ESA50 form

Filling in the above form as an Appointee.

I wanted to ask whether it is ok to write a full answer to a question but not tick any box?

Is the person likely to be penalised for this?

Finding it difficult to know which to tick for some questions.

Has anyone any experience of doing this?

Also I wondered how often ESA50A were sent out instead?

Thanking you.

Hello Daisy37

I doubt that you would be penalised for not ticking a specific box; not everyone 'fits' neatly into a specific description.

Probably the best way to deal with it is to say clearly that ' the person doesn't fit the descriptor because' - and then write your reasons why they don't. If there isn't enough room on the form for you to explain fully how or why you can't just tick the box, then write your answer on a separate piece of paper, putting the name and national insurance number of the person claiming, and number each page (1 of 2, or 2 of 3 etc). It might help to staple the extra pages to the form to make sure they don't get mislaid.

Read through the guides - it tells you in there how to deal with most issues - and try to pick out the descriptors that most apply to the claimant, and really gather everything you can in terms of letters, documents etc that support these descriptors.

I hope this helps you deal with the form. Not the easiest thing to fill in, but with the help of the guides you should be ok. Good luck.

Since you are an Appointee, you will have a very close relationship with the claimant and you should be able to write a brief outline yourself of how his/her illnesses affect him/her, and how much you personally have to do to help.