Interview exemption?

WhiteHorse

dmg24 wrote: »

Do you mean that they were exempt, or that you believe they should have been? Are they are IB or ESA?

Incap. Appear to be exempt, based on currently available DIAL factsheets.

As another poster has suggested, I will confirm with DIAL. Not everything gets updated when it should!

healy

WhiteHorse wrote: »

Incap. Appear to be exempt, based on currently available DIAL factsheets.

As another poster has suggested, I will confirm with DIAL. Not everything gets updated when it should!

I have had a look at the DIAL factsheet and it dates from Feb 2009.

I have searched but cannot find up to date information on this.

dmg24

WhiteHorse wrote: »

Incap. Appear to be exempt, based on currently available DIAL factsheets.

As another poster has suggested, I will confirm with DIAL. Not everything gets updated when it should!

They would have a letter to confirm if they were exempt from the PCA.

WhiteHorse

DIAL confirm their information is up to date.

So, we attended the WFI and presented the DWP with this information. Result... consternation ... an admission that no WFI was required and an apology for the error!

NB. This only applies to old, non-migrated IB claims. The exemption clause for polyarthritis has been eliminated from the new ESA criteria.

Candigirl69

Work Focused Interviews are a requirement of benefit claims for Income Support (where sickness or disability premiums are paid), as well as ESA and Incapacity Benefit. I am not aware of any illnesses that make you exempt from them.

These interviews are aimed at trying to help though. If the appointment is inconvenient or you will struggle getting to the JCP that the appointment has been arranged for, contact the advisor who you are seeing. There are several ways they may be able to help, for instance, they maybe able to conduct the interview over the phone or if transport is a problem because of disability they maybe able to arrange and fund a taxi for you to attend (in most cases the JCP will refund reasonable travelling expenses). Another point to mention, is that you can always take along a friend or carer to the appointment.

Please try not let these interviews worry you, they are not like the medical examinations that Atos arrange for DWP, the personal advisors are not there to assess your sickness or disability, they are there to make sure you're getting the right benefits and the right support. The advisors I have spoken to on behalf of clients have mostly been very helpful and friendly. The Personal Advisors are able to arrange services you may not have found out about had you not attended.

Lastly, if you cannot attend, make sure you ring the advisor or write a letter before the appointment. If you miss it and you do not give a reason for not attending within a certain time frame (usually 7 days from appointment date) they can stop your benefit and it can take a while for it to be reinstated.

Hope this info helps.

WhiteHorse

Candigirl69 wrote: »

I am not aware of any illnesses that make you exempt from them.

DWP has admitted that there is an exemption for old IB claimants. Not for new ESA claimants though.