Universal Credit

abby02
abby02 Online Community Member Posts: 1 Listener
edited April 9 in Mental health and wellbeing

Hi,

I’ve been on UC since 2020 and from my work capability assessment, I was deemed as having limited capability for work due to my anxiety & panic disorder. I had no issues then, but in 2022, I had a reassessment, and despite still being deemed as having limited capability for work, I feel as though too much is being expected of me.

I volunteer for about 5 hours, once a week in an admin role, but my work coach insists I have to do something else alongside my volunteering. Because of that, my work coach refers me to programmes aimed at helping me prepare for work, but they make me extremely anxious and worsen my mental health. I’m not sure what to do

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  • MW123
    MW123 Scope Member Posts: 1,173 Championing

    @abby02

    Firstly, welcome to Scope!

    I don’t have personal experience with UC or work coaches, so I’m not too familiar with how the system works. However, if the demands placed on you are negatively affecting your mental health, it may be worth discussing reasonable adjustments with your work coach under the Equality Act.

    Speak with your GP, as they may be able to provide supporting evidence on how these additional programmes are affecting your health. I would assume work coaches have similar legal obligations to employers when it comes to adjusting work commitments that are negatively impacting a claimant’s health.

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