Yes, I'm keeping an eye on the latest vacancies. Oddly now seems like an apposite time as there are fewer vacancies to track. Of course there are way more people chasing them, but that's another discussion. So many of these vacancies are for work in the medical community. These are clearly being copy-pasted onto the governments JC+ site. Someone is clearly being tasked with this, and it only serves to make the labour market seem more impressive, to suit DWP efforts to cast jobseekers as lazy simply for being jobseekers.
I would posit, with no disrespect intended, that no one signing on is going to be qualified for these jobs. These are experienced skilled positions. Everything from midwives and community nurses to radiographers and anaesthetists I have seen. People looking for such work, and I'm sure there are those, will not be using this site.
At the time of writing I think I am correct in saying that Work Capability Assessments are still on hold. That could change at any time. I am unfamiliar with how this process works under Universal Credit: how, if one is sick, one claims UC on that basis, and whether a sick note (or fit note as I think they were made to become) is required. Never mind how that will work if you are quarantining under presumption of covid or sick from it. Certainly there are going to be a large number of people claiming and so the WCA backlog will be increasingly large. Again, assumption. So who knows if and when (certainly not if!) I'll be seen again. But, as we've discussed, one of the more pernicious aspects of this system is the uncertainty. I don't know when that will be, which makes planning ahead a luxury out of reach of people like me.
I don't even know if one is granted UC before a WCA occurs anymore. It used to be, on legacy benefits (which I am currently on, ESA), that you would send in your fit note and the claim would start. Then you would be tested and your claim would persist if the test went favourably. So essentially they gave you the benefit of the doubt. I have to assume that's still the case for UC otherwise a lot of people are going to learn the hard way about UC, and that would not be good!
A lot of people are going to get that lesson soon anyway, when the find out they have to wait not only weeks for the claim to be processed, but to even get any money at all. Then, as far as I know, it's monthly payments. I do not know if that's changed.
As for me, on legacy benefits, I am due, like everyone else in that position, to be 'migrated' over to UC. This could well happen anytime. It could be happening now. It's been an ongoing threat for years. Again, the government doesn't tell you - do they even themselves know? I have to assume I will find out only when I don't receive a payment for a month - at least! So again I have to budget accordingly with the small income I have. I am fortunate in that my circumstances aren't as oppressive as others, but for many this kind of uncertainly is destructive. However if it's any longer than a month then problems start to occur.
The perverse thing is that this stops people spending their money, circulating it back into the economy (the approach the government should be taking with helicopter money). That is the best thing anyone can do with their benefits, at least for the economy. In reality, thanks to capitalism's short sighted outlook, it doesn't happen. People are rightly fearful of spending in case of disaster or sudden need, so what choice do they have.
It's a contradcitory self defeating system, this of course helps no one.
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