Health vs job!

[PurpleParis]

My partner has been diagnosed with an illness that means he is struggling to do his job at the moment. He cannot feel his hands or feet and is an engineer. The doctor wants to put him on the sick until he has had a scan, which may not happen for a couple of weeks, as it is out of our PCT. He doesn't get sick pay and I got made redundant so he is the only earner in the house at the moment. We don't know what to do....there is no way we can afford for him to take time off unpaid, is there any help out there???? Don't really understand the SSP system, could someone explain in plain English???

[TCL-MUMPING]

Many companies pay company sick pay which means the normal wage is paid for a set number of weeks. Those that don�t, will normally pay SSP which is currently �74.50 per week. If yir husband�s wage is normally above �90 per week, he should get SSP but it won�t be paid for what would be his first three normal working days.

You may have heard of Incapacity Benefit which is paid to those who can not work but that has been replaced by a new benefit called Employment and Support Allowance (ESA.)

If yir husband does not qualify for SSP, he should claim ESA and if he contacts his nearest Jobcentre they should tell him who to ring in order to make a claim

[PurpleParis]

Thank you for your help