HELP!! WORK ARE TRYING TO GET RID OF ME

mrsboop wrote: Hi All,

Just came back to give everyone an up date.

Well work did get rid of me!! retired on ill health, i shall get tier 3 which is the lowest tier, I think it wll be worth about £30 a week. will i have to notify ESA if i get this, i havent heard yet but the lady on the telephone told me how much my pension was worth and also said i could have a lump sum, i am assuming that this per year not the whole amount.

i am still really angry about the way i was treated and harrassed by HR, not sure if i can do anything about this

I was finished on thursday 16th July as school broke up on the 17th. I went to the Rheumatology appointment that work would not wait for me to go to on the 6th of August and was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.

i then attend hospital on the 7th of August again work would not wait, and had facet joint injections. The first 2 days were great very little pain, but now 2 weeks on and my pain is worse than before especially in my legs, i get cramp after cramp its killing me.

I think i can tell my pension that i have had this procedure and the diagnosis for reconsideration not sure if anyone has any help that would be great.

i am going to apply for pip and any info would be great for this as well, will they look at my claim for ESA because i got it without a f2f assessment and was put straight into support group thanks to you guys!!!!

i would appreciate any help or advice

Hi mb,

Sorry to hear that your employment was terminated due to your ill health !!

When you have the correct figures for your Works Pension (WP) and any lump sum payment in writing, you should provide copy of them to DWP/ESA by sending them to the address of The Benefits Office/Centre on your most recent ESA letter :

Sending Documents to the DWP, ATOS, Capita or Maximus.

If you are in receipt of Contribution Based (CB) ESA only in The SG, the £30/Week WP and any amount of lump sum will have no adverse effect on your CB ESA payments.

With CB ESA you are allowed to receive £85/Week WP before any deductions are made from your weekly CB ESA.

Any amount in excess of the £85 is deducted at a rate of 50 pence in the pound of the excess from your CB ESA.

e.g. WP = £105/Week = £20 in excess of the £85/Week disregard.

50% of the £20 excess = £10.

Therefore, in this example £10/Week would be deducted from your weekly CB ESA payments.

With respect to the lump sum, there is no limit for capital, assets, savings or household income with respect to CB ESA.

Once you inform DWP/ESA of your WP income they will send you a form to fill in annually to inform them of any yearly increases.

With respect to PIP, this is not means tested, nor is it reliant on your NI Contribution history, so there is nothing to stop you claiming PIP as soon as you wish to.

As a first step, you could take our : PIP Self Test to give you an idea of any potential entitlement.

You should then read through our : PIP Claims Guide. (2nd Link on page) to make your self familiar with the PIP claims process in anticipation of filling in the forms and going through the PIP assessment process.

I am afraid that we still cannot offer any specific advice regarding your WP and your ex-employer.

bro58

Hi

Sorry i dont think i made myself clear about the money situation, my WP is worth either about £30 a week or i think she said £1500 or £1800 per year so I could have it weekly or a lump sum. I think perhaps they only give you a lump sum every year not sure how it all works yet and still waiting for them to process it, it takes 6-8 weeks.

If i had a yearly lump sum instead of the weekly figure would that work the same as the deductions from esa if over the limit.

I have started to fill the form out for PIP and am looking at all the help on this site, i thought i would do a rough copy before phoning so i have everything to hand for when the form arrives as i know you only get 28 days to return it.

Thank you for replying

mrsboop wrote: Hi

Sorry i dont think i made myself clear about the money situation, my WP is worth either about £30 a week or i think she said £1500 or £1800 per year so I could have it weekly or a lump sum. I think perhaps they only give you a lump sum every year not sure how it all works yet and still waiting for them to process it, it takes 6-8 weeks.

If i had a yearly lump sum instead of the weekly figure would that work the same as the deductions from esa if over the limit.

I have started to fill the form out for PIP and am looking at all the help on this site, i thought i would do a rough copy before phoning so i have everything to hand for when the form arrives as i know you only get 28 days to return it.

Thank you for replying

Hi mb,

As I explained, it will not make any difference and have no adverse effect on your CB ESA payments.

i.e Your weekly WP amount would be less than £85/Week and there is no savings, assets, capital or income limit for CB ESA.

So, the choice is yours !


