I'm On ESA IR SG now my wife needs help please

Hi, first thanks for any help offered to us. I have been off work for several years and was on IB but was placed into a WRAG after the change over from IB, this was a fight in it's self to get myself in a SG (sorry some mental health problems and tried to kill myself twice when the 365 day's got close (also some physical problems ) and this was before I found you.

My wife has been ill with COPD Emphysema for over a couple of years now but until now she have managed to continue to work and she really wants to continue to work until she dies because she feels part of the foundations where she works after 27 years of working for a major supermarket and don't want to stop working for them but they are now starting to questioning her fitness after 27 years of working for them and that is only after a couple of problems.

Over the last couple of months my wife has not been able to cope well with working and have been sent home once due to her health problems, she don't want to stop working but sadly it looks like she might have too.

My question is what does she need to do, I don't know how to advise her myself because I have been out of work for several years and everything has changed over the years.

Do she need to get sick notes? from the Doctor and if so who do she need to contact bearing in mind I am already on ESA.

If she needs to get sick notes what can she or us expect if this becomes a permanently thing if my wife is unable to work, I'm sorry I really don't know what we should do and she DONT WANT TO STOP working..

Most of this is due to both of us being so dam scared of dealing with the DWP, we feel it's better not to say anything to them unless we have more money then they think.

Hey we have failed to inform them and we are so scared my wife lost a few hours from her yearly contract a couple of years ago and we failed to let them know, (they think my wife earns more then she does) yes we did not tell them of the change but we have less money they think so they cant have us as a fraud claim..

Also we have in the past posted everything to them and they say they have not received it and we used recorded delivery and signed for but they still say we have no a record of it, where do you stand with this (this was when I was fighting them when placed in a WRAG).

IDS is God or he thinks he is....


I'm 61 but 62 in August of this year
Wife is 55
she works 11.5 hrs pw, £7.19p per hour
No savings, no shares

Hi r9,

Once your wife is no longer being given Statutory Sick Pay from her employers, she can then claim ESA. As long as she has earned enough to make NI contributions in the past 2 full tax years, she should be able to claim Contributory ESA in her own name. If she does not have the NI contributions then she would have to join your Income Related claim.

The first step would be for your wife to phone DWP and initiate an ESA claim, this would need to be backed up with a GP's note.

Thank you for your reply Mrs Hurtyback, I will let my wife know.