My son has ASD and struggles to work. UC have asked him to start job searching. Can anyone advise?

Chil56

Hi
my son was diagnosed as on the autistic spectrum at the age of 8. He is now 26 and although he did work pre-Covid on a casual zero hours contract as a food delivery cyclist,  he now finds it impossible to even consider working. The covid pandemic has exacerbated his OCD and social anxiety.
He has claimed universal credit for the past 12 months but is now being asked to start job searching. This is very stressful for him and he says he will stop claiming and therefore will have no income.
can anyone advise?
thank you
Chil

chiarieds

Hi @Chil56 - welcome to the community, & thank you for joining. I'm sorry your son's OCD & social anxiety has worsened during this pandemic. Many other of our members have found the same that suffer in a similar way; it has been very difficult indeed for people with mental health issues.

As far as his Universal Credit goes, did your son mention his health conditions when he claimed UC? If so, he could add a note on his journal that these conditions have worsened. If he didn't, perhaps now is the time to mention them, saying he finds them so problematic now that he feels incapable of working. If he is then reassessed & placed in the Limited Capability for Work related Activity group, he wouldn't be expected to work. Nothing is certain, but perhaps him worth considering rather than stopping claiming.

Tori_Scope

Welcome from the community from me too @Chil56 Thanks for joining, and for asking your question. Just to let you know, I've moved your post into our universal credit category, and renamed it so that it's easier for other members to see what your post is about.

As chiarieds has said, it'd be worth him looking into limited capability for work related activity (LCWRA). Citizens Advice have some information on that here.

Is he in receipt of any other benefits? If he's not already in receipt of PIP, that's also something he might want to look into. Entitledto have some information about PIP on their website.

I'm also sorry to hear that his OCD and social anxiety has become worse since the coronavirus pandemic. Is that something he's been able to access any support for at all?

rubin16

Hi,

I have autism and was forced to find work through the job center which eventually made me ill. What you need to do is speak to your GP and get a "fit note" saying that your son isn't fit for work and then report the sick note in his UC account. After you have reported the medical conditions and fit notes you should be then referred for a Work capability assessment after a few months of reporting sick notes or 28 days.

Once your son has his assessment he should be placed in the LCWRA group and he'll get more money per month and not have to look or be forced into work. just be aware that it can take some time for an assessment however if you keep providing fit notes without a gap you won't have to look for work.

Hope this helps and goodluck.