In case you have not already done so, you could download and save the Specimen PIP 2 Form from the link below, and make a start using that :

Specimen PIP 2 "How your Disability affects You" Form.

However, the PIP 2 Form that you eventually receive through the post Must be the one returned to The DWP.

This is because each PIP 2 Form has a unique/discrete Barcode on it which ties it directly to your PIP Claim as an individual.

There is nothing to stop you now referring to the specimen PIP 2, but typing your responses to the relevant questions on separate A4 sheets.

You should head each separate sheet with your Name, DOB, Date and NI Number and number each separate A4 1 of x, 2 of x, 3 of x, 4 of x, etc, etc, etc.

When you receive the proper PIP 2 through the post, you can simply write in the space provided for each particular question in the form, "See my response on separate added page number, 1 of x, 2 of x, 3 of x, etc, etc." (or words to that affect)

You can then attach the added A4 pages to the PIP 2 Form with your Barcode on it that arrived through the post.

This will save you having to copy over all your responses once you receive the proper PIP 2 Form.

Remember, if you provide enough information with The PIP 2 Form, there should be no need for a face to face assessment.

bro58

Hi

My first post on the forum

I am in a very similar situation to you mrsboop so I sympathise!

I too work in a school and have been absent since sept 2014, I too have fibromyalgia and its related conditions ibs, TMJD etc. plus a colon condition which adds to the fatigue.
I am also battling through the ill health retirement process, and am facing dismissal shortly.
Awful isn't it?!

Despite having a supportive manager, a fantastic GP, evidence from two consultants, and the opinion of a very kind occupational health assessor who all recommended me for IHR, I have been refused it twice now at the independent doctor stage - who feels its not possible to say that I will be unable to work again until all courses of treatment have been completed.

It would be funny if it wasn't so upsetting, my 'treatment' is physiotherapy and pain management. The physio is aiming to help me come to terms with my disability, get a little quality of life back, and in the long term - perhaps - enable me to manage a couple of hours voluntary work. It's certainly not a case of 'do these exercises for 4 weeks, take a few pills and you can go back to the full time manual job and active life you had!'

As a new company has now taken over occ health matters in my area, my employers are submitting a whole new application on my behalf in the hope that this time I will get it, so here I go again. As I said my manager has been very supportive, but the LEA are now keen to get me off their hands and at a meeting with HR last week I was told I will shortly be dismissed on capability grounds. No severance deal apart from holiday & lieu of notice pay. After 26 years of hard work and loyalty the word 'dismissed' hit me like a ton of bricks and I sobbed through the rest of the meeting, it seems so unfair when you are already sick and vulnerable, I miss my job and really wish I was there right now. The union are useless, I'm having to do it all on my own.

All I can say is stick with it mrsboop, and don't be scared of applying for ESA and PIP with fibromyalgia, I applied for and got both. Use the excellent guides on this site to help you fill in the forms, and get help from CAB if you're struggling.
In my case, having read so many horror stories I was terrified, but I have to say everyone at DWP I have so far come into contact with has been polite and considerate. The ATOS assessor came to my home and was actually a lovely lady, she was a nurse and very caring. I was awarded standard daily living & enhanced mobility for 5 years, from start to finish took just 3 months.
I applied for ESA at the same time and have been on assessment rate since. I was supposed to have a work capability assessment last week but I had a call to say it was cancelled as they have enough evidence to make a decision without it - I'm hoping this means I'm in support group and am waiting for the brown envelope!

Good luck, I hope it all works out for you

Hi everyone,

Well i had a letter from work which upet me as they didn't bother to say how much i would be missed, what a great job i had done etc, but like i tell my husband your just a number. As heart breaking as all this was, i am now relieved it is all over.
i now have to come to terms with my illness and the fact that i may be in pain for the rest of my life - i'm only 46!!
I am still waiting to here from my pensions, i have been formally diagnosed with fibromyalgia do you think this will make a difference at my tier level.
what should i do if i want to try for tier 2 now i have the diagnosis or should i wait for th 18 month reassessment?
Not sure really how it works

Thanks to everyone for their help and advice - you've been great

Hi MrsBoop,

I'm afraid you will have to contact your pension provider about your questions if you can not find the information in your paperwork.