Hi, Please can anyone help me? i left my job back in july and since then i have been claiming JSA ,housing benefit and council tax benefit. Just recently i have been told that my JSA will not be paid any longer due to the reoson why i left my job, wich was on the grounds that i was depressed and stressed as i was and had been working in a call centre for 2 years. The company at the time were looking at redundancy and i felt they were trying to make the work place as uncomfortable as possible to make people leave. Anyhow i rent my own flat and run a car and i have only just turned 21, i now have no income and am not sure on what to do next?? However ,there is more.... 2 years ago i was caught up in a road accident and was run over this left me hospital bound for 2 week and in a wheel chair for 6 months, the car hit me at 40 mph and the driver has been found guilty in court. Now though i am left with a limp and i am limited to what i can do, i cannot stand or walk for more than half an hour, so a labouring job or warehouse job or working in retail is out of the question. - I suffer from asthma but due to stress and depression from the call centre i took up smoking (i know the 2 do not combine very well) this made my asthma 10 times worse. I also do not want to go into a call centre job as before i was working to pay my rent,car and bills without not even 50p left and this was getting me down, to a degree that i know longer wanted to carry on. Now with no income i am really struggling i cannot get a job because of what i can do? i recently saw i doctor and told her all this and she adv she would not issue me with as i can work just only to a certain degree. Wich does not help as work itself is crucial at the minute never mind having to find a job that fits your needs. I have rung the jobcentre but everytime i do they pass me on to the next person and nobody has a clue they have sent me a package out to claim hardship payment but this is no good as this is not enough to live. i could claim DLA but this means they would send the package out for me to fill in and send back but how long is that going to take. I am seeing an independant doctor next month to assess my injury to see if this is a permanent disability as i currently have a claim going through the solicitors fighting this guys car insurance but this is not a speedy process. i have had several hospital check ups for my ankle in the past 2 years and have one in march but i am in need of help?? I have been told if my claim goes through for my injurys of a a 6 cm gash to the head,a twisted left knee cap,loss of earning,and a shattered ankle with 2 nails going through and a steel wire wrapped round my ankle (inside the joint) i might be looking at ￡50,000 + ... but not sure! please i need some answers and help quick Thankyou.

Do you mean that your JCP claim has been sanctioned? If so, for how long? If you have no other household income or savings you should apply for the hardship rate. From the information given I doubt very much that you would qualify for any disability benefits. Perhaps you need to focus on the positives, what you can do, rather than the negatives.

Thanks, I have been given the forms for hardship payment and yes it has been sanctioned until march next year. Only problem is its not enough, i can look forward to the future because as i said im looking at quite a large pay out and wanting to turn my life around, if next month the independant doctor does confirm it will be a perm disability i may be able to claim DLA but need something for now... im wanting to work, but my injury does not allow me to any kind of labouring work. The future is bright for me, but i need something for now. ive been looking at things like incapacity or income support but dont really understand them ,as i said the jobcentre dont seem to want to help..

If the GP thinks that you are fit for work, you will not get ESA (the new name for Incapacity). There are still endless jobs that you can do. You need to take advice on DLA, because being unable to stand for more than half an hour will not qualify you. The disability required has to be significantly worse. The hard truth is that you should not have quit your job, and for this reason you are not entitled to any more than you are getting. You need to find another job as quickly as possible.

why dont you contact Remploy about vancancies, Up here in Scotland they help people find jobs suitable for those with learning difficulties, disabilities and or health problems that may make it harder for them getting employment.

I agree that you're unlikely to get any disability benefits from what you've told us. You really should look at the things you can do; there are many more jobs other than labouring, warehouse and working in a call centre!

Thankyou for replying, I think what im going to do is claim for this hardship payment and get the forms to appeal against the sanction. I plan to get my compo through and start a career for life (do not know how long this will take as already been going on a year). Next month im having a medical examination from a private independant doctor as this will asses on how much the claim will be if this comes out it will be a permo disability ive been adv to claim dla as i will be classed as partially disabled. As for there being plenty of jobs out there, it is really difficult to find something apart from callcentre,warehouse or retail work, anything where i cannot stand. There are receptionist jobs but compared to others going for the job a 21 year old lad with no qualifications in my eyes hasnt got as good a chance than someone with experience in there mid 30's or 40's..

You do understand that not all call centres are the same? You may enjoy working in another call centre. Also, your independent assessment is nothing to do with DLA - this is assessed on very different criteria. There is no national standard now for what 'disabled' means, it depends on in what context you are using the term.

