You’re not looking hard enough for work, DWP tells man with cancer

Michael Ward, 59, had been told by doctors he is too ill to work, but Job Centre officials have said he is not sick enough to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and cannot claim Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) because he is not actively seeking work.

Michael, from Southowram, Halifax, has suffered from chronic leukaemia for 18 months, as well as being diagnosed with severe arthritis in his left knee in 2012.

He said: “’I’m getting fed up of the Job Centre rejecting me all the time because of what I’ve got.

“I can’t cope with getting a job and they say I’m fit for work - which I’m not.”

Michael, who has previously worked in warehouses, said Job Centre staff had kept trying to apply for warehouse work despite him no longer being physically capable.

He said: “I keep trying to explain to them, but it keeps going over their heads - they’re trying to push me into warehouse work, but that’s something I can’t do.

“I feel really shocked and down - it’s getting to the ridiculous now. It’s taking a lot out of me mentally - there are a lot of things that I used to do that I can’t do any more.”

Michael’s case has been taken up by Halifax MP Holly Lynch, who was promised to raise the issue in Parliament.

Ms Lynch said: “The Job Centre are telling me that Mr Ward is falling between two different benefits, but is eligible for neither.

“The Government needs to take a more compassionate approach - the DWP are making a real mess of this.”