Is it just me...

[Anonymouse]

...or are we in the UK heading for a state in which the only criterion for being fit for work is to be alive? I offer the latest Budget "reforms" (trans.: cuts) to various benefits as evidence.

To sum up for anyone who hasn't read my earlier posts:

On May 5th 2022 I had a stroke. I am still recovering. The right side of my face feels constantly taut; I suspect nerve damage. I am very unsteady on my feet. This is at least partly due to the Ramipril I'm taking for my high blood pressure; it's a side-effect. But since high blood pressure tends to cause strokes, and given that the odds are against me surviving another one, if it's unsteadiness on my feet or high BP, I know which bet I'll take.

Plus I get very tired, very easily, very quickly. Just a trip to my local Lidl, a mere 200 yards or so, does me in, so what I'd be like working I can easily imagine. After a trip to, say, the chemist for my prescription, or to the DWP (I try to combine the two to save money), I'm fit for nowt for a couple of hours. To cap it all off, my right hand is almost useless owing to arthritis; I can't make a fist.

At least one of my eyedrops (Azarga, to treat my glaucoma) is a beta-blocker, which tends to preclude operating heavy machinery. With my right hand seized up, I wouldn't trust myself with a forklift or a Pedestrian Pallet Truck (I was going to do a PPT course, but then the stroke happened and I was hospitalised for a month).

I tend to walk, or rather stagger, as if I were drunk, though I haven't had a drink - or caffeine, or chocolate - in years, as I tend to get heartburn. I cut all three out of my diet and I haven't had it since. I neither know nor care which was causing it (well, not strictly true, I do miss chocolate...).

I can no longer ride my bike. I don't dare - apart from the tiredness issue, there's the unsteadiness issue. I've been off my bike too often already even before the stroke.

Despite all this, the DWP reckons I'm fit for, and I quote, "some sort of work". They haven't said what sort. The last fit note I submitted was not accepted, because it didn't say I'd gotten worse...though in fact I think I have.

See what I mean about fitness criteria?

Doubtless some of you on this board are or have been employers. My half-sister, rest her soul, was for years, and when I asked her if she would take me on, she told me she wouldn't - the liability would be too high. I agree.

She and I never got on as kids, it's true (she was 10 years older than me), but in her last decade or so we reached a modus vivendi and got on quite well. So I knew she'd give me an unbiased opinion despite us being half-siblings. She was always a no-nonsense sort (well, at her funeral I learned to my total surprise that before I got to secondary school she was quite the tearaway, but not when I knew her!). She told me not to bother looking for work.

To be honest, I wouldn't take on a stroke survivor either. I don't believe there's a single employer in the UK which could afford the lawsuit my other half-sister (11 years older) could bring if I died on shift. Could the employer prove the job didn't kill me? I don't think so.

The only reason I'm looking is to be a good little boy by the DWP's lights and thus retain my Universal Credit. In the unlikely event I get an interview, I intend to be honest with the prospective employer. Under the terms of the Health & Safety At Work Act (1974), I believe I should. The employer should be aware before I start work that there are issues. H & S applies to all employees 24/7. So they need to know.

So what do you think, peeps? Am I "fit for work"?

[Taf]

"Fitness for work" is akin to the length of a piece of string. Our twins were assessed by a DWP person who had been a professional Carer. She knew what they could possibly do, both physically and mentally, but erred on the side of not putting them into work that could cause them harm, anxiety or distress.

And yesterday, up popped Tony Bliar saying that Disability Payments should not be doled-out to people just because they might get anxious.

That is the first shot across the bow I reckon. Full scale war against the disabled will appear soon enough "to save money".

[ianch99]

Originally Posted by Taf

"Fitness for work" is akin to the length of a piece of string. Our twins were assessed by a DWP person who had been a professional Carer. She knew what they could possibly do, both physically and mentally, but erred on the side of not putting them into work that could cause them harm, anxiety or distress.

And yesterday, up popped Tony Bliar saying that Disability Payments should not be doled-out to people just because they might get anxious.

That is the first shot across the bow I reckon. Full scale war against the disabled will appear soon enough "to save money".

I think most people would agree with Blair as his statement stands. Certainly most/all of the right of centre parties would. I would not conflate a conversation to try and identify the real needs from those who may not require the same help as "war on the disabled".

