pip and esa

hi my husband has recently been awarded pip he is also on ESA has been for last 18 months hasnt had a medical at all what rate should he be on ESA dont seem to know whether he still has to send sick notes into ESA or not can somebody please help thanks

rach1964 wrote: hi my husband has recently been awarded pip he is also on ESA has been for last 18 months hasnt had a medical at all what rate should he be on ESA dont seem to know whether he still has to send sick notes into ESA or not can somebody please help thanks

Hi r1964,

Welcome to Benefits and Work

Was this a fresh claim for ESA "18 months ago" or was he transferred over from another benefit such as Incapacity Benefit (IB) Income Support (IS) on grounds of incapacity for work or SDA ?

If it was a fresh claim, he can either still be in The Assessment Phase, in The Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) or in The Support Group. (SG)

Has he received an ESA50 Questionnaire, filed it in and returned it ?

Has he had an ESA face to face "medical" ?

If you can provide further detail, we should be able to help.

The ESA Call Centre should most certainly be able to tell him of his current ESA "Status", as they will have access to his ESA File on-screen :

THE ESA PHONE NUMBER DWP : 0345 608 8545 Press Option 3 for ESA. (Open 8AM-6PM. Mon-Fri.)

Please reply to this post.

bro58

No he has not had a medical has been on esa for 18months did a questionaire when first claimed havent heard off them since only letters to say when sick note runs out to send in another

rach1964 wrote: No he has not had a medical has been on esa for 18months did a questionaire when first claimed havent heard off them since only letters to say when sick note runs out to send in another

Thanks for the clarification r1964 !

He is therefore still in The Assessment Phase !

We have heard from several members where they too are still in The Assessment Phase after 12 months or more.

Although The Assessment Phase is "supposed" to last for approximately 13 weeks, there is no legislation that stipulates this, and therefore no way to legally challenge these excessive Assessment Phase periods.

You could contact the DWP and ask them to expedite an assessment if he is having financial difficulties :

THE ESA PHONE NUMBER DWP : 0345 608 8545 Press Option 3 for ESA. (Open 8AM-6PM. Mon-Fri.)

You could also contact his M.P. who may be able to help :

Contacting your MP

Once assessed, if placed into The WRAG or SG, the extra WRA/SG Component addition should be backdated to the start of week 14 of his claim.

If you haven't already done so, you may wish to read through our : ESA Claims Guides

Please keep us updated.

bro58