Left work due to stress

mkahnisbent

I left work recently due to stress. I have not applied for any other jobs. I have a doctors note saying I left due to stress.

Will I be able to claim jobseekers benefit or will I have to prove I am looking for work?

If I have to prove I am looking for work can I apply for jobs tonight or should I have been applying for them before I left my job?

Nolanger

You will need a doctor's note stating you're fit for work again. Then you can sign on and claim JB if you worked most of 2009.

mrsbyrne

mkahnisbent wrote: »

I left work recently due to stress. I have not applied for any other jobs. I have a doctors note saying I left due to stress.

Will I be able to claim jobseekers benefit or will I have to prove I am looking for work?

If I have to prove I am looking for work can I apply for jobs tonight or should I have been applying for them before I left my job?

if you are still suffering from stress and the doctor says you are unfit for work you should apply for illness benefit. you need to go back to your doctor and ask him for a SW cert. submit it to your local SW office. if the doctor says he considers you now fit for work, you may have a problem. yes Sw may accept a note from your GP stating that you left work due to stress, but its more likely that they will question your voluntarily leaving your job "just" because you were sick. the option was there,( presumably you have sufficent PRSI contributionns), for you to claim illness benefit instead of leaving work completely.then it would just be a question of you submitting your final cert to SW and returning to work.
if, im guessing here, your stress was work related, then it is a whole new ball game. to convince SW that you had no choice but to leave your job, you will have to produce some evidence. can i just mention to you here that you will have to convince them that you had no choice except to leave work bcause in order to claim a jobseekers payment you must be looking for and available for full time work(amongst many other criteria). if you leave a job without very good reason than you are not looking for or available for work. so what kind of evidence would prove your case? lets see, if you were suffering from work related stress, and your previous employer failed in his duty under the health and safety at work act to protect you from this stress, then you may make a complaint about your previous employer to the LRC. download an unfair dismissals complaint form from the LRCs website. you are alleging constructive dismissal. best thing is to go to the citizens information centre and they will help you make your case. before you post away your completed complaint form make a photocopy of it, also ask for proof of posting in the PO. you can show these things in the SW office as evidence that you had no choice but to leave your job. it mightnt work, but you are not being fraudulent.

mkahnisbent

Thanks for replying. I do not want to go down the legal route. I had to leave the job cause of stress. I am capable of working somewhere else but I just cannot work there. It was making me vomit every day and it is a very toxic environment. I had to take medication (xanax) just to get through the day.

eastbono

mkahnisbent wrote: »

I left work recently due to stress. I have not applied for any other jobs. I have a doctors note saying I left due to stress.

Will I be able to claim jobseekers benefit or will I have to prove I am looking for work?

If I have to prove I am looking for work can I apply for jobs tonight or should I have been applying for them before I left my job?

In order to apply for JSB you will have to be deemed fit by your GP. You can apply for Illness Benefit. If you are deemed fit by your GP apply for JSB each application in this situation is taken on its own merits. When applying for JSB put your case in writing about the stress related to your job Your previous employer will be contacted in order to ascertain your reason for leaving work. Hope this is of some help.