Does leaving a job, when you believe you're going to be fired, affect benefit eligibility?

Shadweller

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81952380#Comment_81952380

You don't have to make it about adjustments under the equality act due to a disability. That is very high risk.

It can just be a stand alone statement or request as to how a person can do their best work. This is much less risky, and stands a chance of being tried.

Full disclosure is not necessary.

Unless you have nothing to lose and are going to be fired anyway, if they are not agreeing to the requested adjustment, provided it is a reasonable request.

Spoonie_Turtle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81952385#Comment_81952385

These are two different issues I think.

1. You can simply request something which acts as an accommodation, without giving the reason why - low risk, lower probability of 'reward' i.e. them saying yes.

2. Requesting accommodations under the Equality Act 2010 which gives you a legal basis and they have to give you a good reason if they want to deny them. Higher risk if it doesn't work out, but potentially higher likelihood of 'reward' because you have a legal basis for your request, and with everything in writing they can't simply say no like they can with option 1.

I do understand that there is a risk, in reality, of people being 'managed out' after disclosing a disability such as autism. But really at this point it doesn't sound like you have anything left to lose - and if you've tried, properly, to request accommodations, and it doesn't work out, it will help your case if you do end up fired and have to claim benefits. On the other hand, potentially it might end up not only helping you keep your job but helping you to feel more comfortable there if you're able to work in a way that better suits your brain.

TELLIT01

If you quit your job voluntarily you are almost certain to be sanctioned on UC. If you are sacked, the reason for the sacking will be relevant. If it's on the basis that you are unable to work to an acceptable standard i.e. can't achieve the levels set in a PIP, you may not be sanctioned.

Better to wait to see what actually happens.

Altior

I like to think of autism as a positive. It depends where you are on the spectrum, but it has made me who I am, faults and all. And I obviously recognise the tendency to overthink!

It costs a fortune to get rid of people, especially after two years. It's ordinarily not a go to option but a last resort. I am someone who has in the past had to make those decisions. One can't generalise, and folk do sometimes get 'managed out' of the business. But these tend to be the people that are next to useless, and cause you endless headaches, people who know what they are doing and set out to make your life difficult. Performance plans can actually be effective, and for most of my people I wanted to genuinely help them get better. As a leader my job was to give people confidence in their abilities, whilst having their backs in 'public'.

Without being close to your own situation, it's hard to know exactly where you're at. But going on a performance plan isn't in of itself, death row. And it's highly unlikely to be due your different ways of thinking, or else you would not survived 2+ years. Your leaders though should ideally be making the best of your additional skills (which you probably have, and should try to embrace). Quite often you get pressure from up above as a leader, and if you aren't meeting your own performance objectives, they will be expecting the front line's performance to be 'managed'. The pain can get passed down (it's not a good way to manage in my view).

Maybe concentrate on what you can control, rather than what you can't. In your heart of hearts, is there any way that you feel you can improve performance for yourself? One of the drawbacks of being autistic I find is setting your standards and objectives too high. Are you putting too much pressure on yourself? Can you narrow down your KPIs and concentrate on ones that you know you can nail? Achieve something that will stand out in a positive way?

huckster

3 month sanction for leaving voluntarily is most applied when no reasonable basis for leaving has been given.

If someone has diagnosed health conditions and they were worried about how they were performance managed, without having disclosed the health conditions to employers due to perceived discrimination, I don't believe a UC Decision Maker would apply a sanction due to voluntarily leaving. This is providing the health conditions were declared on UC claim and enough information was provided about reasons for leaving.

I would have to say that I find it really disappointing that someone with diagnosed health conditions is afraid to disclose to their employers due to fear of discrimination. I thought the world had progressed to the point, where there were very few employers who discriminated against disabled people.

I think the OP should consider giving the employers the chance to prove they don't discriminate and will try to help.

Shadweller

"I would have to say that I find it really disappointing that someone with diagnosed health conditions is afraid to disclose to their employers due to fear of discrimination. I thought the world had progressed to the point, where there were very few employers who discriminated against disabled people."

I agree, but find it a lot more than disappointing. From what I have gathered it's still a common everyday experience for neurodivergent people to face things like having their job offers revoked, after declaring their Autism.

Attitudes to conditions like Autism are akin to what they were towards the LGBT community around 50 years ago it seems to me. I have seen the huge transformation in those during my lifetime.

I whole heartedly believe we have that far to go and to catch up regarding extremely poorly understood conditions like Autism.

I doubt if it'll fully happen before I'm retired and out of the workforce. But despite everything I have hope and optimism that things will improve in time. Things that could help would be more celebrities etc 'coming out' regarding their Autism for example. Things like that can help a great deal in shifting public perceptions and understanding.

Altior

I don't see the logic in that, why would someone 'declare' autism between receiving a job offer and starting it? Makes no sense. Should go without saying but a lot of what you might read online is exaggerated for effect, chasing clicks or outright lies. No established employer is going to risk reversing a job offer if they identify the candidate has autism, and inform them that's why.

We are where are nowadays and people lying and exaggerating to get what they want is a very real thing. It's not straightforward for an employer to distinguish someone just making stuff up or exaggerating to get out of certain tasks or shifts vs someone who has genuine issues. You do get people who say 'I have autism' (or x or y) so you must do what I want. Well, it doesn't quite work like that.

It also goes without saying that I'm not stating you are someone leveraging it for your advantage, but plenty do. This is the reality of the modern world.

TELLIT01

I'm not suggesting that the OP is not on the autistic spectrum and that their life is affected by it.

The problem seems to be that almost everybody could find something on the autistic spectrum which applies to them but has absolutely no effect on their day to day life. The same could be said of ADHD.

Both are being abused by some to their own advantage and having a damaging effect on the support provided for those who really need it.

I use myself as an example. One of the markers for autism is "Deep, specialised knowledge in a specific topic". I have always enjoyed gardening but when younger was fascinated by roses and could name any variety shown to me from various books on the subject. Fun but no effect in wider life.

For ADHD, symptoms include 'easily distracted, daydreaming'. Tell me what person of any age can't identify with both of them as one time or another. I know I used to spend more time looking out of the window during Religious Education and English Literature, than listening to the teacher. ADHD or just a boring subject to me?

Spoonie_Turtle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81952966#Comment_81952966

Diverging from the point of the thread but that's why there are sets of criteria for any diagnosis. For autism, for ADHD, for dyslexia, for chronic pain syndromes, for hypermobility syndromes - for anything that doesn't have a single definitive clinical test. Even things like autoimmune diseases and MND. People might say 'well those, you either have them or you don't' but the same is true for neurodivergences - either your brain is wired that way or it's not, for example you're either on the autistic spectrum or you're not.

unforeseen

I had to go through a 3 hour 'interview' with a clinical psychologist and MHN before I got my ASD diagnosis.

It not just a set of criteria but also a questionnaire that needs to be completed followed by a face to face assessment