voluntary work

Crazydiamond wrote:

However, a claimant would have to be particularly wary about how voluntary work may impact on the WCA descriptors, especially those pertinent to mental health should they apply, which you have also alluded to in your post.

Especially if the voluntary work requires getting up, washed and dressed!

Anything else that it involves would be a bonus (to Atos)!

When I did voluntary work over ten years ago while claiming JSA I informed the Jobcentre (in those days they didn't have the plus, and can never understand how they achieved the plus!) verbally and often spoke about the voluntary work I was doing at Jobcentre interviews. But on one occasion my advisor told me that there was no record on my files of voluntary work. He didn't seem too fussed and didn't bother recording it after I made him aware.

Needless to say that it is essential to inform the DWP in writing of voluntary work and keep a copy as evidence.

It's quite unfortunate that ESA claimants who feel they may be able to start voluntary work to help themselves and help others need to worry about the impact it could have on their benefits.

Derek4 wrote:

Crazydiamond wrote:

However, a claimant would have to be particularly wary about how voluntary work may impact on the WCA descriptors, especially those pertinent to mental health should they apply, which you have also alluded to in your post.

When I did voluntary work over ten years ago while claiming JSA I informed the Jobcentre (in those days they didn't have the plus, and can never understand how they achieved the plus!).....

I can think of a much more appropriate four-letter word beginning with a 'p' and ending in 's' to add at the end of Jobcentre, but in the interests of decency I won't repeat it in the forum!

Please be extremely careful when considering voluntary work, especially if the claim is base d wholly or in part on mental health disability. This also applies to permitted work. Anything that indicates functioning despite a diagnosis renders the claimant vulnerable.
Practically anything you can think of can impinge on the assessment. Driving, using a computor, following Tv programmes, the list is just endless and LIMA and the healthcare professional just love it when you tell them things that mean 'functioning'

The danger with declaring voluntary work is just a special case of the way the ATOS assessment is run. They make MASSIVE ASSUMPTIONS about your level of ability and functioning based on the slightest thing.

So it's important to explain exactly what is involved, and what support you need to do the voluntary work, and that you can only do X amount each week, and if you did more it would have XYZ negative consequences for your health. You have to SPELL IT ALL OUT in order to head off the assumptions which the ATOS interviewer, the LiMA software and the DWP Decision Maker will automatically pile on at the slightest opportunity.