Parents of severely disabled teen told to hunt for jobs he can’t do in 'nightmare' DWP battle
The parents of a severely disabled teenager have spoken out about their nightmare ordeal after being instructed to search for jobs their son is physically incapable of doing to satisfy DWP requirements.
Connor Donnelly from Mauchline in East Ayrshire is wheelchair-bound, blind, non-verbal and has minimal upper body stability following oxygen deprivation at birth. Since turning 18 and leaving Willowbank School in Kilmarnock in May, parents Steve, 46, and Helen, 44, say they have been forced into an ongoing struggle to prove he is unfit to work.
Because the family cannot take Connor to their local job centre, which lacks wheelchair access, they requested a face-to-face assessment. Despite this request, they claim they were instructed to continue searching for jobs on his behalf in the interim. Steve told the Record: "With Connor's disabilities every day is a challenge. You're having to fight for absolutely everything. We explained his complex needs and it just fell on deaf ears. The woman on the phone was saying he needs to stick to his commitments and do this and that. We're saying he's in a wheelchair and can barely sit up unaided. What they were asking him to do is a physical impossibility and what we've been put through is an absolute nightmare."
The requirements have hit the family "like a freight train," Steve said. The couple previously obtained court guardianship for Connor, valid for five years, and endured annual battles to retain his motability car. "His condition is not going to improve. As he's getting older it's getting more complex. It's not as if he is going to miraculously be able to walk one day. It's never going to happen," Steve explained.
Helen, Connor's carer and appointed representative, was given a commitment to spend two hours weekly searching for jobs. "If anyone had actually seen him we wouldn't have had to waste time doing this," the parents said. A single person under 25 receives £338.58 monthly in Universal Credit, with additional allowances available for those with health conditions affecting work ability.