Can Jobcentre remove certain jobs from my work search commitments?

[careassistantjobs]

Can I have a certain type of work removed from my work search commitments?

I’m being pushed into applying for care assistance jobs and this is something I am not prepared to do. I have explained to my work coach but they are saying I have to take their recommendation to start applying for these types of jobs as well as I’ve not been successful so far and need to widen my job searches.

i have requested a GP letter detailing why I can’t do this type of work (severe sensory issues and phobias due to autism) and I’m hoping that will be enough?

Has anyone else been through this ? I feel they aren’t being understanding at all. I have limitations and I’m trying my best but there are some things I just can’t do, or do they just expect me to apply with no intention of doing it to fill the work search hours ? But if I was offered a job and declined I would be sanctioned ?

About Disability Employment Advisors

So you are just ticking enough boxes to keep the handouts.

"Physical disabilities would be different due to the lifting etc but I don't see why ASD would preclude care work for most people"

And this isn't some obscure theoretical issue that nobody has thought about before.
The fact that the Autism Act 2009 was the first disability-specific piece of legislation in England tells you something about how significant the barriers faced by autistic people were understood to be. The Act led to the development of the adult autism strategy and statutory guidance for local authorities and the NHS, and employment has been a specific part of that strategy.

Then we have the Buckland Review of Autism Employment, which was specifically commissioned to look at the barriers autistic people face in securing and sustaining employment. It found that autistic people face barriers around recruitment, interviews, unclear processes, sensory environments, social expectations and, importantly, maintaining employment once they actually get the job. The review says many autistic employees do not receive the support or adjustments they need to fulfil their role in inaccessible sensory and social environments.

And Access to Work exists partly because disabled people can have additional costs and support needs associated with working. For autistic people, that can include workplace assessments, support workers, specialist aids and equipment and support with travel. The Buckland Review specifically recommended making sure autistic people know about Access to Work and improving the programme.
So when we're talking about an autistic person struggling in a care role, why are we acting as though this is some bizarre concept that needs explaining from scratch?

Yes, that is what everyone on UC does. You comply with your commitments, reply to journal messages, submit any info they require, notify of changes in savings etc and then you continue to get your payment every AP.

She is doing what is being asked of her, and has said she often does more.
She is allowed a life outside of jobseeking too.

OP committed the sin of 1. Being unemployed 2. Daring to claim benefits and 3. Being a adult autistic. So apparently it's open day for unhelpful ableist comments.

Quite!

So if everything is going fine, what's actually the problem?

That would make two of us then.

However they don't (or shouldn't) waive DBS checks because it might upset people.

It’s because although I’ve met the requirements I’m not getting to even interview stage

I think there's three strands to this. Firstly, phobias don't have to be permanent. I wanted to be a nurse and decided to get care experience. I have ASD (undiagnosed at the time) and a very strong gag reflex. When I first started on a care home, we had a lady who could vomit at will. If you said something, did something, or tried to get her to do something she didn't like, she'd vomit. Her vomiting triggered me to vomit. But I learned techniques for dealing with it. Initially, I had to actually talk to myself. I would literally say "Lougle, you're going to take a deep breath, go in the room, count to 5, then you can leave." So I'd go in the room, do part of the clean up job, count to 5 as I did it, and leave to 'get some bits'. It got better. I still gag on occasion, but I can do it. Similarly, phlegm and snot can trigger a gag reflex.

The second strand, is that nobody should be caring unwillingly. It's hard enough to care well when you have a heart for it but I've witnessed plenty of disgruntled and even cruel care. It's a vocation.

Thirdly, if you have genuine limitations to the kind of work you can do due to disability (and sensory issues linked to ASD come under this bracket) then you need to declare it and submit fit notes that say you are limited, then complete a Work Capability Assessment. I doubt you'd be considered to have Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity, but you could be considered to have Limited Capability for Work, which would allow the scope to be altered.

Requirements as in? Most jobs have a person and job specification with Essential and Desirable criteria. Every application needs to address these and even two apparently similar roles may differ. If you are not making the first sift(often AI based looking for the relevant key words in the specs) then you are not meeting those requirements, either by omission or because you do not demonstrate the basic qualifications and experience requested.

@careassistantjobs

Which of your previous jobs did you enjoy most, OP?

What do you already have as qualifications?

She means the jobcentre requirement to spend 35 hours a week "looking for work".

You don't want an interview for care work anyway though so why does it matter if you apply to care jobs?

So it’s a lifestyle choice for you and not a safety net then?! The country cannot afford to keep bankrolling millions of people to choose to be unemployed…

Many carers do not do jobs that involve physical care... My dads heated up food served it and washed dishes/put in dishwasher, put laundry on , changed bed , hung laundry put it away etc...yhat sort of thing
I think after a year of looking you need to stretch your zone of roles

How is OP "choosing" to be unemployed? She is applying for jobs!

I do think it depends what jobs. Talking generally, not about @careassistantjobs specifically, a job coach will want to see evidence that the jobs applied for are realistically achievable.

She is "applying" for jobs. The tone of her messages is she doesn't actually want to get one of those jobs.....

Well it won’t, will it? Anyone who thinks benefits will continue in their current form is living in cloud cuckoo land

You would be wearing gloves so not direct touch but I understand. How about cleaning in a care home?

What she is saying - is out of all the jobs out there and there are lots of fields of work - does she have to look for care jobs when she happily will apply for a variety of other roles

Except she's not got any of those other jobs in a year. Which we're all paying for.

Surely you need to just do whatever is out there?