‘A Tale Of My Two Sons’ – the harsh reality of being broke in #Britain. #AutumnStatement

How fortunate I am, I have two sons. Actually this year I count myself as especially fortunate because one almost died. My sons are quite nice, Matt is 26 and Kriss is 24.  Both are lucky enough to have secured work in the current economic climate, which should be a relief to me as their Mum, but alas this is not always how it plays out. This is the true story of a year in the life of my two sons. It’s great when you can find a job that you like, and which pays you a reasonable wage. Matt has a great job, he’s not a uni grad or powerful business man, he works outside in a leisure park, it’s what he loves and he counts himself fortunate to have a job he enjoys. He walks away with a pay packet netting him around £280 a week after deductions and pays £65 a week for his room in a shared house with his brother and mates. It’s a fun bachelor life and Matt is satisfied with his lot. That is until he gets a pesky ‘brain tumour’ in July and almost dies, and suddenly discovers, as many workers do, that there’s no company sick scheme and his wages drop to around £85 a week which is Statutory Sick Pay. He applies for Housing Benefit. They pay him £45 a week. He can’t pay his mobile contract, his phone gets disconnected, he can’t pay his credit card, he has debt collectors hounding him. He can’t afford to keep living with his brother and mates, because he can’t cope with the laddish lifestyle following the brain surger...
Source: Dawn Willis sharing the News and Views of the Mentally Wealthy - Category: Mental Illness Authors: Tags: Mental Health, The News & Policies. Housing Benefit Retained Firefighter Source Type: blogs