Hi Feemar5, thank you for replying. Yes, I am in receipt of illness benefit and no, my employer does not pay me any sick leave. I no longer have to submit weekly doctors certs to them as they sent me to company doctor and an occupational therapist who all concurred regarding my condition.
I'm not sure if there is any benefit in staying on? I'm very lucky in that I have had very little dealings with the social welfare system so I'm just cautious in case anyone may think I'm not being upfront about everything.
My employer is a big multinational and i am just a factory worker (another number) I do not and have not paid into a company pension either so was fully expecting just to receive state pension at 66 or 67 or whatever age is is now.
To be honest I'm quite shocked this came through so quickly, I was led to believe it would take a considerable length of time. I applied for a medical card at the same time as the invalidity pension and that has not even been accepted as of yet!