esa and pathways when ill

chelleybelley

hi a little advice please regarding my mum, she has severe osteoarthritis in her left hip and arthritis in her right knee. she has been told that she needs a complete hip replacement on her left hip.
anyway she applied for esa and got it on the 24th mar this year and today she had to have her interview at the jobcentre where they have told her that she has to attend a pathways to work course once a month for the next 5/6 months. she is virtually housebound and cannot sit/stand or do much of anything.she has a phobia of hospitals so is currently not on the list for the op although she has got a surgeon ready to do it when she is ready.her gp is looking at trying to rid her of her phobia and she knows that she will have to have the op at some stage as she is in great pain.
my question is why, and can, they send her on the course for learning new skills,updating cv's,confidence building etc when she is clearly not capable of doing anything at the moment until she has her op and recovers.

thanks for any replies.

healy

She does not have to go on any courses at all, the only requirement is to attend the work focused interviews and maybe draw up an action plan. She does not have to follow the action plan. It may also be possible to get the WFIs deferred.

chelleybelley

hi thanks for the quick reply they have told her she has to go on the courses....is there anyway she can stop this without having her benefits sanctioned?

healy

chelleybelley wrote: »

hi thanks for the quick reply they have told her she has to go on the courses....is there anyway she can stop this without having her benefits sanctioned?

She does not have to go on the courses, she only has to attend the WFIs. She will not be sanctioned for not going on a course.

chelleybelley

Hi healy having spoken to able/dial they have stated that she has to attend the course that the jc state she is to go on and there is no getting out of it they have even looked at whether a letter from the gp will suffice in her not doing the pathways course and it wont.....just to keep you informed.

healy

chelleybelley wrote: »

Hi healy having spoken to able/dial they have stated that she has to attend the course that the jc state she is to go on and there is no getting out of it they have even looked at whether a letter from the gp will suffice in her not doing the pathways course and it wont.....just to keep you informed.

That is not correct.

She has to attend any WFIs but does not have to attend any courses.

These are the only sanctions that apply:

Sanctions

Those claimants that are placed in the work-related activity group will be required to attend and participate in a work-focused health-related assessment and a series of work-focused interviews. Those who fail to attend or participate will be sanctioned. Your benefit will be cut by £12 for each of the first four weeks of non-attendance and by £24 for each subsequent week.

chelleybelley

healy wrote: »

that is not correct.

She has to attend any wfis but does not have to attend any courses.

These are the only sanctions that apply:

Sanctions

those claimants that are placed in the work-related activity group will be required to attend and participate in a work-focused health-related assessment and a series of work-focused interviews. Those who fail to attend or participate will be sanctioned. Your benefit will be cut by £12 for each of the first four weeks of non-attendance and by £24 for each subsequent week.

hi thanks for the reply but we're only going by what the local people have said.....

healy

chelleybelley wrote: »

hi thanks for the reply but we're only going by what the local people have said.....

Thats ok but they are wrong. It is very disappointing that an advice centre is giving incorrect advice. It might be worth telling them so they do not mislead others.

chelleybelley

Will give them a call next week now as i asked them a of questions which they couldnt answer and had to ring me back a few days later,they also told me that if she did not have a job after the pathways course then she would be put on jsa which im finding hard to believe as she will still be disabled and housebound so she cannot actively seek work so i find that hard to trust their word on it.

nogginthenog

healy wrote: »

That is not correct.

She has to attend any WFIs but does not have to attend any courses.

These are the only sanctions that apply:

Sanctions

Those claimants that are placed in the work-related activity group will be required to attend and participate in a work-focused health-related assessment and a series of work-focused interviews. Those who fail to attend or participate will be sanctioned. Your benefit will be cut by £12 for each of the first four weeks of non-attendance and by £24 for each subsequent week.

SPOT ON!


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2. What is a Work focused interview?[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]A work focused interview is an interview conducted by someone acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for the purposes of getting the person interviewed into work or keeping them in work (WRA 2007, section 11(7)). At the WFI the Secretary of State can do this through: (ESA Reg 55)[/FONT]

• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]assessing the claimant’s prospects for remaining in or obtaining work;[/FONT]
• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]assisting or encouraging the claimant to remain in or obtain work;[/FONT]
• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]identifying activities that the claimant may undertake that will make remaining in or obtaining work more likely;[/FONT]
• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]identifying training, educational or rehabilitation opportunities for the claimant that increase the likelihood the claimant will remain in or obtain work or be able to do so;[/FONT]
• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]identifying current or future work opportunities (including self-employment) for the claimant that are relevant to the claimant’s needs and abilities.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Note that although a WFI may be conducted for any of the above purposes, none of the activities, training/educational or rehabilitation opportunities or work opportunities discussed are compulsory. All the Secretary of State can do is to identify that the options exist.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We understand that the first WFI will be scheduled for around the 8th week of a new claim to ESA. (Page 20, Explanatory Memorandum to the ESA Regulations, PDF file). It is expected that claimants have 6 WFIs in all.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Secretary of State must provide the claimant who attends a WFI with an “action plan” URL="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20080794_en_6#pt8-ch2-l1g58"]ESA Reg 58[/URL. This is a written document which contains:[/FONT]

• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]a record of the WFI;[/FONT]
• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]a record of any activity the claimant is willing to take which may make it more likely to obtain or remain in work or which make it more likely that the claimant would be able to do so; and[/FONT]
• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]any other information that the Secretary of State considers appropriate.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]3. Which claimants do the new rules apply to: who must take part[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]All claimants who meet the following conditions can be required to take part in one or more WFHRA URL="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20080794_en_6#pt8-ch1-l1g47"]ESA Reg 47(2)[/URL and/or WFI URL="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20080794_en_6#p01096"]ESA Reg 54(2)[/URL:[/FONT]

• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]is entitled to ESA; and[/FONT]
• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]is not a member of the support group; and[/FONT]
• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]is under 60.
  
• [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* The regulations refer to being “under the age at which a woman of the same age attains pension age” and therefore the relevant age will increase from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]NB: it is only where proper notice is given of the requirement to take part (including date etc) that such a claimant is required to attend – see below under section 5).[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The regulations also say that a person who has made an advance claim for ESA on the basis that they will become entitled at a later date when the addition of a component means their income will be below their ESA amount (under Regulation 146) can be required to take part in a WFI, and that a person who has made an advance claim more generally can be required to take part in a WFHRA. However, it is difficult to see that the Act under which the regulations are made provides the power to make a regulation that places this requirement on people who are not entitled to ESA.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If a claimant stops meeting the above conditions then any requirement to take part in WFI or WFHRA stops as well URL="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20080794_en_6#pt8-ch1-l1g47"] ESA Reg 47(3)[/URL] and [URL="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20080794_en_6#p01096"]ESA Reg 54(3)[/URL (for example if it is decided the claimant should be in the support group).[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]4. Deferral or waiving of the requirement to take part[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]4.1. Deferral of the requirement to take part in the WFHRA[/FONT]

healy

chelleybelley wrote: »

Will give them a call next week now as i asked them a of questions which they couldnt answer and had to ring me back a few days later,they also told me that if she did not have a job after the pathways course then she would be put on jsa which im finding hard to believe as she will still be disabled and housebound so she cannot actively seek work so i find that hard to trust their word on it.

She would not be put onto JSA if she does not find a job. She would only lose her benefit if she failed a medical.

This advice agency do not seem to know what they are talking about. I think you would be best to ditch them and seek advice elsewhere if possible.