Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Dad told ‘You’re fit for work’ dies of cancer
Benefit chiefs cut off terminally ill man & tell him to find a job
A CANCER patient died after the Department for Work and Pensions told him that he had to get a job.
Hotel worker Phillip Balderson, 46, was diagnosed with terminal oesophageal cancer in 2013.
He also suffered from psoriatic arthritis, anxiety, OCD and various other mental health problems.
But after a health assessment in February this year, the DWP ruled he was no longer eligible for Employment and Support Allowance, and should look for work. Philip was appealing the decision when he died on June 5. His family are now challenging the ruling at a tribunal, and will use any compensation they receive to pay off his funeral costs.
His daughter Chloe, 23, said Phillip, from Burnley, Lancs, had worked at a hotel in the Lake District until his diagnosis. She said: “He had terminal cancer and they [the DWP] were trying to send him to work. The people at the Jobcentre were disgusted.”
Phillips’s partner of 25 years, Rachel Stockley, 49, said: “I’m doing this for Phillip really because he was gutted. I think it’s disgusting. It’s terrible the way they treat people. “The authorities need to show more concern towards people’s needs and not judge them by how they look.”
Rachel, who lives in Allithwaite, Cumbria, was herself diagnosed with cancer in 2010. She said Phillip was “frightened” by his illness. She said of his death: “You just can’t prepare yourself for it. Even though you know it’s going to happen, it’s no different from someone dying suddenly.”
The family will attend a work capability appeal at South Cumbria magistrates court on Thursday in a bid overturn the DWP’S decision. A DWP spokesperson said: “We are contacting Mr Balderson’s next of kin to ensure they’re paid any benefits owed at the time of his death. The amount paid will be dependent on the result of the work capability appeal.”
ON DWP WORK ASSESSMENTS