dec well 2 weeks ago, so i'm still a bit sore but not too bad. I'm waiting on the results to see if i need another op or if not 6 chemos followed by 3 weeks of rad and then 5 years of tamoxifen..so not great but thats what i have to do.
I'm just so worried about it all now on top of everything else.
Plus my OH suffers with depression so me with cancer then the lack of money is not helping anyone!..
But thanks for replying i appreciate it.
xx
hi fran, sorry you have this worry now.
i dont understand if you are entitled to 4 months full pay, what this 88 days things is they have said. do you work full time.
TTM xxx
Hello TTM,
Basically when they works out sick pay they work it out in days so i've had 16 days off since April last year, however that doesnt take into account the last 5 weeks i've been off and now been given anotehr two so that makes it 35 days in total which means I'm left with 37 days,,I work for a company called remploy. THey are governement funded company who support the disabled into work, you would think they would be more understanding but no apparently not. Also the rolling means that because this sick started in December i will not qualify for anymore sick pay until next December..So I'm gutted..going to have to see what we can do tomorrow, I'll make some calls and see what they say. My manager did say that i might be able to work from home but i doubt it they arent that flexible with me, with other staff yes but not me..
How are you doing today? I was doing so good and feeling ok and then this..xx
i have spoke to helpline and they have sent me some booklets about the employ charter. it basically tells you about what your rights with this BC. they said that citizens advice would be clued up on this type of thing and also macmillan website has a few pages on it. we are covered under some act which came in which your employer should hopefully try and help you with the work situation and it included about requesting to work from home or altering your hours and things. it also said that it covers your parter if they are caring for you during your treatment and need to changing their work pattern or change hours to attend appointments and other caring aspects. this was main reason i got it for my OH to look it to.
the macmillan website is very good as well and covers this particular area.
why dont you ring the helpline tomorrow about it.
dont forget if you have to take medication because of BC your perscriptions will be free. you have to fill out an exemption form from GP.
its just one thing after another and we dont need it do we.
TTM xx
I know you are right! Its just not good..but I'll make some calls tomorrow and find out what I'm entitled to and see how we get on from there..Thanks I'll keep you posted..
Oh btw My son slept all night last night and didnt wake up, we are hoping for the same tonight..
I'm off to bed now I'm exhausted with it all.xx
hope you all get a goods night sleep. let me know how get on tomorrow with the phone calls. they will be able to explain it better then me on the helpline.
lots of love TTM xxx
Hi there leeds39
Here's the link to the page on our site with the information regarding the Employ Charter, you might find some information in there which will help.
Also, do call the Helpline when they open today at 9am. They should be able to explain things for you and direct you to other sources of help and support.
They're on 0808 800 6000.
Best wishes
Louise
Facilitator
Hi, I was only entitled to 4 weeks' sick pay a year (and no half-pay) and I had already had 2 weeks off previously with a hospital in-stay due to my Crohn's.
However, my HR department agreed to pay me full pay for a couple of months as a concession and that was very welcome. Worth asking!
I've been unwaged since except for SSP.
Hi Fran
ide been with a really good company as a manager for years , it was hard work but good job with good pay , my grown up children however wernt happy about me working long hours and that i didnt see much of them, so after a lot of thinking , in june 2011 i changed jobs and decided to work for a smaller company , smaller store and a lot less pay but thought in the grand scheme of things it was worth it.
WRONG
I started working for them in June , became ill in july , went sick in August , first time in donkeys years andwas diagnosed in August .
Had MX surgery in September .
My new bosses however were quick to point out that i handnt been them long enough to be entitled to any pay and that i would only recieve £82 per week SSP.
I live on my own and i have been every where and have rang every number i have been given to try and explain my situation but as yet nothing .
Hind sight is a wonderfull thing isnt it and all the if onlys wont make any difference now but sometimes i do get angry with myself for listening to much to other people , some times our children have a knack of meking us feel guilty for whatever reason .
Well good old £82 per week , some weeks i pay my bills , some weeks i buy food .
I dont live at the moment , i survive and hope that ond day in the not to distant future my little body will once again carry me back to work and maybe just maybe all this girls will be a distant memory .
I hope you get sorted Fran and i hope your company treats you with a lot more compassion than mine did .
Oh and my Sons And Daughter , i dont see a lot of them really , there all busy working full time and dont get round much ,
Love Jackie
xxxx
I got nothing after ssp finished last summer. Going to work is my only solution.
I could have had 6 months full pay and then on to half pay but went into work in between chemo's which stopped the clock on sick pay and pushed back the date when would have gone on to half pay and in the end I didn't use up the 6 months!!! But did only go in part time may be worth seeing if that would be the same for you? Am now on phased return and still receiving full pay!
I used to have a very well paid but highly stressful job, I packed it in and had a year off work. I then got a part time job in a garden centre - which was totally stress free but boring, I then started with another company in February of last year, I was just out of the 3 month probationary period when I found the lump was dx at end of May and haven't worked since. I got 3 months full pay from work and then SSP for 28 weeks - this finished at the end of December and I have just applied for contribution based ESA.
