BENEFITS EXPERT:

A. Yes in this situation you can reclaim any payments you have made, you can do this by completing a HC5 form (the form differs depending on the type of treatment you are claiming for).

You must make the claim within 3 months of the date you had the treatment although this can be extended if there is good cause for delay.

The application form is available online or by contacting the NHS Helpline on 0300 330 1343.

Q I have recent lost my job due to misconduct and I know that this may prevent me from claiming benefits or the benefits could be reduced in such situations. I do however have the option of claiming Carer’s Allowance. Do sanctions apply if I were to claim this?

A. There are no sanctions in place currently that would preclude you from claiming Carer’s Allowance if you were in some way at fault in becoming unemployed.

As long as you meet the main conditions for claiming Carer’s i.e. the person getting cared for is getting a qualifying benefit (Daily Living for PIP, middle or high rate care for DLA or any rate of Attendance Allowance), you provide at least 35 hours of care, you are not earning more than £123/week from employment and/or are not in full time education then you can submit a claim.

You may also be entitled to have your income topped up with Universal Credit for other living and rental costs as well as support towards your council tax so I would also advise you to have a full benefit check.

Again in this situation any Universal Credit would not be sanctioned due to the circumstances of losing your job.

As a carer you would not have any job seeking requirements and sanctions generally only apply to benefits that are claimed as a job-seeker.