Transition from jobless to working status — Scope | Disability forum
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Transition from jobless to working status

Prash2005
Prash2005 Community member Posts: 14 Connected
edited November 2020 in Work and employment
Thank you everyone here and the Scope Helpdesk about information on step by step filling of the PIP Form. It helped me fill out the form upto some extent. However, it made me reflect on my current situation and the plan changed. I do not wish to be sitting home begging for benefits by answering intruding questions that make me feel downgraded, miserable and depressed, although that is my state at the moment. I would be grateful if there is help available at SCOPE to enable me transit from jobless to working status. For this purpose, I can send my CV for reference and perusal to the concerned personnel. Also I am available to provide all the necessary information regarding the state of my health and work history. I welcome all help and advice from Scope & this forum and thank you all in advance.
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Comments

  • Tori_Scope
    Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,488 Disability Gamechanger
    Hello @Prash2005 :) I'm glad that the helpline were helpful. Just so you know, I've moved your post into the Employment and Careers category.

    I can understand that the process of accessing benefits can feel long and unpleasant, but I also don't think there's any shame in receiving benefits payments if you need them.

    That being said, Scope to offer a fantastic Support to Work service, which helps disabled people aged over 16 living in England and Wales to find and apply for jobs. I'd recommend that you get in touch with them if you're eligible and think that it's something you might benefit from.

    What kind of work are you looking to get into? 
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  • Prash2005
    Prash2005 Community member Posts: 14 Connected
    Hi @Tori_Scope thank you for your reply. I agree it is not shameful to claim benefits, however the system of claiming benefits for deserving people is becoming very unpleasant and frustrating. I have always worked in accounts & finance my entire life, although I have a diploma in civil engineering. I am flexible and adaptable and can fit in any role provided I am given the opportunity and the right coaching. 
  • Tori_Scope
    Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,488 Disability Gamechanger
    I definitely think you should look into Support to Work then @Prash2005

    Have you spoken to anyone at the Job Centre? If you speak to a work coach, they might be able to assign you a Disability Employment Adviser, who can help with:
    work preparation, recruitment, interview coaching and even confidence building
    You can also call the National Careers Service on 0800 100 90 to speak to an adviser. According to the Money Advice Service, disabled people are eligible for at least three advice sessions. 
    National Campaigns Officer, she/her

    Join our call for an equal future.
  • Prash2005
    Prash2005 Community member Posts: 14 Connected
    It is a long story @Tori_Scope but I will cut it short. I have always suffered from chronic depression but I never stopped working. I had to resign from my job June last year (2019) as I became ill with trigeminal neuralgia and the company I worked in was never supportive. Then in December 2019 I went to the Jobcentre and was told to apply for New Style ESA which is ending this coming December 2020. I am unable to trace my work coach and the Jobcentre experience has been disappointing. Then I was told to claim PIP by DWP and you know the result I wrote above. Recently Xrays diagnostics revealed I have osteoarthritis in the neck.

  • Tori_Scope
    Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,488 Disability Gamechanger
    I'm sorry you had a negative experience with the Job Centre @Prash2005. Is there any way you can speak to them and ask for a new work coach? Was this work coach a disability employment adviser? 
    National Campaigns Officer, she/her

    Join our call for an equal future.
  • Prash2005
    Prash2005 Community member Posts: 14 Connected
    The Wembley Jobcentre Plus is a shambles @Tori_Scope . You can check their online reviews. The customers are treated like beggars.
  • Prash2005
    Prash2005 Community member Posts: 14 Connected
    I also don't know if my coach was a disability employment adviser. They never provide us with proper guidance or information. It's a very frustrating experience @Tori_Scope
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,338 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi,

    I'm not aware of those claiming ESA having a work coach, unless you're in the work related acitivity group. As you're on assessment rate then it's not usual to have a work coach. The same as when in the Support Group, you don't have a work coach either. I've claimed ESA since 2012 and have never experienced work coaches for my claim. Although i'm claiming the old legacy income related ESA, New style ESA is the same, except it's Contributions based.

    It's also an extremely difficult time due to current conditions, so job centre staff have been dealing mostly with new claims, as there's been millions of people claiming benefits since the start of the first lockdown.

    Regarding your work capability assessment that you're still waiting for, have you rang the health assessment advisory service to ask them what's happening regarding your assessment? They maybe able to give you some information.

    I know in another thread you said you weren't entitled to Universal Credit because your partner is working. People do claim UC and work but of course it will depend on your circumstances, such as partners earnings etc. It will be worth using a benefits calculator to check entitlement to UC, if you haven't already done this. One question they ask when using these is do you have limited capability for work, you should answer no to this because you haven't ter been assessed as having LCW. If you answer yes then the calculation will not be correct. A benefits calculator is only as good as the information you put into it. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator/Intro/Home?cid=5043a3fb-7de3-4a0a-8ddb-61693b30fd7d



    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • cupcake88
    cupcake88 Posts: 1,273 Pioneering
    Hi there I under stand that you wish to get back to work I my self would like to but it’s not possible due to my mental illness .
    please don’t feel ashamed by claiming benefits . Even tho the pip assessment is stressful there is a lot of us that get pip successfully. Even tho I found the whole pip process stressful I’m glad I applied as that money really is Life changing for me even tho it’s not much it helps me out a lot  . 

