Volunteering whilst on UC/ADP

Hi, I am a new member on this forum although I have posted several times in reply to B@W news items.

I am currently on UC LCW through managed migration from ESA and at my last meeting before Christmas my Work Coach suggested that I should put myself forward for volunteering roles.

I will see him this coming Friday and I am absolutely dreading it.

I have been on ESA/UC since August 2013 due to severe anxiety, depression, and alcohol issues and haven't worked since 2011 so the thought of dealing with people in work situations is terrifying to me since I have had to leave several positions in the past due to workplace bullying.

I received the dreaded migration notice in March and completely fell apart. So much so that when I went for advice in regard to the situation I broke down and the advisor suggested I should make a claim for ADP, which with a lot of help from her I duly did.

I finally migrated to UC on the 3rd June 2025 and a few days later found out that my claim for ADP was successful and was backdated to March 14th 2025.

I received a letter from the DWP/ESA dated 5th June 2025 stating that since I was now claiming ADP I was entitled to extra money through the Severe Disability Premium but since I had already migrated to UC by this time, the letter was moot. Although it indicated to me that Social Security Scotland had informed the DWP of my successful ADP claim.

I had to reclaim Council Tax as well and was told that my local council was waiting for my Universal Credit First Payment File from the DWP to establish the amount I would receive. They duly received this file and I was awarded full council tax benefit and on the 8 page letter sent to me, it mentioned that I was currently claiming ADP since 14th March 2025.

Here is my dilemma on top of the volunteering concern, I have now seen my Work Coach 4 times now and he hasn't mentioned that I am on ADP as I had assumed since Social Security Scotland had informed the DWP and the DWP had informed my local council that there was no need for me to do so since it didn't constitute a change of circumstances as I understood it.

Should I mention the fact that I am claiming ADP and should I suggest that I am just not ready for volunteering right now?

The thought of going through another WCA terrifies me as the previous one was so stressful that when a previous CAB advisor suggested I claim PIP back in 2016 I told him I wanted nothing more to do with the DWP, however, I realise that I could be placed in the LCWRA group, but equally knowing the DWP they could deem me fit for work, hence my terror.

I am sorry for the convoluted post but my situation is very complex and I would be grateful for any advice.

Thanks Gary. Will head over to the FAQ section you provided. Apologies for the double post. Didn't see the message stating there is a delay in the topic being posted until it is moderated so posted it again and caught the message at the top of the screen.