‘Join us to change the benefits system’

A FATHER who was denied sickness payments after a motorbike accident forced him to stop work has called for the public to fight for changes to Jersey’s benefits system.

Stephen Coleman and his partner, Priscilla Ferrier, say they have received an overwhelming offer of support and money from Islanders since their plight was reported in Wednesday’s JEP.

Mr Coleman, a self-employed curtain and blind fitter, fell off his motorbike and was run over by a passing car as he lay in the road Mont Les Vaux, St Brelade, on 7 June. He broke his neck, back, legs, ribs and hands and shattered his shoulders and smashed his face in the accident. He had paid Social Security for over 30 years but was denied sickness benefit because he missed one contribution.


As Mr Coleman was recovering from another operation, Miss Ferrier said: ‘The number of people who have got in touch to offer help has been amazing. We have been overwhelmed. We don’t want to take money off people.

It’s a lovely thing for somebody to offer, but it’s not about the money, it’s about people standing up and saying that this isn’t right. The system needs to change. Something needs to be done.’ (thisisjersey)

Missed one contribution and treated like this... well out of order...

Its typical states policy if the guy was from some "Foreign" land he would get all the benefits with no problem at all

Look at the mess the UK is in............look at Jsy..............see Gsy........in 5 yesrs or less.........

Pegasus wrote:Its typical states policy if the guy was from some "Foreign" land he would get all the benefits with no problem at all

That's simply not true.

The system may have failed the guy in this particular instance, but it's a system for a reason, and any system will unfortunately fail occasionally.

Would it have been fair if he'd skipped 30years of SocSec payments, pocketed the cash, and started to pay only a couple of quarters before having the accident and benefiting from payments?

I have personally fallen foul of the operation and changes to the benefit system over the last couple of years, to the tune of tens of thousands of pounds. As a result I live in poverty even though I've paid SocSec and taxes without missing one payment(and still do) for over 15years. All because they can't find a box to tick, I fall outside the norm.

I feel sorry for the guy, but he knew the rules for all 30years and made a costly mistake; I had the rug pulled from under me without any good reason. Life ain't fair.

Come off it Troy, lets be honest if you were a non-islander you would be better of with our social system

Pegasus wrote:Come off it Troy, lets be honest if you were a non-islander you would be better of with our social system

How so?

Foreign guy comes over to work gets "Laid Off" gets social benifits when he has only been here for a couple of months, then goes back home after 6 months no tax to pay etc

Hate the way foreigners rape the system!

Pegasus wrote:Foreign guy comes over to work gets "Laid Off" gets social benifits when he has only been here for a couple of months, then goes back home after 6 months no tax to pay etc

Unless they've been resident for 5years they wouldn't be eligible for Income Support, and they need to pay SS for 6months before claiming.

As for paying tax, if they're here for 6months they'll be liable to pay income tax, but only if they've earned enough during that time, and this will/should've been collected by ITIS.

Barney Gumble wrote:Hate the way foreigners rape the system!

Have you any example of this 'rape'? That sounds like a very racist view.