Another ATOS fit for work case

FleurDuLys

To be fair, if he's been placed in the WRAG then he's not been found "fit for work" at all - the title of your post suggests that he was refused ESA and would have been told to claim JSA instead! It's not really a "miscarriage of justice".

He won't be pushed to find work or even be hassled much to do work-related activity, so I'm not sure why he got so worried - there was no real need for him to decide to cancel his claim simply because he's been placed in the WRAG. It sounds like he hasn't yet written himself off and would actually relish the chance to look into finding some sort of work that he could do, and he'd be given the right sort of support and not be expected to try work which is beyond him.

eskimo26

Is he aware of what's required in the work related group? It's actually very poorly named, no work is required at all you only need to attend 6 meetings with an adviser once every month.

They discuss things that MAY help you recover such as volunteering (you get to control the hours and build it up), psychotherapy and any other relevant services. I had my first meeting about two weeks ago she gave me some leaflets briefly mentioned volunteering and said good day. I got the feeling she was trained to make it very clear there was no pressure to return to work.

He'll have a year to recover, he'll need to attend a meeting once a month for 6 months and then when they go to renew he can reapply for ESA if necessary. (if he needs longer to recover.)

I think its easy to panic when you see all these posts floating around of people being failed then your told your being put into the 'work' related group, they really should change the name, even i was seeing red till i read up on it! :rotfl:

OneHubbyOneSon4Debts

eskimo26 wrote: »

Is he aware of what's required in the work related group? It's actually very poorly named, no work is required at all you only need to attend 6 meetings with an adviser once every month.

They discuss things that MAY help you recover such as volunteering (you get to control the hours and build it up), psychotherapy and any other relevant services. I had my first meeting about two weeks ago she gave me some leaflets briefly mentioned volunteering and said good day. I got the feeling she was trained to make it very clear there was no pressure to return to work.

He'll have a year to recover, he'll need to attend a meeting once a month for 6 months and then when they go to renew he can reapply for ESA if necessary. (if he needs longer to recover.)

I think its easy to panic when you see all these posts floating around of people being failed then your told your being put into the 'work' related group, they really should change the name, even i was seeing red till i read up on it! :rotfl:

I find ESA very confusing......so are you saying after the 12 months of being in the work focus group if your still not fit enough to work you can re-apply for ESA, you don't automatically go on JSA ?

FleurDuLys

OneHubbyOneSon4Debts wrote: »

I find ESA very confusing......so are you saying after the 12 months of being in the work focus group if your still not fit enough to work you can re-apply for ESA, you don't automatically go on JSA ?

Yes, that's right. If you're still not well enough then of course you can carry on with ESA if you need it, they won't just chuck you off onto JSA.

I believe that the limit of a year is going to be applied to Contributions Based ESA for people in the WRAG, but you can go onto Income Based ESA after that if you need to. I'm sure that others here will know more about this though, so please correct me if I'm wrong!

OneHubbyOneSon4Debts

FleurDuLys wrote: »

Yes, that's right. If you're still not well enough then of course you can carry on with ESA if you need it, they won't just chuck you off onto JSA.

I believe that the limit of a year is going to be applied to Contributions Based ESA for people in the WRAG, but you can go onto Income Based ESA after that if you need to. I'm sure that others here will know more about this though, so please correct me if I'm wrong!

Thank you so much Fleur xx

Sorry another question if you don't mind M'Lady lol! What is the difference between Contribution Based ESA and Income Based ESA?

Btw Fleur I've been reading some of your posts, you are an inspiration, my love and best wishes to you and yours

diolch

eskimo26 wrote: »

Is he aware of what's required in the work related group? It's actually very poorly named, no work is required at all you only need to attend 6 meetings with an adviser once every month.

They discuss things that MAY help you recover such as volunteering (you get to control the hours and build it up), psychotherapy and any other relevant services. I had my first meeting about two weeks ago she gave me some leaflets briefly mentioned volunteering and said good day. I got the feeling she was trained to make it very clear there was no pressure to return to work.

He'll have a year to recover, he'll need to attend a meeting once a month for 6 months and then when they go to renew he can reapply for ESA if necessary. (if he needs longer to recover.)

I think its easy to panic when you see all these posts floating around of people being failed then your told your being put into the 'work' related group, they really should change the name, even i was seeing red till i read up on it! :rotfl:

That is all fine and well, but should the poster be on ESA - Contribution Based, then after 12 months the ESA will be taken off them anyhow. They will then have to claim JSA! Much better to get into the Support Group where they can't touch you.

KxMx

Contribution based ESA will be the one all IB claimants get transferred on, subject to passing the WCA. Time limit of a year if in WRAG and not Support Group.

After which IR ESA if you still qualify and if not it's onto JSA (I had a MP letter just yesterday about this). So I think it's fair to say they want alot of people off it after a year.

Income Related ESA is means tested so you qualify for other help such as free prescriptions. No time limits.

I think far too many are pinning their hopes on the support group and should be relieved to continue to get benefit by being in ESA WRAG!

OneHubbyOneSon4Debts

I'm getting more confused by the minute! :rotfl:

diolch

OneHubbyOneSon4Debts wrote: »

Thank you so much Fleur xx

Sorry another question if you don't mind M'Lady lol! What is the difference between Contribution Based ESA and Income Based ESA?

Btw Fleur I've been reading some of your posts, you are an inspiration, my love and best wishes to you and yours

If you are on ESA - Contributions Based, and you have been given a year in the Work Group, you will be re-assessed again. If you 'pass' the assessment again and you are put back into the Work Group -tough, you will have already had 12 months of benefit, so you get no more. Your only choice is to claim JSA - Contribution Based for another 6 months. After that, you are on your own. You will have had 12 months of ESA so you should be better and be more able to find work. After another 6 months you should have found a job!

However, if you qualify, due to low income for the Income Based ESA, you will continue to get ESA at the Work Group rate.
Bottom line, you will only be allowed to have 12 months of ESA if it is contribution based!

However if you are lucky and get into the Support Group, there is NO time limit no matter what basis your ESA is given for. You must be that close to death or in a vegetitive state, that there is no hope for you. The easiest way to get into that group is to supply a certificate from the local undertaker!

OneHubbyOneSon4Debts

diolch wrote: »

If you are on ESA - Contributions Based, and you have been given a year in the Work Group, you will be re-assessed again. If you 'pass' the assessment again and you are put back into the Work Group -tough, you will have already had 12 months of benefit, so you get no more. Your only choice is to claim JSA - Contribution Based for another 6 months. After that, you are on your own. You will have had 12 months of ESA so you should be better and be more able to find work. After another 6 months you should have found a job!

However, if you qualify, due to low income for the Income Based ESA, you will continue to get ESA at the Work Group rate.
Bottom line, you will only be allowed to have 12 months of ESA if it is contribution based!

However if you are lucky and get into the Support Group, there is NO time limit no matter what basis your ESA is given for. You must be that close to death or in a vegetitive state, that there is no hope for you. The easiest way to get into that group is to supply a certificate from the local undertaker!

:rotfl:


Thank you so much! I finally understand it all now xxx