Battling job centre, what can I do?

Work coaches shouldn't be able to get away with behaving like this.

Hi sorry to hear what you've been through. I'll just give some general points we've experienced this end on UC:

1. Even though you're recognised as unable to look for work they can still ask you to attend interviews unless you can show you are unable to. The interviews are just to talk about your health etc, not to force you to look for work. In your situation with your back I'd have thought it evident you can't attend in person but they might say you could take a bus / lift in a car etc, unless you can argue it would put you in a lot of pain. Your doc should be able to help here, you could ask him / her to write a general statement "to whom it may concern" sort of thing to say you find travel + walking difficult at present. The fact that they are arranging phone appointments is a good sign, they might have accepted you cannot attend. But always fulfill requirements as stated in your To Do list or you might have your benefit docked. In your shoes without a doc statement I'd write a polite note on your journal saying travel would be painful so could they make appts by phone instead, if you show you'd be willing to talk to them on the phone they should have no problem agreeing with you.

2. When I first took a WCA years + years ago, I had to wait a whole year before I could do so. Don't know what the regulations would be now, best to ask at your interview. Try not to give them the impression that you mean to remain sick for a whole year or more, it makes them suspicious that you've no intention of working. So if they say you need to wait for a year, just ask them what happens while you are in the situation you are in now without doing a WCA and leave it as that, don't bring up WCA anymore.

3. If they don't change your work coach, try not to fret too much, keep polite + keep explaining about your current situation to him, don't talk about being sick for a long time, rather talk about the treatment you are going to have and what difference you hope it will make (it doesn't have to, the key word here is "hope"). In the longer term they'll probably pass you over to a new work coach anyway, so don't try and make too many enemies for now. If the manager sits in and there's nothing to complain about, then agree all is ok and leave it at that. At the end of the day, they have the power, not you, so go along with them as much as you can, keep polite + willing but stick to your guns about your back and how it's affecting you.

Let us know how things go + best wishes x