[peanut]

I could see a GP today and say I'm feel a bit down and suffer from anxiety. And I'm sure within minutes I'd be prescribed anti depressants. Then I can say I have mental health issues and suffer from depression and anxiety and then claim for it. - This is what's gone wrong.

I hate to agree with Blair, but he is right, you can’t go and get a friendly GP to agree you’re ‘anxious’ and use that as a pretext to get benefits instead of working.

As this relates to the OP, the question is what work you’re skilled and or experienced for and how far you’re physically fit to do it. As they have ruled you are fit for some work you have little choice at this point. You are going to have to look hard at everything you could do, whether it’s stuff you have previously done, and see what’s out there. Not ideal, I know, but I understand, and agree with, the general principle that work is better for your health than worklessness, and if there’s something you can productively do, you should do it.

[Mr K]

Think there's a difference between being a 'bit anxious', and being disabled as a result of a stroke. Do what the DWP say and tick all their boxes which is all they care about. Seems to me they don't actively do much in terms of actually helping you get a job/skills these days. It's just targets, seeing if they can get you on anything to get you off the list.

We're an ageing an increasingly non productive nation now. Our main industries nail bars and coffee shops, that's not the unemployed's fault.

[TheDaddy]

I'm sure it used to say on the form, do not assume you're entitled to this benefit even if you are missing 1,2,3,4 or even five limbs, going by that alone I'd say even being alive may have always not necessarily been vital

[peanut]

I heard from somewhere that if you can lick a stamp you can work...

To claim ESA it is all about your illness / disability. To qualify for PIP it's not about your illness or disability but the care and extra help you need to live with those illness's / disabilities.

They also go by evidence which is key to getting the right help. Without it they'll dismiss anything and everything you say unless there is evidence.

To say you've 'had' a stroke which is bad in itself, 'had' is a word they'll judge you by. If you've been checked over since and things are still not good then you should have reports saying this. These reports are what they go by. Then you can say things that would be based around the report which will have to be taken into account.

It's all crap at the end of the day. You have to jump through hoops to help yourself. Do nothing and expect the worse. You've got to prove to them beyond means and fight your own corner.

[Taf]

"Work from Home" has opened the doors to the DWP to get many disabled into work and off State Benefits.

[Hom3r]

The DWP are parasites.

When my dad died I notified them to cancel my carers allowance which was done, but they still removed the money from my UC money (CA comes out of your UC payment an they give a top up payment).

So I was £100 down on that money, after many phone calls it was sorted.

Now for a second time they want the last 4 months of banks statements, this is to see how much is being paid in, they don't care that I'm paying out £200+ more than I get in as it's not there problem.


They keep saying what about being a carer, despite me saying I had no choice in caring for my dad, as they would have taken the house and made me homeless as "not there problem" they would just want the money for his care bill.

[Anonymouse]

Thanks, everyone, but...this wasn't what I was looking for. Again, would you consider me employable? From an employer's POV, forget the damn know-nothing DWP. Maybe I should've posted a poll.

[peanut]

Originally Posted by Anonymouse

Thanks, everyone, but...this wasn't what I was looking for. Again, would you consider me employable? From an employer's POV, forget the damn know-nothing DWP. Maybe I should've posted a poll.

I probably say yes. Because there must be something you can do. This is just based on the very limited amount of information I've got. This is how the DWP works.

If I had more information, an assessment maybe. More details and reports from your GP and consultants. Reports of your day to day life etc, then maybe I could say different.

Bottom line is, it's not what we say, it's the information and evidence you give that decides and then it's assessed.

Whether you'd find gainful employment, well that's a different matter. You will have to meet their requirements which is a job in itself.

Originally Posted by Anonymouse

Thanks, everyone, but...this wasn't what I was looking for. Again, would you consider me employable?

Given you can post on a forum, the answer would have to be yes.

[Anonymouse]

I reiterate: I am not safe at work.

Firstly, you have not made any such statement previously, so you cannot be reiterating it.

Secondly, unless you are not "safe" at home, then you can be safe at work - its called Working from Home, something I do every day.
I work Monday - Friday, on a computer, at home. You seem capable of using a computer, so IMO, the answer remains Yes, you are employable.