Aug/090
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
All the information you will ever need…
If you’re ill or disabled because of disease or deafness caused by certain types of work, you may be able to claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit for diseases and deafness.
Who is eligible?
You can claim if you were employed in a job that caused you to suffer from any of the following:
- a disease caused by working with asbestos
- asthma
- chronic bronchitis or emphysema
- deafness
- pneumoconiosis (including silicosis and asbestosis)
- tenosynovitis
- vibration white finger
- any other illness covered by the Industrial Injuries Scheme
You can get a full list of illnesses from your regional Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit Delivery Centre.
Who isn’t eligible?
You can’t claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit if you were self-employed in work that caused your disease or deafness.
How much do you get?
Your individual circumstances including your age and the severity of your disability - assessed by your doctor on a scale of one to 100 per cent - will affect the level of benefit you may get.
All amounts are a guide only:
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Assessed level of disablement Aged over 18 (weekly amount) / Aged under 18 with no dependants (weekly amount):
100% £143.60 / £88.05
90% £129.24 / £79.25
80% £114.88 / £70.44
70% £100.52 / £61.64
60% £86.16 / £52.83
50% £71.80 / £44.03
40% £57.44 / £35.22
30% £43.08 / £26.42
20% £28.72 / £17.61
How it’s paid
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit and related benefits are paid directly into your bank, building society or Post Office® card account.
If you’re registered blind or need someone who cares for you to collect the money, a cheque can be sent to cash at the Post Office®.
Source: Direct.gov.uk
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What else should I know?
There are specific rules for each disease which may affect your entitlement to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. Contact your Jobcentre Plus office if you need further advice.
If you get Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit at 100 per cent rate and need daily care and attention, you may get Constant Attendance Allowance (CAA). This is paid at four different rates.
If you get Exceptional or Intermediate rate CAA and you need permanent constant care and attention, you may also get Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance.
If you have recently come from abroad there are some extra rules.
We may need to contact your employer to check what jobs you have worked in.
We may need you to have a medical examination. The doctor will give us advice about:
- whether you have one of the diseases covered by the scheme
- how seriously you are disabled
- how long they expect your disablement to last.
If you want to know whether a disease is covered by the scheme, check with your Jobcentre Plus office or consult the list of diseases covered by the scheme.
Source: Job Centre Plus
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A Note for Carers
If you care for someone who is claiming Constant Attendance Allowance at or above the normal maximum rate, or is intending to claim for this, you are likely to be entitled to Carer’s Allowance. You may wish to consider claiming for this at the same time. There is a separate leaflet about Carer’s Allowance. Also, consider asking advice from one of the sources listed below about all your benefit entitlements..
For people with disabilities, their carers and representatives. It is part of the Department for Work and Pensions. BEL offers confidential advice and information on benefits and how to claim them. In addition they can also send out an extensive range of leaflets and claim packs, and can help you to complete a claim form over the phone..
Directgov
Web: www.direct.gov.uk
Directgov brings together the widest range of public service information and services online.
Produced by the Central Office of Information, Directgov provides information from across UK government departments on topics ranging from travel safety and parental leave, to special educational needs, local NHS services, and benefits. The site also brings together an increasing number of online government services - including being able to download and/or complete certain benefit claim forms online..
Citizens Advice Bureau
Provides independent advice on many issues including benefits. Listed in the phone book under ‘Citizens Advice Bureaux’. Also, see their excellent website: www.citizensadvice.org.uk.
Department for Work and Pensions
Their website provides a list of claim forms that you can download or fill in online for benefits, allowances, pensions and other payments - www.dwp.gov.uk/resourcecentre/claim_forms.asp
Contact details of their local offices (Jobcentre Plus offices and other ’social security’ offices) can usually be found in the phone book under ‘Jobcentre Plus’.
Aug/091
Can you make a claim for Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is a condition affecting the joints. The NHS say it is the most common form of arthritis affecting UK citizens and a reported 8-9 million people in this country are currently suffering with it. Characteristics of osteoarthritis are fairly constant in each case:
- It causes damage to cartilage - the strong, smooth surface that lines the bones and allows joints to move easily and without friction
- It results in bony growths developing around the edge of the joints.
- It causes mild inflammation of the tissues around the joints (synovitis)
- Osteoarthritis mostly occurs in the knees, hips and small joints of the hands, but almost any joint can be affected
Although it is a widespread condition, the Government has recognised that it may be, for some people, a direct consequence of working conditions suffered years ago. For example, ex miners who have worked for 10 or more years as a coal miner would have a good chance of receiving compensation from the Industrial Disablement Benefit fund announced by the Government.
The fund will initially be set up to provide benefits (from July 2009) to people suffering from this condition who can directly relate it to their employment. However, there are reports and rumours that the fund will eventually extend to offering compensation payouts to individuals who meet the criteria.
