Financial support while cutting work hours in UK?

[starsparkle]

Hey Folks - Just wondered if anyone has had any experience with cutting down their working hours due to Crohns?

I work full-time at a desk job but have been flaring (mildly) for a while now - I've not long started on Azathioprine but I'm starting to really struggle to get the through the days due to extreme fatigue.

Im lucky that I have flexi-time but I'm rarely making it into work before 10am these days which means I have to stay til 6pm to do my hours for the day - if I stay, I dont get home til after 7 but if I leave early - Im giving myself loads of hours to make up at the end of the month. By the time I get home at night, I'm far too tired to do anything other than lie around and just feel like I have no life & am generally just miserable about it all the time.

I've been thinking recently about possibly cutting my hours down a bit - looking at working 25-30hrs a week (rather than my usual 37.5) but I just dont know if I can afford to - does anyone in the UK know if there's any financial support available to us Crohnies in this respect? I know I dont qualify for DLA & I wouldnt want to - I still want to & feel able to work - just feel like Im not coping with full time work at all & need to do something.

 

[Amy2]

Our 16 year old has Crohn's and we can't count on him ever being able to work, so after he was diagnosed, I started reading minimalist blogs. I found a family of 3 who were able to save for and buy a house on 1 mimimum wage job!

We're not in their league, but we have started saving a lot more than we were. One obstacle to saving was our $2,700 mortgage payment, so we rented out a couple of our empty bedrooms, reducing our mortage payment by more than 1/3.

When our son is ready to move out, we will buy him his own tiny home, so that he never has to worry about a mortgage at all.

So, I think you probably can afford to cut your hours, you'll just have to get creative, like the minimalists.

 

[jsesaic]

If you ring or visit your local job centre they might be able to help you. I think if you have a doctors note saying you can only work a certain amount of hours you can be eligible for employment support allowance. It's worth asking