Hi, my name is SamanthaFord. Am I eligible for the employment support programme? — Scope | Disability forum
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Hi, my name is SamanthaFord. Am I eligible for the employment support programme?

SamanthaFord
SamanthaFord Community member Posts: 3 Listener
edited December 2020 in Work and employment

I'm a new member here and I'm looking for a little help & advice. I’m 45 years old and I've had type 1 diabetes for 44 years, I was diagnosed when I was 15 months old. I’ve never really thought as myself having a disability, but I’m now having some issues with my hands which involve painful, stiff joints in my thumbs and forefingers especially when I use my hands for more than a couple of hours at a time. I feel that my diabetes is related to the pain in my hands. I have a telephone appointment with an osteopathic doctor next week to discuss the above problems I’m having with my hands and hopefully get a diagnosis.


What I really need advice on though is whether I would be eligible to sign up for the employment support programme. I’m currently receiving Universal Credit and I’m also signed up to Seetec Pluss, a provider of work and wellbeing services but I feel they really don’t understand or appreciate the problems I’m currently going through even though I’ve tried to explain things to them a number of times, they really aren't giving me a lot of help. Any advice or info you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone, good to be here.
 


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Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,359 Disability Gamechanger
    HI and welcome,

    I can't really find much information about the employment support programme, other than this. https://ersa.org.uk/about/employmentprogrammes

    There used to be a specialist employability support but this has now ended.

    Scope has some information about support here. https://www.scope.org.uk/employment-services/

    May i ask if you're sending in fit notes from your GP to start the work capability assessment process off for your UC claim?

    If there's any other information you require then please do 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.
  • chiarieds
    chiarieds Community member Posts: 16,007 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @SamanthaFord - & welcome to the community. I looked last night, & could also only find the link that Poppy has given. Scope has helped a lot of people with their 'Support to Work' programme, which is in the 2nd link above, so that's certainly worth looking into, & you will find more understanding. Please let us know how you get on. :)
  • SamanthaFord
    SamanthaFord Community member Posts: 3 Listener
    @poppy123456 @chiarieds Thanks for your replies and your help. I will give Scope a call later and see if I can get onto the support to work programme as this seems to be the next step for me to take.

    @poppy123456 No I haven't been sending fit notes in from my GP to UC  to start the work capability assessment, to be honest, I've never come across this before but I'll definitely look into it, thank you for bringing it to my attention. 



  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,359 Disability Gamechanger
    If your health condition provents you from working then you should consider reporting your health condition on your journal but a fit note from your GP will be needed and you will need to keep sending them until you're assessed and a decision's been made.

    Sending in the fit notes doesn't mean your work commitments will be switched off and it does depend on your work coach whether they do this because you're not classed as having limited capability for work until a decision's been made on that claim.

    Please do have a read of the link i posted above regarding this, it will explain the process to you.
    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.
  • Tori_Scope
    Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,488 Disability Gamechanger
    edited December 2020
    Welcome to the community! It's great to hear that you'll be ringing about the Support to Work service later @SamanthaFord :) Please let us know how you get on. 

    I also hope that the problems you're having with your hands get sorted soon. Feel free to make a separate post about this if you need some more specific advice and support on this issue.

    Just to let you know, I've moved your post into the employment category, and renamed it slightly. Please give us a shout if you have any further questions. We look forward to seeing you around! 
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  • SamanthaFord
    SamanthaFord Community member Posts: 3 Listener
    @poppy123456 Even though I get painful hands after using them for short periods of time I feel I need to wait till after my appointment with the osteopathic doctor next week before I contact my GP about fit notes. Just looking for a diagnosis and some answers to start with.

    I received a phone call earlier from scope to confirm I'm eligible for the Support to Work Programme and to complete my application, I have my first scheduled appointment next Friday. Hopefully, something good will come out of this. 
  • Tori_Scope
    Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,488 Disability Gamechanger
    Good news about Support to Work @SamanthaFord! I hope your appointment goes well, and that it's the first step towards finding employment for you :) Please do let us know how it goes.
    National Campaigns Officer, she/her

    Join our call for an equal future.

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