Aug/092
UK State Pension Questions and Answers
What is the basic state pension?
The basic state pension is paid to women at 60 and men at 65, who fulfil National Insurance (NI) contribution requirements.
From 6 April 2020, the state pension age for both men and women will be 65.
The government will introduce the change gradually from age 60 to 65 for women over a 10-year period from 2010 to 2020
How much is it worth?
The full weekly rates are (year to April 2009):
Single person: £90.70
Couple: £145.05
Will I get the full basic state pension?
Not necessarily.
What you get will depend on your National Insurance (NI) contributions - and the rules are stringent.
Your pension depends on how long you have worked for and the number of “qualifying years” you have.
A woman with a working life of 44 years will need 39 qualifying years for a full pension and a man with a working life of 49 years will need 44 qualifying years.
The government plans to reduce the number of qualifying years it takes to earn a full basic state pension to 30 as part of its overhaul of the UK pensions system.
However, the contribution record of people who have been unable to work due to unemployment, sickness or caring responsibilities, may be protected by credits or “home responsibilities protection”.
What happens if I have not made enough contributions?
If you have not paid sufficient contributions you may get a partial pension or you may not receive a pension at all.
If you are not entitled to a full Basic Pension you may receive a reduced amount.
But if you retire with less than 25% of the qualifying years for a full pension, you won’t get anything at all.
People aged 80 and over receive a non-contributory pension, at 60% of the basic state pension as long as they fulfil other requirements, such as residency rules.
What about the earnings link?
A link between state pensions and earnings was introduced by Barbara Castle in 1974.
This ensured that state pensions kept up with the rate at which salaries were rising.
However, it was scrapped six years later by Margaret Thatcher, and more pensioners must now rely on private savings to make up the difference.
Restoring the link with earnings would cost an estimated £0.5bn in the first year, rising to £10bn by 2010, according to government figures.
Isn’t the state pension age changing for women?
Legislation to equalise the pension age at 65 for both men and women has been passed.
The change will be phased in between 2010 and 2020 and will not affect anyone born before 6 April 1950.
If you are a woman and born between 6 April 1950 and 5 April 1955, your state pension age will fall somewhere between 60 and 65.
The government’s www.pensionguide.gov.uk has details on the age and date when you will be able to receive the state pension.
Longer term further rises are planned for both men and women, eventually taking the pension age to 68 by 2044.
Source of article: BBC News
Aug/090
Latest News on Miners Claims
We have been getting quite a few calls and emails over recent weeks regarding the confusion over miners claims and compensation. The confusion has come about after a Government statement suggested that Miners Knee should be added to the list of conditions covered under the Industrial Disablement Benefit and was supposed to come into effect from July 2009.
As this seems to be a hot topic at the moment we felt obliged to create a list of FACTS relating to this:
To claim Industrial Disablement Benefit you must satisfy that:
You were an ‘employed earner’; and either
You have suffered a ‘personal injury’ in an industrial accident; or
You are suffering from a ‘prescribed industrial disease’; and
As a result of that accident/disease you have suffered a loss of faculty;
As a result of that loss of faculty you are disabled.
Your claim is analysed on a percentage scale.
The percentage of disablements for 2 or more accidents/diseases can be added together. So if you have 7% for PDA11 (Vibration White Finger) and 15% for an accident to your leg, you have a total of 22%.
Your claim can be backdated to 13th July 2009. It cannot be backdated any earlier unfortunately because osteoarthritis only became a prescribed disease on that date.
To process your claim it could take up to and beyond 6 months. This is because the Government anticipate that most eligible ex-miners will claim and that means an awful lot of claims will be made in a short space of time causing an inevitable backlog. However, as with many state benefits (eg. Job Seekers Allowance) it will be backdated to the original date of claim meaning you will likely receive a large lump sum payment.
The Government recognises that people who need it most should get it first which is why the benefit will be forced through as quickly as possible for the elderly and/or ill. However, it is important to note this in your DWP claim form otherwise panel making the decision on your claim will not take this into account.
If you have osteoarthritis in just one knee you should not be detered from making a claim. Most miners will have worked on both knees and therefore will have ‘Miners Knee’ in both but occassionally miners would use just one knee beit through preference or working conditions.
It is possible to have osteoarthritis in other parts of your body which is why it is to the doctors discretion (who will examine you) whether the osteoarthrit is linked to your employment.
There are no time limits to making a claim. The Government recognises that Osteoarthritis can develop over a long period of time and can develop in different ways.
Information taken from the Nation Union of Miners website.
Jul/090
Disability Living Allowance Rates
Disabled people in the UK are often surprised to learn how straight-forward the disability benefits system actually is. Disability Living Allowance is in two parts - the care component and the mobility component. Just because you qualify for one doesn;t mean you qualify for both. However, you could and it is worth checking.
