I’m a carer looking after my mother who has dementia she is bedbound,I look after the house and garden,cook and feed mum and have to hold and offer her drinks.
I have had a letter from the job centre today saying titled “Helping you prepare for work” "come and meet your work coach!
“We want to help you prepare for work when you are ready to do so,that’s why we are setting up a meeting with one of our work coaches”
I have been getting carers allowance for 3 years and the job centre used to ring me at home to speak to me,I haven’t heard from them in a long time though,at the end of the day,I’m hoping to look after my mum at home until end of life so I have no idea how long I will be a carer,my circumstances haven’t changed,and I’m annoyed that they are expecting me to travel to the job centre and spend an hour talking about what I could over the phone,it will take me an hour to get there and an hour back,I don’t want to leave my mum for that long,can anyone tell me if it’s possible to avoid one of these meetings and ask to do it over the phone?
Hi Mark.
From elsewhere on this site … CUK on job centre requests :
Thinking of returning to work? | Carers UK
__
Work focused interviews / work related activity.
Sometimes carers who are in receipt of Income Support or Employment and Support Allowance (in the Work Related Activity Group) may be asked to take part in work focused interviews (WFIs) and undertake work related activity (WRA).
This information applies to people living in England, Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland.
I think sometimes a personal touch helps.
I was in the same position, I was asked to take three forms of ID which, I didn’t have to my local jobcentre,
I phoned the job centre and explained my situation. The Man on the end of the phone was big enough to say they had made a mistake and I didn’t have to attend…
In no way or form can anyone expect you to think about work while you are still a carer.
Edited by moderator, please refer to Community Guidelines
Hi thanks for your response,I rang the call centre on Thursday and they said that the person that I had the appointment with would call me that day or by Friday so I could ask them about going to see them,but they haven’t rang yet,it has left me feeling unsettled,this is already way above the hours of a full time job,so they have a cheek expecting me to talk about work,I hope it’s just a standard letter and I can speak to somebody with some empathy