Hi, we are the Employment Advisors, ask us a question — Scope | Disability forum
Please read our updated community house rules and community guidelines.

Hi, we are the Employment Advisors, ask us a question

Sam_Alumni
Sam_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,671 Disability Gamechanger
edited September 2019 in Work and employment
Support to Work offers advice to disabled people applying for jobs. This is a digital employment service supported with telephone or Skype. 

You can ask our employment advisors questions about anything from pre-employment, finding work to employment issues once you are in work. Our employment advisors are

@mwila_scope
@pia_scope
@Donisha_scope
@Zaid_Scope
@Ren_Scope
@Sara_Scope



Scope
Senior online community officer

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 18 Listener
    We talkabout adjustments in interviews what about company inductions as all companies must be different
  • debbiedo49
    debbiedo49 Community member Posts: 2,904 Disability Gamechanger
    Can you give us guidelines on Find A Job and recording activity history please?
  • leeCal
    leeCal Community member Posts: 7,550 Disability Gamechanger
    I d like to find a job which doesn’t require anything more than average intelligence, where you can work from home if poss with flexible hours but which pays quite well. I have basic literacy skills and can use a computer and I’m very good at ‘signposting’. Thank you.

    “This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness.” 
    ― Dalai Lama XIV

  • Hillbilliej
    Hillbilliej Community member Posts: 2 Listener
    Hi. I'm in a real mess and cannot seem to find a way out.  I am 50 years old and have worked hard since I was 14. I was extremely poorly after a suspected stroke in 2007. I was lucky enough to have brilliant employers and after 9 months made it back to work in a job I loved. However, the illness left me with an ongoing condition. I have acute Heamiplegic migraines. I can have the odd one or often long clusters sometimes for weeks and sometimes longer. The condition causes paralysis down my left side for between 2 hours (if I'm lucky) and up to 8 hours. I know when it's coming so usually manage to get to a safe place to lie down. Afterwards it effects my speech and I have severely slurred speech for abut 72 hours. I decided in 2016 that the time I was needin off work was just not fair and I was losing consistantancy with my pupils so I went back to uni to do a degree with the intention of returning to my first career as an illustrator. If I work for myself I am not causing problems and can work around the episodes.  I need to work part time so support my family and have a regular income whilst I build up reputation as an illustrator. I have NEVER had a problem finding a job until now. I have never claimed benefits but was so desperate I went to sign on. I was having a lot of episodes at the time so couldn't sign on to job seekers as the nature of the condition I have could mean I couldn't speak for days or weeks and needed to apply for 10 jobs a week without fail. I do that most weeks but couldn't tell if I could commit without problem. I then found out I couldn't get any help at all as during the time I was at uni I didn't pay enough National insurance. I now have a gap I cannot close and the longer it goes on the bigger hole I'm in. I just don't know what to do. I'm am struggling so badly with no income it's just not funny any more. I am caughtvin a loop i cannot get outvof. A job would be great...I work hard when im well and have professional skills. ANY suggestions would be so so gratefully received. 
  • leeCal
    leeCal Community member Posts: 7,550 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @hillbilliej
    have you tried getting employment support allowance or if it’s gone in your area you should try getting universal credit ASAP? ESA would be preferable and it would be income based because you say you haven’t paid enough contributions. With some evidence of your condition you should be placed in the support group which would mean you wouldn’t have to go for interviews etc, if your area has had universal credit rolled out then you should apply for that, the rules of which I am not familiar with. A quick phone call to the DWP tomorrow would clarify this and it’s now a free call. 
    I’ve no doubt that when the office opens again on Monday someone with more knowledge will try to help you. 
    Dont despair, have Faith.

    “This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness.” 
    ― Dalai Lama XIV

  • leeCal
    leeCal Community member Posts: 7,550 Disability Gamechanger
    @Hillbilliej
    dont take offence but you might try a prayer to St Philomena, in all honesty I had the beginning of a migraine three days ago (very rarely get them) I prayed to her and with two minutes the large flashing wriggly lines went. Within about an hour the pain in my head was also mostly gone. May have been a coincidence but ...
    she may also help with your other issues too.
    all the best.

    “This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness.” 
    ― Dalai Lama XIV

  • Mwila_Scope
    Mwila_Scope Scope Posts: 52 Pioneering
    @Hillbilliej

    Welcome to the Online Community and many thanks for your question. in terms of financial support i feel i might be good idea to consider applying for Employment Support Allowance . you can use the following benefit calculator to find out what you might be able to claim, Entitled benefit Calculator.  You may also be entitled to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and can do a self test HERE to see what component you would be eligible for.

