Scenario 2 - Carlos

Your name is Carlos and you are 52 years old.

For seventeen years, you worked in a security job but were made redundant about a year and a half ago. You live with your partner who works full time as a care assistant in a care home. Your children have grown up and now have families of their own.

You knew they were laying people off at work and it seemed like just a matter of time before you would lose your job too, so you had been keeping an eye out for other jobs, but there wasn’t much available. You received a small amount of redundancy pay, but it wasn’t enough to cover your car finance or your credit card. It was hard for you to manage with all your bills, and in the end, you had to give your car back to the finance company.

You have been able to claim Universal Credit, but the jobs you can apply for are limited, as you have to rely on public transport or positions that are really close to home. You haven’t had much experience of using computers and you are finding it hard to search and apply for jobs using your phone.

As COVID-19 hit, it has become even more difficult - there don’t seem to be many jobs for someone with your skills. It’s hard to stay positive at times and you feel like you are letting your family down.

What would you do next if you were Carlos?

What do we need to do to support Carlos improve his situation?