PIP & mental health & working

DCR wrote: Hi, I was previously awarded DLA indefinitely. I have had my PIP assessment and have been awarded zero points. I struggle to see how they can from one extreme to the other. My health problems are mental health related and because I go to work they refuse to believe that anyone with mental health problems can go to work, which really hacks me off. I have never seen so much discrimination in all my life against disabled people. I have sent off my mandatory reconsideration but i'm not holding my breath.

Does anyone else work who suffers from mental health problems and has been awarded PIP?

Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explain where everything is

Welcome to Benefits and Work

There is a significant difference between the assessment criteria for DLA and PIP, the former looks at the amount of care a claimant needs whereas the latter considers the severity of their problems.

From feedback on the forum I would say that is unusual for claimants with mental health issues to receive PIP and be working, but that does not mean that it is impossible, you would certainly have to explain how you manage as part of any appeal.

You say you have requested an MR, was this in writing, we recommend that you do not reply on it being processed if the request was made over the phone.

Have you requested a copy of the assessment report? If not then you can ask for this by phoning the DWP, but again, follow up in writing.

Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria (see the PIP Claim guide)

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip

There are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;

"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"

than their opinions

"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.

When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.

Gordon

DCR wrote: Hi thanks for the reply. Yes I've got a copy of my assessment and yes I have requested the MR in writing.

Don't know what else to do, was hoping to get some tips off someone who is in a similar situation to me

You need to go back to basics, you'll only get an award by showing that you meet the criteria for one, so I would go through the PIP Claim guide with the assessment report and your PIP2 to see whether you have properly explained why you meet the criteria.

The PIP2 form only partially coves the legal definitions of the PIP activities and most of them have multiple criteria, all of which need to be met for you to score points.

Gordon