Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello! After 29 years of unexplainable difficulties and eventual burn out, I'm currently going through the assessment process and I'm placed on a waiting list right now. I want to sign up to the job centre to claim job seekers allowance or universal credit but my question is, without the official diagnosis would they still make adjustments for me or allow me to join skills for work programmes? I haven't worked in a long time due to what I thought was some kind of chronic stress problem. I can't face going back to a normal job again without reasonable adjustments being made for my needs and sensory problems :( Does anyone have any advice or experience about benefits, job searching and autism? I'm so worried because the waiting lists can be like 20 months or more and if i need the paperwork and diagnosis before I can get support, I have no idea what to do until then Thank you!!
In my experience, I would say that it all depends on how understanding your work coach is. I was incredibly lucky to have an extremely understanding work coach, who seemed to go out of her way to avoid putting me in situations that might have an adverse effect on my mental and physical health. However, there did come a point when my work coach was having to act on orders from above.
What I discovered is that although the job centre does offer work programmes intended to help the long-term unemployed be 'work-ready' and seek employment, there can be a one-size-fits-all approach. Whilst their information often claims a person-centred approach, it can be completely different in reality. Last summer, I had been referred to the Work & Health Programme, which almost resulted in me having a breakdown. In addition to a one-size-fits-all approach, it soon became apparent that rather than working at the claimant's pace and what was comfortable for them, there was a deadline they were working to. I couldn't cope, so was eventually persuaded by my work coach to request a Work Capability Assessment.
Now, I'm not suggesting that it would be the same for you if you were to apply for Universal Credit, but I do think it's something you should bear in mind.
I think most, if not all job centres have a disability advisor, so you could always try asking if it's possible to make an appointment to speak with them. However, as you haven't actually made an application yet to claim Universal Credit, I feel the chances of the job centre agreeing to that are likely to be slim.