What happens at a Work Focused Interview?

starshine77

I have received a ESA initial WFI letter telling me i MUST attend a work focused interview.

What will they do to me at this interview? What will they ask?

I have an anxiety disorder which affects my eating, i had a medical assessment at the start of MAY this year but they only asked questions, didn't ask me to do anything physical, and i have not received any letters to tell me the result of my assessment, but I have been paid £188.50 two fortnights in a row now, for the first time ever.

Can anyone advise me as to what all this means?!?!

And what will happen to me if I am too ill to attend the interview? Can I cancel it, or would it be bad to cancel it? (it is tomorrow afternoon).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am absolutely worried sick about this.

Star :(:(:(:(

alfiesmum

http://www.benefitsnow.co.uk/esa/interview.asp

This might give you an idea of the sort of things covered. It's to help you get back into work, not a physical exam of any kind.

passatrider

I did the WFI's as part of 'Pathways to Work'. Do not cancel under any circumstances as they can sanction your benefits for failing to attend. I too have anxiety problems but still had to go, just don't worry about them.

It's just 6 regular meetings with an adviser to go through your options regarding your current situation and what help they can offer you in the meantime. The adviser will work with you to help you focus on a gradual return to work by doing things such as preparing CV's etc or even suggesting things such as voluntary work.
They will not force you to do anything but you will have to be seen to be participating at the very least. So if you are asked to draw up an action plan then you must do this but don't necessarily have to carry it through.

Do not worry!

Muttleythefrog

starshine77 wrote: »

I have received a ESA initial WFI letter telling me i MUST attend a work focused interview.

What will they do to me at this interview? What will they ask?

I have an anxiety disorder which affects my eating, i had a medical assessment at the start of MAY this year but they only asked questions, didn't ask me to do anything physical, and i have not received any letters to tell me the result of my assessment, but I have been paid £188.50 two fortnights in a row now, for the first time ever.

Can anyone advise me as to what all this means?!?!

And what will happen to me if I am too ill to attend the interview? Can I cancel it, or would it be bad to cancel it? (it is tomorrow afternoon).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am absolutely worried sick about this.

Star :(:(:(:(

Oh... yet another case of the DWP failing to inform you of a decision by the looks of it! Let me see. Wouldn't worry too much about WFIs at jobcentre. They're just a way of exploring how a return to work may be engineered.. look at possible support... types of suitable work etc. They seem pretty flexible events. But definitely attend so benefits not affected.... there's only 6... try to get to them.

Now... and this should help you. You have found out by bank account like many what the outcome of your WCA is... unfortunately the DWP seem to fail to inform people of the outcome of the decision.. sometimes completely... and only payments indicate the outcome... or a 'we are changing the amount we are paying you' letter (which at the back page should indicate breakdown of the total including which the monetary amount for the group of ESA you're in.) £188.50 implies you're getting a new rate of £94.25 p/w... and there's only one rational explanation for this. This is... the rate for WRAG plus basic rate.... this surely means you have been placed in the Work related activity group... you passed your WCA. Well done! But you will be required to attend this set of WFIs (the link above by alfiesmum should give solid idea what to expect.. but genuinely I suspect you'll have more to worry about in getting there with an anxiety disorder than actually having one... you're not being tested or anything like that.. the WFI is to help you... you should be able to reclaim public transport costs if that's how you get there.. give return ticket to 'interviewer').

