Help Needed IB to Employment and Support Allowance

sean cullen wrote: My partner has just been informed she has been moved into the WRAG group for employment and support allowance from IB. The G.P is now writing a letter to ask them to change the decision. Do we need to ask for the decision to now be changed or go straight to appeal? Also the decision on the letter was made 13th June, how soon can she be sent for a work focussed interview/ any other types by the job centre? She has a physical medical condition which causes chronic pain and has mental health problems. In the ATOS interview the nurse did not examine her and when she read the consultants diagnosis letters she did not understand what they meant or what it applied to. she stated that she thought the diagnosis meant my partner was double jointed. She has a facial condition after having a accident and sees the maxillofacial team and chronic pain team and her pelvis was damaged of which the nurse thought the letter meant , and I quote 'sticky hips'. So we had to explain what the diagnosis was and what the words in the letter meant. My partner saw her G.P yesterday who stated that in no way is she fit to work and as I said writing an appeal letter. I am also filling in the GL24 form. We have not had a copy of the report written by the ATOS nurse. Do we appeal on the basis that this person did not examine and had no medical knowledge of the conditions presented or on some other issue? Sorry for the long essay, but very stressed and worried.

To answer your questions out of order.

By definition, claimants placed in the WRAG are considered as being Unfit for Work, so a letter from their GP that states "in no way is she fit to work" will be of little if any value in an appeal to be placed in the Support Group.

To gain entry to the SG they will need to meet one of the SG Descriptors or show that Work Related Activity would be a danger to them or others, see the following for more details.

Qualifying for the Support Group

We recommend that claimants appeal, they lose nothing by doing so and could save themselves week or even months in elapsed time. Have a look at the following for more details.

Our ESA Appeal guide

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

and the following FAQs

Is there any risk to challenging a decision?

How long do I have to appeal?

How to submit an appeal

ESA medical – what forms to ask for?

Disability Rights UK Factsheet - Appeals and reconsiderations

Preparing for a Tribunal

MOJ Video of ESA Appeals Process and Tribunal

12 Month Limit for ESA(CB)

Do I have to attend WFIs while I appeal?

You do not need to go into detail as to why you are appealing, but as a general rule using a reason that re-emphasises that you meet the criteria for the SG is best. Remember it is not your partners condition(s) that are important, but how they affect their abilities in regard to the ESA Descriptors that is being assessed. That said, if the nurse did not properly understand their condition(s) it could lead to them inaccurately documenting how they meet the descriptors, but this does not remove the need to show that one or more SG descriptors are met.

In our experience, most claimants are usually called to a WFI within weeks of their being placed in the WRAG, in fact several have reported that it was the first notification that they had had about the result of their claim.

Gordon