DWP training scheme led to the bullying and harassment of Autistic man

My name is Sean Armstrong and I am a young disabled/Autistic man living in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. I have had experience of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefit system since the age of eighteen.

I’ve lived with mild cerebral palsy from birth, and dyscalculia. The latter is similar to dyslexia – only it impacts me working with numbers instead of letters. Recently, I was diagnosed with autism. To me, it explained a lot about my behavior. If I don’t like something, I tend to show it.

Finding work as an autistic disabled man

Over the years, I have had many interviews with many companies and agencies, but the majority haven’t offered me employment. They have always given me the same excuse. They’ve repeatedly told me that I do well conducting myself in the interviews – I answer all of the questions confidently and competently – however, they cannot offer me the role because I lack experience. The question is, how the devil are you supposed to get the experience if no-one gives you a chance?

To gain experience I have had odd jobs. However, these haven’t led to much. They have mainly been in call centres. These tasked me with stupid sales targets for booking as many customers appointments over the phone as possible. The pushy, manipulative nature of sales doesn’t come naturally to me. So unfortunately, due to this, these have lasted a month at most.

I grew tired of going to jobs which are unsupportive or unrealistic, and going for interviews for roles which I had no chance of getting.

Discrimination on the government Remploy programme

In 2014, I found myself on Remploy’s books. The training provider found me a placement at the Community Recycling Consortium (CRC). This was an organisation which offered volunteering and employment experience to disabled people who lived with mental health issues.

As an admin volunteer for many organisations, I have had many years of experience typing letters, dealing with paperwork, and meeting customers in person and over the phone. Therefore, I did quite well with this placement, and the CRC offered me a job as an Admin Apprentice level two.

This however, was a lie. All it involved was manning the phones and calling businesses to ask them if they were willing to donate any sort of IT or other used electrical equipment. In reality, there was no admin in the role besides creating a table as a record for the businesses which I spoke to.

Worse still was the fact that one of the directors and a manager would often bully me and subject me to disability discrimination. He regularly made comments on my telephone manner. But during my time working in call centres, nearly every member of staff had commented on how professional I sounded to customers over the phone. On top of this, the director and my manager would mock my dyscalculia.

The manager would walk into the office every morning saying verbal obscenities, which really put me off work.

However, it wasn’t only verbal bullying and harassment. The company also discriminated against me in my pay. As a result of the bullying, I took a few days off sick. When I returned the following week, the company paid me £25 for my entire weekly wage. The pay there was just £99 a week, cash-in-hand.

The following week, I left the job.

When I made a complaint to Remploy about the company, they closed ranks. My work coach took CRC’s side and it went no further.

The DWP Work Programme and Restart Scheme

The following year, I asked the Job Centre if they could help find me an administration training course. I was keen to do one to increase my chances of finding and securing work. And in March of that year, they found me one with my local college. By April, I had passed my City and Guilds Level Two in Business Administration.

Unfortunately however, it didn’t help me secure employment. Like before, I had many interviews, but all without success.

That was when the DWP put me onto the government’s Work Programme. I participated in this for a full year from September 2017. This was just more job searching and interviews, but still no work. I found the scheme hopeless as no member of staff would help.

Then, in August 2023, the DWP put me on the government’s Restart Scheme. Again, like the scheme before, this one was hopeless. Once more, all this involved was more job searching. I found one work coach very patronising. She would always tell me that I shouldn’t give up in looking for work, but then tell me that they couldn’t convince employers to offer me a role in this short period of time. By August 2024, I was glad to leave the scheme – which had utterly failed to help me find work.

DWP benefit system: not fit for purpose for disabled and autistic people

My experiences within the DWP’s benefit system, and on its work programmes, have only made it harder for me to return to employment.

Now, I am focusing on my writing and photography. I have been working on a 13-book series of young adult Science Fiction novels since 2019. Currently on my final manuscript, I’m looking for an agent to represent them. I also have dreams of pursuing a role in public speaking for disabled/autistic people.

I’m currently claiming Universal Credit, and the Jobcentre continues to pressure me to look for work.

The system for benefits has failed disabled and autistic people like me. It’s therefore not fit for purpose. The government needs to change it, in order to help disabled and autistic people to find employment which is right for them.

Featured image via the Canary