    You can also work with pip so if you did feel better you could work as well . 

    I think at the moment there are always care jobs going and cleaning work going with covid there seems to be a huge demand in those jobs according to my friend who works in recruitment . 

    A lot of us on here can relate to working full time having a good income to then no income and then having to go on benefits it’s hard to accept but we all need help at times and we have all paid tax and national insurance so why not have help when we need it . 

    If you feel ready to return to work then that’s great but please don’t feel ashamed to apply for pip . 
  • Prash2005
    Prash2005 Community member Posts: 14 Connected
    Tried all the resources you provided @poppy123456 but not entitled to any other benefit. The termination letter from ESA refers vaguely that I am in work related activity group. 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,338 Disability Gamechanger
    Are you sure you're in this group? In your previous thread i noted that you said you were waiting for the work capability assessment. You would only be in the work related activity group if you've had the work capability assessment. Although, your ESA would only continue after a year if you're in the support group but if you're still waiting for the assessment then you could be placed into the support group.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • Prash2005
    Prash2005 Community member Posts: 14 Connected
    Hi @poppy123456, regarding the previews thread I called today the assessment centre with the help of the link you provided. The reply I received from the assessment centre is that by telephone assessment done on 07/09/2020 the medical team could not make a decision and my assessment is inconclusive. The assessment team requires a face to face interview with me which can only be done when the centres are up and running again that is what they mentioned in the ESA85 Form sent to ESA department. Therefore I am not aware which group I am designated to. The assessment centre said they do not deal with payments and ESA will stop payments on 22/12/2020. I shall be grateful if you could be able to give me further advice and help on how to proceed hereafter. Sorry for delay in responding but I am going through really bad phase and trying to lift up myself from a bottomless hole.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,338 Disability Gamechanger
    @Prash2005 thanks for that update. Unfortunately, in this situation there's nothing at all you can do about it and i know this isn't what you want to hear.

    With the work capability assessment, you can't be found fit for work without a face to face assessment and there are people that are in the same situation as yourself, they've had a telephone assessment but the health assessment providers couldn't get enough of information through this so they have to wait for face to face assessments to start back up again.

    As it's New Style ESA you're claiming then this isn't paid past 365 days, even in these situations. The health assessment providers are correct that they don't deal with payments, it's DWP that deal with these. The only time where payments continue past the 365 days is if you're placed into the Support Group.

    As you're not entitled to any Universal Credit there's no other benefits that you could claim. All you can do now is wait for the face to face assessment and there's no guarantees when these will start back up again. Once they do start back and an appointment becomes available they will contact.

    Hope this helps. Hopefully you're not waiting too long.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • Prash2005
    Prash2005 Community member Posts: 14 Connected
    @poppy123456 many thanks for your reply. So it means I need to be waiting like the rest of people in this category. And PIP claim can be done meanwhile? I have received the forms but is to much for me to fill in and makes me confused and anxious and more depressed.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,338 Disability Gamechanger
    Yes, unfortunately, you need to wait for the face to face work capability assessment. PIP has nothing to do with your ESA claim, they are 2 completely different benefits. Do you have someone that can help you with the PIP forms, maybe a partner? If not then take a look at this link, put your postcode in and it will tell what advice agency is local to you for telephone help with the form. https://advicelocal.uk/

    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • Prash2005
    Prash2005 Community member Posts: 14 Connected
    @poppy123456 yesterday I received a letter from ESA asking me if I would like to be assessed for income related ESA. I called them today and was told that I could not apply for income related ESA but needed to write a letter to their decision maker explaining my health situation and there could be a possibility that I could be placed in severe disability group and the payments may carry on. I am kind of confused because the letter says one thing and when I called in I was given a totally different answer. 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,338 Disability Gamechanger
    I have no idea why you were sent that letter because New style ESA is a contributions based only benefit and income related ESA no longer exists, except if you're claiming a severe disability premium in another benefit, which you don't.

    As advised, the only other benefits possible to claim would be Universal Credit but you said you don't qualify for that.

    Severe disability group? There's no such group. For ESA there's 2 groups, WRAG and Support Group, for your ESA to continue you need to be placed into the Support Group and they don't have enough of information to place you into this group without a face to face assessment.

    Sorry but it seems like to me that the person you spoke to really didn't have a clue what they were talking about, which does happen sometimes when speaking to DWP advisers.

    It's unlikely that your payments will continue past the 365 days but there's no harm in writing a letter to the decision maker to ask.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.

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