    In terms of Support with finding some suitable employment I feel opportunities to work from would be a good starting point as you could manage this around your migraines. Scope currently run a digital employment service called Support to Work . The service provides tailored support and advise to disabled people who are seeking employment. Once you sign up to the service, you will be assigned to an employment advisor who will work with to explore your employability skills and work with you to find some suitable avenues of employment such opportunities to work from home. you can register for the service HERE 

    Hope that helps 
    we look forward to hearing from you 
    Mwila
    Scope Employment Advisor
    Phone: 0300 222 5742
    Email: supporttowork@scope.org.uk
    www.scope.org.uk/supporttowork
  • amanda8289
    amanda8289 Community member Posts: 43 Connected
    Hi  I was  deemed as  health  worsening  last year when I was awarded enhanced pip after  the  home visit and  recently I received  the  esa50  form after being in the support group for 9 yrs now.  I  don't understand  why  they are assessing  me  AGAIN.  I  have epelipsy  aniexty ashmea psarois  mental health problems  depression ptsd emotionally unstable personality disorder and  I'm currently awaiting  the  biopsy  results  for  suspected  skin  cancer when will the   dwp leave me alone  my continual health  conditions are  not  getting  better and I have been told are  classed as long term under the regulation  laws of special  circumstances so how am I not  exempt from all these  tramatic assessments as the  stress aniexty and life is  drained from you I'm not joking 
  • amanda8289
    amanda8289 Community member Posts: 43 Connected
    Could you please advise or help me with the  problem I'm  having & that  is  on going . Thank you 
  • amsterdam62
    amsterdam62 Community member Posts: 3 Listener
    Hi my husband has Aspergers and was diagnosed in 2010 and was confirmed by work doctor 
    he works 12 hour shifts approx 43 hrs a week . After having a breakdown in January and going back on reduced hours in May his employer now told him to go back to original hours or take a huge pay cut by having to job share 
    he has been with the company for 17 years and they have been v fair to him so unsure why the change 
    he works in aviation so 24 hours business so we can’t understand why they insist on his job share instead of what he is doing now 2 x 8 hour shifts and 2x 6 hours shifts instead of 2 x 12 hours shift and 2 x 6 hours shift 
    they say they need to cover the missing 4 hours on his first 2 shifts permanently 
    Mia this a reasonable demand on their part 
  • newborn
    newborn Community member Posts: 832 Pioneering
    Hillbillyj  I tried so hard to read your post.

     Please, please, please use paragraphs. Lots, please. 

    I put up a thread on this, so  please read it and believe all the other contributors, too, who beg for breaks in the blocks of teXT,  even if you won't believe me!
  • JimmyB105
    JimmyB105 Community member Posts: 2 Listener
    Hi

    My wife has cerebral palsy, she can not walk, is a permanent wheelchair user and has been assesed and is not able to drive.

    We met 26 years ago at school and we've been married for 8 years, We have a lovley 4 year old son.

    Over the last few years her health has worsened and i am now her full time carer. She has been really upset recently and says she feels usless and feels she doesnt add anything to our family, and feels more like a burden than a wife. It breaks my heart and i keep telling her she is a wonderful mum and wife and that she is adored by me and our son. 

    She said she wishes she could have a part time job where she can earn some money and get back some self worth. I've been looking for something that we can do and i've seen an Emporium near us where you can hire a section of the shop, leave you items there and they sell them for you.

    We regularly visit local furniture/brick-a-brak auctions and charity shops and were thinking we could buy some old furniture and bits and bobs, put them in the shop and see what happens.

    The only thing is we don't know how it will it affect our benifit. We receive PIP, Income support and carers allowance. 

    The worry is because the sales are so variable we could sell £200 one month but sell nothing the next, it's so unpredictably. 

    How would this affect our Benifits? What should we say to DWP?

    Thanks
  • newborn
    newborn Community member Posts: 832 Pioneering
    Do you help or advise people  retired, or/and people wanting voluntary work, wanting to train, or study, with a good or with only a faint prospect of becoming an employee? 
  • dpryor
    dpryor Community member Posts: 7 Listener
    I have ADHD and Depressive disorder which can make me hyper sensitive especially if I feel I have done something wrong... 

     
    I have a work related problem but it is also a kind of personal problem. I have worked there for almost 10 years and had a personal friendship with a colleague which make things difficult especially as I am their line manager.

    Anyway there has been a falling out involving a number of staff including me and my colleague. I expected the general manager to step in and try to advocate or say this is all a bit silly and bang our heads together anything to resolve the situation.  but instead she has said nothing to me regarding the matter even though she know I am really upset about things and find situations that my include conflict very difficult.  

    on Monday the other person had informal meetings with the other staff involved but no-one said any thing to me, I mean no one spoke to me about what happened and I had one or two very short work related conversations all morning less that 20 words in total.  I had dentist that day and left about lunch which was a nightmare and went wrong ended up with local anaesthetic injected in to my optical nerve and still have nerve pain now I also have other physical medical issues at the minute causing anaemia which I am mentioning as I know this can affect the way I feel making my depression feel more like anxiety. I took the rest of the week off work spent it crying sulking and trying to look normal to the rest of my family.

    I am so afraid to go back it makes me feel sick but I am not normally a run away and hide kind of person so I plucked up the courage to message my boss to see what she wanted me to do about the issue  I asked "what do you suggest I do about my conflict do I treat it as a personal matter outside of work or work related?
    This is because I don't want to end up being sacked for bullying and I genuinely have no idea?

    She said to see how things go Monday I know that XXXX doesn't want things to be uncomfortable either.. 

    My boss is no good at conflict either and avoids it, this sentence made me feel like just ignore it and hope it goes away I feel like I did something terrible, scared and tired and don't know what to do. I know this makes me sound like a baby but I'm lost now.

Brightness