Care component Weekly benefit…
Highest rate - £70.35
Middle rate - £47.10
Lowest rate - £18.65
Mobility component Weekly benefit…
Higher rate - £49.10
Lower rate - £18.65
Your individual circumstances will affect how much you can get. The claim pack gives some examples of different levels of care and mobility needs.
Ways to claim
You can claim online at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/eservice/
or get a claim pack by:
contacting your local Jobcentre or social security office
phoning the Benefit Enquiry Line
downloading the claim form from this page
Jul/090
Job Centre Plus Miners Knee
Tell us which solicitor you used dealt with previously for your miners claims and we will contact you right back with details of how you can make a claim for Osteoarthritis (Miners Knee), if your previous miners claim was wrongly undersettled, and anything else you could be entitled to. You do not even need to have made a claim previously to be entitled to receive compensation.
Coal miners in the UK who worked in atrocious conditions in the late 70’s and 80’s should receive more compensation. It was reported earlier this month that coal miners with 10 or more years service can claim Industrial Disablement Benefit if they are one or more of a range of medical conditions affecting their quality of life. Conditions such as: Miners Knee, Osteoarthritis of the knee and Vibration White Finger are all included in the criteria for claiming this new benefit.
Job Centre Plus Miners Knee claims are set to go through the roof - and rightly so. Local experts in mining hotspots from times-gone-by are predicting that news of this new beneifit will spread like wild fire through the mining communities and the criteria for claiming should be met by the vast majority given that mining was a lifetime career for most.
On top of this, compensation for the new medical conditions which are now being linked back to the work conditions should be increased or at least separated from previous claims for VWF or anything else. On top of the basic right to claim, the fact that miners were receiving less compensation for their earlier claims due to fraudulent solicitors taking part of that compensation. Now, the Job Centre Plus are emphasising that all ex miners should use them to ‘apply’ rather than ‘make’ a claim.
Jul/090
Save the Children: Child Poverty on the Increase
As you would expect, over a half of children living in poverty in the UK live in either single-parent households or homes were neither parent is employed.
Save the Children (a well respected organisation protecting UK kids) carried out research which shows that almost 200,000 more under 16’s across the nation live in poverty compared to this time last year.
According to the organistation, a rise in children residing in ‘unemployed homes’ has taken place in recent years on an unprecedented scale. This has no doubt been compounded by the fact that we are in the middle of a deep recession but nevertheless the figures look particularly bleak especially when compared to an earlier similar period.
Out of all the UK countries, Wales is experiencing the worst problems. Bridgend, Flintshire, Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire are the areas pinpointed by Save the Children as the main culprates.
The choices between food, heating and transport costs that these families need to make is a tough one which is putting pressure on their lifestyles to change.
Jul/090
Important! Tax Credits Deadline Approaches
As the Friday 31st July approaches, claimants of all types of tax credits could soon be facing a further financial blow in the credit crunch. If consumers do not apply for their credits then they could face huge reductions in income when HMRC get around to recalling their overpayment.
UK pensioners - many of whom are struggling because of their pensions deteriorating in the credit crunch - are worrying over the prospect of facing further cuts to their weekly income through tax credits. However, pensioners do not have to renew by the end of this month so worry not. This would have otherwise affected over 3 million pensioners throughout the country.
Jul/090
Ban on IVF donors leads to shortage of eggs
A review in the sale of sperm and eggs for use in fertilisation treatment has arisen in the attempt to increase donations. Currently many childless couples are forced to seek treatment abroad due to a shortage in donations. Lisa Jardine, of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority suggests an increase in the expenses payment of £250 to donors to encourage women to donate their eggs. Furthermore the loss of anonymity of sperm donors was also highlighted as having a possible negative effect.
Concerns have been raised as to the exploitation of poorer women donating eggs to raise money if a higher rate is set. However Jardine argues that the higher rate should exist for women donating their eggs as the procedure is more invasive than sperm donation. Although it is generally agreed that the sale of eggs and sperm raises a number of ethical questions Jardine believes it would create a more transparent system. The authority is also set to discuss the guidelines surrounding donations within a family.
One such case was that of a 72-year-old man who donated his sperm to his daughter-in-law and the rules with regards to brother and sister donations.
Jul/090
Unemployment figures in the UK top the 2.3 million mark
As the recession takes as strong a grip as ever, more and more firms are cutting costs in every way possible and the most effective way of doing that is of course to cut jobs. A “worse than expected” set of figures indicated that unemployment has rose by a new record 281,000 to 2.38 million, in the three months to May. The statistics released by the Office for National Statistics said.
The jobless rate increased to 7.6%, the highest in more than 10 years.
But the number of people claiming unemployment benefit increased by 23,800 in June to 1.56 million which was less than analysts had forecast.
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