I can only send off for DLA forms and wait for an answer back, Well i used to work for t-mobile and hated it for the pure fact of the constant complaints. I understand most people dislike there job but this was to a degree that i would do anything to avoid going. Also disliked the people i was working with. Sorry but after working in there 2 years i now see all call centres as being complaints,stress and working with people that are really up each others ......... . I know theres other jobs but being realistic i stand a really slim chance ive only worked in 1 call centre since i was 17 and have no other experience and no qualifications and the only skills i have is what ive picked up on in the call centre. Ive always enjoyed getting my hands dirty but now wih my ankle in the state it is i am unable to do that line of work.

You are wrong about call centres, for every bad one there will be a good one. You really need to start looking at what you can do, and not what you can't. You also need to differentiate between what you cannot do, and what you do not want to do. You are not in a position to refuse work just because you don't fancy it.

I am wanting to work! however you are correct i am not wanting to work in a call, but is that it is that all i can do a call centre job?? is that my life for the next 40 or 50 years?? surely i would be able to claim something such as dla. I know people that are on low band dla but still work on there feet wich i believe is allowed. you are still able to work while claiming dla. The fact of being unable to enjoy my life or play any sports and being adv that callcentre work is the only kind of work i can do or is the core line of work i can do really stresses me, i find this unfair to say i didnt cause this myself. This is why im claiming compo witch with my own natural skills i plan to start tattooing and open my own studio. Surely you would have thought because im not available for all kinds of work there would be an option to claim something.

When your compensation comes through, it might be worth using that to fund some retraining to improve your position; you could use the rest of this academic year to research your interests and investigate what work is available to you locally and what you will be able to do physically. There's no reason to assume that you'll always have to work in a call centre (I do agree that they're not all awful, by the way) but, at the moment, this seems to be the likeliest work that you'll be able to get if you can't do something more physical.

You need to start doing some sort of re-training for yourself to improve your job prospects and quality of life. Do not write yourself off to a lifetime of benefits at such a young age. Have you considered studying with The Open University and going for a qualification. There's lots of funding going as well for someone in your position. Good luck, there is a life after call centre work.

im wanting to start tattooing, as i said the futures bright i plan to be self employed in the future with the compensation i recieve. Maybe looking for employment until i get my compo is the only option. Really wanting to avoid callcentres though and i dont want to write myself off to benefits but i also do not want to write myself off to call centres. I just find it very unfair that the core line of work i can do is call centre work i even though of getting a labouring job or a job on my feet and just constantly taking pain killers to see if this works just to avoid call centres but i understand that this is no way to live your life. It looks like the only answer ive got so far though is to work in a call centre, is there no other option?? i agree there are other jobs i can do such as receptionist jobs or admin jobs but i think you would agree that i stand i slim chance of getting the job compared to others.

If you got bills to pay does it matter where you work? Loads of people go to work everyday in boring depressing jobs, but at least the money is coming in. If you plan to open a tattoo parlour then it will only be a short term fix for you to work in a call centre. Surely you can manage that.

That is a good way to look at it. To do it just until it ties me over.... i may actually consider that. At least if it gets me down i can cheer myself up by thinking ts only short term. Thankyou

I would highly recommend spending a few hours on MSE (and other websites) researching DLA. I imagine you will be very surprised at how difficult it is to even receive a lower rate award. I spent several years working in call centres, and eventually became a trainer. At the same time I got a degree, and now work on a consultancy basis with small businesses. Though my present work has nothing to do with call centres, I still use the skills that I developed in that environment today. As I said, focus on the positive, not the negative.

Worth bearing in mind that many shops are now recruiting for the Christmas period and this could well be one of the things you could look at and a way to apply your sales skills, away from a call centre.

Hi everyone, thankyou for your replies, Earlier today i recieved some pretty good news!!, i was contacted by my solicitor about my current claim for compensation. I was told that my insurance are paying me an interim payment of a ￡1000. They also have accepted 50% liability as the driver of the car has made up a story that i was drunk and jumped in front of his car?? This is utter rubbish,he made this story up in court and got found guilty as i had 3 witnesses all saying that this was not the case. However the solicitor now has to get in contact with the courts to ask for the files containing the witness statements. At least this ￡1000 will see me over the xmas season and cover bills for the next couple of months as i will still be recieving my housing benefit..

How did the job centre findout that you had quit your job now, 3months after you had left it?? :S I thought that they contact your last employer when you 1st sign on and ask them why you left the job??