Having cancer is bad enough without adding money worries into the equation!
Hi all, just to chip in, I've worked for the same company for ten years, they don't offer any pick say at all, just ssp. No fun at all as I'm also a single parent. I sometimes wonder why I bothered working when I'd probably have been better off if I'd just got on the benefit wagon instead. You can only keep going, I have contacted everyone I owe to and sent them a financial statement and they have so far been quite good . It's not much comfort but every little helps,
Herbi x
Hi Fran
I have just gone on to half pay and my 28 weeks stat sick pay ran out on 9th Dec, I work for NHS, my HR dept are very good, they sent me some forms to claim Employment and Support Allowance, tel 08456001651, but I think there is also a free phone no. This is a benefit you can claim when SSP RUNS OUT, if you have paid your national insurance contributions it's about £68 per week. A 20 min questionnaire on the phone, so get the freephone no. It has certainly helped alittle to stop me worrying about money. We have enough to worry about.
Good luck
Mandy x
Hi
For those girls who work for the larger company's with the longer full pay period, then half pay etc, have you sspoken to your managers and your HR departments as to whether some of the time off you have had should instead have been classed as something called disability adjustment leave (DAL).
Some companys have this policy and DAL usualy will not count towards the total of sick days you have had. Cancer is covered under the disability discrimination act which is why DAL can apply.
In our policys at work I was covered for time off due to ill effects from chemo and rads. Have a look into it aand if you do have this policy ask your hr dept to amend your sickness leave records to show DAL instead. Also your hospital appointments to see consultants etc may be covered on it. It might mean a difference of a few weeks or even a couple of months extra that you receive full/ half pay on
Hello well I made some calls macmillan were fab! So we worked out sick pay will run out on 15th march. So I'm going to see my manager on wed, after my results on tuesday, then I will know what the plan is also had a letter about see onc on thursday so not sure if starting chemo yet but I'll know more this week.
I've worked out I"m about 100 a week worse off on ssp but my oh can't claim anything at all but some we've had some goods news and he got a part time job starting tom so its something. I was going to go back to work but my boob is still sore and very tender plus my work is like the office of sickness! So
Now all I have to worry about is my results and the onc meeting.
Thanks for the advice might look into that dal I work for remploy so are supposed to help people like me!time will tell...
Love fran xx
Real progress there, Fran, well done
Praying OH new job goes well tomorrow.
hi fran,
i worked for the NHS, i was on the sick from august 2009 with back problems + then i needed a hysterectomy in feb 2010 went back to work in june for three months then dx with breast cancer in sept, i had full pay for a few months then half pay, because i was not able to go back straight away i started claming esa, which i am on now for long term at the moment because i had a reccurance, i think you best bet is go to the citizen advice and they will tell you exactly what you are intitled to, for you and your family they are very good and they will do everything for you, you dont need this worry at a time like this.
One thing I think not mentioned yet is adding any holiday entitlement you have left for this year onto the end of your full pay period - for me that is giving me another month of full pay and fingers crossed I'll be back to work before that runs out - and they would only let me carry forward a week of unused holiday anyway (our holiday year is 1st April).
They are supposed to let you carry forward any leave that you weren't able to take at the right time due to having been off sick, not limit it to the one week. Suggest you get advice about this. The one week policy is normal and applies to lots of companies for healthy workers under normal conditions, to encourage esensible workforce planning, but this is rather an exceptional year for you - You could not have known ahead that you should have taken all your holiday before being diagnosed! In fact if you had used all your leave in the first quarter, and then went off longterm sick it could look rather suspicious and premeditated in my opinion! Do get advice.
Oh interesting! Especially as I work with the NHS and they should know... but as everybody in our part of the NHS are in a state of flux re jobs so goodness knows the qualification of the person who made the pronouncement re carrying over holiday I just tried to find out some more about this and it seems a bit woolly e.g. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/Timeoffandholidays/DG_10034711
use the word "may"
I'm going to leave it for the mo as I will probably use the majority of my leave up now (as my full pay sick pay is about to end) and I'd rather have the money! But thanks for this as if I do end up with more than a week of holiday left, I don't really want to loose it - I could do with a holiday when I feel well enough to enjoy one!
Perhaps there is someone in HR who could comment? (Oh maybe you are HR Hymil)
Thanks
Are you in a union at all? Call their helpline and get them involved if they aren't already. That's what you paid for all these years...
No I'm not HR just been through it all myself in the last two years and I remember what helped me. Not sure if I can find the references pages again, but there were lovely ladies on here who pointed me in the right direction.
Hi Alice,
I too work for the NHS and have been told by my manager that I can carry all of 2011/12 unused holiday over into 2012/13 minus the bank holidays that have occurred whilst I have been off sick. I assume that this applies to all employees. x