LCW put on 'Career skills Action plan' by job skilla and national careers service. long post

another_casualty

Hello I'm in a strange situation regarding the above , and hope you can advise .

Twelve days ago, my appointment with job coach was changed to a phone appointment at short notice. No problem and not relevant .
I do know that my  rassessment regarding my LCW is overdue due to backlog and I will be contacted at anytime for reassessment from DWP . When my job coach spoke to me about my commitments , she did say that as I am on LCW she cannot force me back into work.
We discussed voluntary work , and I explained my condition again ( myasthenia Gravis which in my case my body is only in full working order for a few hrs a day before body breaks down . Plus it takes a while to adjust when getting out of bed . More info below)

She had a copy of my cv which  although 2 pages  long details my employment from leaving school in 1979 until 2016 when I made a life changing relocation .  She claims to have not received all of my cv .
What she did then was to refer me to national careers to update my cv . She did say that recruiters onky go back 10 years . My last position lasted 8 ( horrible job taken in last recession ) This entailed a call from an adviser there last Monday ...

The chap at national careeers went through the full hour going through everything . I had to decline apprenticeship as I'll be 60 this year
I had to speak up and tell him manual work  ( he was pushing Royal Mail and Warehouse  work ) is not possible anymore as I believe I can only do the hrs of 10am - 1pm and just putting my foot in the water . 

As I know that you cannot show negativity or I'd lose universal credit I did say perhaps working from home on the phone could possibly work . This with me having random speech impediment as in my case , myasthenia gravis was like recovering from a stroke ( droopy left eye / spoech impediment / joint and body pain etc ) .
This meant he put me forward for a digital course . I asked for information and he was a bit shady and said that details are on attachment in the action plan . When checking , I find that course was initially for tomorrow and that I had to apply by last weds which is cutoff point for tomorrow .  I was then given a phone call from a lady from jobskilla . She confirmed course details .

I check link last Tuesday and it I didn't work . I emailed the national careers chap who told me that there would be a  short maths , English and computer test to take within 40 mins . Not impressed ! I asked for appointment to be changed . It is now due next monday and will be 10am - 4pm with a free Amazon tablet upon completion . 

Looking at my illness , I don't know if I'll be capable due to the fluctuating health concerns . One day I'm ok, the next dreadful..

I did take computer test as instructed and replied to the stern impersonal email to tell them I completed test .

The concerns I have , is that I think this very ott for someone who was told I would not be forced into work . Plus the national careers chap will be contacting me this month , and probably  lomger until my next appointment with job coach in June . 

I have been referred to 'Ignite' also . 

I think partly this could be my fault as I'm so used to saying yes , and tbh I volunteered for this computer course etc when I'm not ready for employment imho .  

I believe that there is too much presssure and as mentioned it looks like if I don't keep up with their pace then sanctions or stopping u c altogether will follow . 

When making my life changing relocation in 2016 I knew I could only do part time waork at best . I applied for uc in 2018 and less than six months unemployed from 1979-2016 

Your thoughts ?

Thanks for reading this long post

another_casualty

Forgot to mention that this is my 2nd action plan.
I was with seetec pluss.. Due to their time constraints, covid and desperation in trying to find me something , I was relegated and then case closed and returned to job coach Feb last year .

Spoonie_Turtle

This isn't helpful to you right now but are you sure you don't meet any of the LCWRA criteria?  It goes by what you can do the majority of the time, and 3hrs of better functioning in a day is not the majority of the time.  Definitely something worth looking into once you've got this course fiasco sorted.

another_casualty

Thanks @Spoonie_Turtle
I was lucky to get the LCW  as when I was due to attend tribunal , the hearing was cancelled due to covid and the judge awarded me LCW for one year.  I was sent letter , plus note in my journal . I could have appealed but after going through the appeal process already to get that far , it seemed sensible to accept the decision. 

The decision was made in May 2020, and due to backlog etc I am expecting another assessment anytime . 

On a side note, I was never told by anyone in the job centre about PIP. 

Bizarrely enough, the chap at seetech plus mentioned it after a few appointments with him. I received the minimal payment there with no complaints . There should be a reassessment this year . 

Another point I think I should make , is that I do understand that I had to go to seetech and go with their action plan as I'm not on LCWRA. 

What I didn't expect was another action plan last Monday  . I was told by job coach it was advice about preparing / tidying up my cv . 

One other thing ; was that when I had my English/ Maths/Computer test last week , I was told on the generated impersonal email that it should take approx 20 mins to complete .
This was not the case ..

calcotti

another_casualty said:
On a side note, I was never told by anyone in the job centre about PIP. 

Unfortunately they are administrators, not advisers.

another_casualty

just updating the thread as I'm due to take digital course tomorrow at 10.00 am, and have a few concerns:

1) No contact since I replied to office administrator's  email confirming I have taken tests.
    Not sure if she got it , as I replied to her email and never sent a fresh one.
2) The Career and Skills ''Goal due" is 29/03/2022. What happens after that? 
    Considering my health condition/ age etc it is totally unrealistic imho
3) Going through the plan, the skills action plan customer charter adviser listed jobs I told him I cannot do and why not.
    He still put those jobs on there.
4) When discussing the action plan which I wasn't aware of, both the customer charter adviser and the person booking the course assumed I was at my computer when talking to them. I was not told by the job coach to be at my computer when I would be contacted by customer charter adviser, only that I would be getting a call from him to discuss cv
5) On the customer charter there is section 11 where I could make a written  complaint to the national careers service , which would be acknowledged within 3 working days and  a full response within 7 working days.
60 I haven't given feedback about my appointment ..yet. please see below..

I could go on . However, I guess it's probably best to contact the customer charter adviser by text early tomorrow.
(subject to how I feel that early)
I could leave my honest and mainly negative feedback, or complain.  However, would that make things worse?
My thinking is that it's probably best to mention all of this to the job coach in the follow up appointment with her in June.

I notice on the notes (national careers service only) that I'm on a priority group.
What is that?

Any more opinions welcome..

another_casualty

I decided to do the survey, and raised  main issues that concerned me. I printed it out for my records.
I agreed with one or 2 tick boxes ,and I was surprised that my full comment was allowed.
Hopefully , it won't end up making things worse. we'll see

another_casualty

Yesterday  I decided to send email to jobskilla and the customer charter adviser who started this action plan , advising them that I still haven't received remote enrolment  email( which I cannot take course without ) and asked them the best way forward.

After spending an anxious morning let alone the weekend , I receive an email at 09.14 this morning advising me that the course has been postponed until April . Once they get some new dates they will let me know . Shambolic . 

I didn't reply . 

Just before I received that email, I sent one to jobskilla voicing my concerns .
Also they want me to do the course on a pc with camera. I have an iPad ..