Experimenting with work and maintaining health

G8311374

Hello,

I am a disabled veteran with multiple chronic conditions mentally and physically. I have not worked for over a decade. I have been assessed by DWP and put in the Support group and I have been told that I will not be reassessed as whilst I have a very active mind and I am intelligent and able to do quite a bit albeit with adaptations in some cases, my ability to stay well enough for long enough to hold down a job is poor, which is very frustrating for me. I can’t envisage an employer flexible enough to allow me to create my own working hours and location ie able to work from home when I need to, and prepared to put up with multiple sick days which could amount to weeks in total over the year. I don’t want to get into a repetitive cycle of getting a job, leaving due to illness, reapplying for benefits, recovering, then finding a new job. I am in receipt of Universal Credit, contribution based ESA and PIP. I don’t think I can even do contractor work or have a small business like an ETSY craft shop.

Is there any way I can dip my toe in the water and see how I manage? I know I can apply and get a guaranteed interview for public service jobs because of my veterans status, so I would probably look there. I have a background in intelligence analysis and research but my skills are out of date and I do not have any qualifications that would attest to my level of skills.

Thanks

Marcon

G8311374 said:

Hello,

I am a disabled veteran with multiple chronic conditions mentally and physically. I have not worked for over a decade. I have been assessed by DWP and put in the Support group and I have been told that I will not be reassessed as whilst I have a very active mind and I am intelligent and able to do quite a bit albeit with adaptations in some cases, my ability to stay well enough for long enough to hold down a job is poor, which is very frustrating for me. I can’t envisage an employer flexible enough to allow me to create my own working hours and location ie able to work from home when I need to, and prepared to put up with multiple sick days which could amount to weeks in total over the year. I don’t want to get into a repetitive cycle of getting a job, leaving due to illness, reapplying for benefits, recovering, then finding a new job. I am in receipt of Universal Credit, contribution based ESA and PIP. I don’t think I can even do contractor work or have a small business like an ETSY craft shop.

Is there any way I can dip my toe in the water and see how I manage? I know I can apply and get a guaranteed interview for public service jobs because of my veterans status, so I would probably look there. I have a background in intelligence analysis and research but my skills are out of date and I do not have any qualifications that would attest to my level of skills.

Thanks

Could you try intermittent volunteering, which might give you an idea of how you'd cope with the demands of having to 'be somewhere' or 'do something' at a specific time, without the pressure of feeling you've let everyone down if your health issues overwhelm you from time to time? See https://www.gov.uk/government/get-involved/take-part/volunteer

I hope you'll find something you'll enjoy and that it might lead to paid employment in due course.

Jude57

G8311374 said:

Hello,

I am a disabled veteran with multiple chronic conditions mentally and physically. I have not worked for over a decade. I have been assessed by DWP and put in the Support group and I have been told that I will not be reassessed as whilst I have a very active mind and I am intelligent and able to do quite a bit albeit with adaptations in some cases, my ability to stay well enough for long enough to hold down a job is poor, which is very frustrating for me. I can’t envisage an employer flexible enough to allow me to create my own working hours and location ie able to work from home when I need to, and prepared to put up with multiple sick days which could amount to weeks in total over the year. I don’t want to get into a repetitive cycle of getting a job, leaving due to illness, reapplying for benefits, recovering, then finding a new job. I am in receipt of Universal Credit, contribution based ESA and PIP. I don’t think I can even do contractor work or have a small business like an ETSY craft shop.

Is there any way I can dip my toe in the water and see how I manage? I know I can apply and get a guaranteed interview for public service jobs because of my veterans status, so I would probably look there. I have a background in intelligence analysis and research but my skills are out of date and I do not have any qualifications that would attest to my level of skills.

Thanks

I'm sure you have some excellent transferable skills, even if they need some updating. You write extremely well for a start. That's a very useful skill.

Have you spoken to the Royal British Legion? Your local branch will be able to put you in touch with experts in getting ex-services personnel into civilian work and may be able to help you get your skills up to date too.

Public sector employers do tend to be very supportive of ex-services applicants and are generally also supportive of disabled candidates. Being larger employers, they have the infrastructure to support physical disability, which is a plus. However, you're right to be aware that disability isn't a guarantee that you wouldn't eventually fall foul of a sickness absence policy, putting you in the position you want to avoid. 

You could try contacting your local Council to see whether they have any schemes to help people with disabilities get back to work. My local Housing Association has such a scheme, not just for tenants, so check whether your local HA's have anything similar.

Have you spoken to an advisor at JobCentre Plus about your situation? They have specially trained officers dealing with disabled people and will know of any local training, potential local employers and what support you could get to help you into work. They should also know about local job fairs where employers will be looking for people to fill various roles.

I think the key thing to focus on at this point is finding work that you can cope with, perhaps building up over time. Have you thought whether part-time work could be a possibility for you? It could be the best solution in that you wouldn't have full-time hours to fulfil and something that you could do part-time from home could be ideal. You'd need to double check whether you could claim any additional benefits so that you don't end up financially worse off. Use entitledto.co.uk to check. Even as a first step back into employment, part-time work could be a useful barometer as to how you'd actually cope with working.

Don't discount your former colleagues as a source of support and information about jobs. Ex-services people tend to have extensive contacts, so use those, whether via RBL, SSAFA Forces Help or regimental associations. There's also the various unofficial websites like navynet or armyrumourservice. They're not for the fainthearted but I doubt you'd have any problems with the robust humour there and, that aside, they will certainly know what you're dealing with and may have some better suggestions for you.

I hope this is helpful. Good luck with your future job hunting.