If you call the DWP they should confirm you passed WCA and are placed in WRAG... whether you'll ever get a letter confirming this is doubtful. Many find out they failed their WCA when they realise there's no money gone into their account.

benefit rates are here. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Illorinjured/DG_171896

Op.. I would advise you request a copy of your ATOS medical report from the DWP. This is free (well .. except the phone call). It should be quite revealing in showing how you got into the WRAG.. how you scored against the descriptors at medical. It should also give some indication as to when you might be re-assessed in the future.

gillypkk

its nothing to worry about at all!

they just ask you what you are doing to help you secure a job like training or what hours you are available etc...

if you dont attend without a good reason then they can stop your benefits but otherwise its not scary!

starshine77

Just a message to say thankyou for all your advice everyone, it is all extremely helpful and I would have been left in the dark if it were not for all of your excellent advice!

pinklady1965

I had to attend these and to be honest, they were a total waste of time. I met with a very nice lady and we tended to discuss what was hot in the news that day, losing weight as you get older, merits of walking against gym membership etc etc. I can honestly say that at no point did we discuss anything to do with work!! She understood that I was unable to work at present so didn't push it at all. It's basically a form filling exercise and nothing to worry about at all.
Hope it goes well for you.

gillypkk

pinklady1965 wrote: »

I had to attend these and to be honest, they were a total waste of time. I met with a very nice lady and we tended to discuss what was hot in the news that day, losing weight as you get older, merits of walking against gym membership etc etc. I can honestly say that at no point did we discuss anything to do with work!! She understood that I was unable to work at present so didn't push it at all. It's basically a form filling exercise and nothing to worry about at all.
Hope it goes well for you.

hahaha sounds the same as mine! we often discuss what naughty/cute things my kids have done since the last time we met and she chats away to them!

Muttleythefrog

pinklady1965 wrote: »

I had to attend these and to be honest, they were a total waste of time. I met with a very nice lady and we tended to discuss what was hot in the news that day, losing weight as you get older, merits of walking against gym membership etc etc. I can honestly say that at no point did we discuss anything to do with work!! She understood that I was unable to work at present so didn't push it at all. It's basically a form filling exercise and nothing to worry about at all.
Hope it goes well for you.

Ditto...lol... talked about football and my health in general... she seemed quite fascinated speaking to a maniac 6 times. It was evident very quickly she realised I was never going to be looking to return to work soon so it is something we didn't discuss..lol.

Muttleythefrog

starshine77 wrote: »

Just a message to say thankyou for all your advice everyone, it is all extremely helpful and I would have been left in the dark if it were not for all of your excellent advice!:j

I'm a bit baffled as to what they think I can do at the moment with regard to ''work focus'' as, due to my anxiety disorder I am hardly able to eat even one bowl of food per day-i have a choking phobia which has gotten gradually worse over the past 6 years and I am receiving cognitive behaviour therapy for it.

It means that the only way I can eat is by blending my food (such as a tin of heinz spaghetti bolognese) then putting it through a seive before I feel able to eat it. On most days I barely even manage to eat 1 tin of the bolognese and the only other source of energy I get is from 3x200ml bottles of Fortisip (which my doctor prescribed me) so in total I only get about 1100 calories (I am a five foot 4 female) for the whole day which means I have very little energy and most days I can't leave the house at all. I'm pretty much hungry all the time.

In addition, I have regular panic attacks when I am in busy or noisy places and get out of breath very quickly. And I'm a bit of a nervous wreck....My doctor actually said that if I was told I am fit for work then I should appeal against the decision because she says there's no way I would be able to work due to my anxiety/phobia disorder at the moment.

So anyway, I'm really curious as to what they think I'm going to be able to do at this work focused interview!!!!????? Any ideas?

Star

I would think of the WFI as an informal but necessary chat. I think interview is probably a bit misleading in the name... chat more like. Try not to worry about it.


What I would say regarding your being found to have limited capability for work (WRAG) and not being found to have limited capability for work related activity (Support Group requirement)... you could appeal but I think most would strongly advise against it. The benefits of Support group over WRAG aren't that significant and things could always go wrong in appeal. Add to that the fact you're likely to be re-assessed in due course... the last thing you need is appeal that will take many months or even over a year to hear... only to have new assessment hanging over you where you could indeed be found to meet Support Group criteria.

starshine77

I have just been to the work focused interview and have been told that I am going to be sent on a thing called a work programme in August, apparently it's new....

I'm too ill to go out the house most days so I'm amazed they think I'll be able to do any work activities. Any ideas anyone????:(