appealing after being put in esa wrag group but have to attend a personal advisor int

john_doe1

am currently in the wrag group for esa but have asked/appealed to the dwp as i think i should be in the support group.
have received a letter asking me to attend an interview with a employment and support allowance personal advisor.
does anyone know if i would still have to attend
believe my GL24 letter and the letter from the dwp re:the interview may have crossed in the post
many thanks

rogerblack

You have to attend, if they do not agree to postpone the interview.
Simply appealing does not mean you don't have to go to WFIs.

MacMickster

rogerblack wrote: »

You have to attend, if they do not agree to postpone the interview.
Simply appealing does not mean you don't have to go to WFIs.

Following the interview(s) however, you can't be forced to take part in any work-related activities until your appeal is settled.

grummps

MacMickster wrote: »

Following the interview(s) however, you can't be forced to take part in any work-related activities until your appeal is settled.

The only thing that they can't make you do is look for work and actually work.

They can arrange voluntary work (very common) and some type of workfare.

The idea behind this was originally to get people motivated to think how you would be able to go back to work given their health situation.

Unfortunately for some of those on ESA and in the work group they decided that work wasn't for them no matter what.
So the government have now put conditionality into it and you will be expected to carry out some 'training' otherwise you will lose part of your benefits.

I can only say this from experience as I have a friend who was/is going through this now. He has had compulsory classes, is now having to do 3 hours a week as a volunteer in a charity shop, and had to go to another shop to receive some training.

It seems to stop just short of making you go back to work and/or start actively looking for a job.

rogerblack

grummps wrote: »

Unfortunately for some of those on ESA and in the work group they decided that work wasn't for them no matter what.
So the government have now put conditionality into it and you will be expected to carry out some 'training' otherwise you will lose part of your benefits.

Or to put it another way, the reality of ESA doesn't fit the neat labels preferred by ministers of the two groups.
One group is not 'the most severely disabled, and unlikely to find work in the longer term' and the other group is not 'likely to be able to find work in the near future'.

They are tick box categories which do not officially have any relationship to employability at all.

To quote an earlier post.
Consider three people.
John has an epileptic fit every 5 days or so, but is otherwise fit and well-educated.
Mary has injured herself playing sports, and can't lift her arms as if to put something into a shirt pocket. (but can type, and use their arms freely otherwise)
Donald uses a wheelchair, and can't walk, he can slowly wheel himself over 200m. He can only work for 90 minutes at a time before becoming utterly exhausted. He has difficulty conveying or understanding more than simple messages from strangers. Once every couple of months has a sudden accident where he loses control of his bowels. Can barely operate a washing machine. Several hours a day he can't cope with trying to talk to new people.

Which one is in which group?
One gets no points and is completely fit for work, one gets put in the support group and is not expected to work, one is expected to perform 'work related activity'.

Most employers would disagree.

flight747

WRAG is really very unfair say all GP's doctors. They say it a waste of time, waste of kept re-assessment all over again and again. as the government trying to make u give up and go back to JSA instead. As for support group the tribnal can award you but the government and DWP might reassessment your claim again with ATOS. It really nightmare, hassle and stressful. I would rather in a proper job to get away from crappy DWP and Jobcentre.

nannytone_2

i seem to be on my own in my opinion, but it is based on MY experience of ESA.

I applied for the first time 13 months ago. i filled in the forms and was sent an appointment for a medical, which i attended.

it was a positive experience, and i was placed in the WRAG ( which i was quite happy with as i want to work)

my advisor at the job centre is a friendly sort... but he seems at a bit of a loss as to what to do with me, and my appointments are becoming further and further apart.

u was sent an ESA50 3 weeks ago. it was filled in and returned within 2 days and i got a letter saturday to say that u had been reassessed without the need for a medical ( didnt actually say that in word ... in fact it was a thoroughly confusing letter, but after phoning, i found out this is what it meant!)

i'd like to think that im not the only one that the system works for in the way it should....

but a lot of the stories do make you think ...

flight747

nannytone wrote: »

i seem to be on my own in my opinion, but it is based on MY experience of ESA.

I applied for the first time 13 months ago. i filled in the forms and was sent an appointment for a medical, which i attended.

it was a positive experience, and i was placed in the WRAG ( which i was quite happy with as i want to work)

my advisor at the job centre is a friendly sort... but he seems at a bit of a loss as to what to do with me, and my appointments are becoming further and further apart.

u was sent an ESA50 3 weeks ago. it was filled in and returned within 2 days and i got a letter saturday to say that u had been reassessed without the need for a medical ( didnt actually say that in word ... in fact it was a thoroughly confusing letter, but after phoning, i found out this is what it meant!)

i'd like to think that im not the only one that the system works for in the way it should....

but a lot of the stories do make you think ...

May I ask how long did you placed on the WRAG for ? Before they sent you out ESA50

nannytone_2

there was no prognosis time on the original award, but i was sent an ESA59 in jysr over 11 months from the first claim.

when i phoned today u was told that it had a 2 year prognosis this time.

bazza5070

grummps wrote: »

The only thing that they can't make you do is look for work and actually work.

They can arrange voluntary work (very common) and some type of workfare.

The idea behind this was originally to get people motivated to think how you would be able to go back to work given their health situation.

Unfortunately for some of those on ESA and in the work group they decided that work wasn't for them no matter what.
So the government have now put conditionality into it and you will be expected to carry out some 'training' otherwise you will lose part of your benefits.

I can only say this from experience as I have a friend who was/is going through this now. He has had compulsory classes, is now having to do 3 hours a week as a volunteer in a charity shop, and had to go to another shop to receive some training.

It seems to stop just short of making you go back to work and/or start actively looking for a job.

And your problem with that is????? :rotfl:

bestpud

My friend was/is in this situation and was unable to attend an interview so she rang the ESA number and received no help whatsoever.

So she rang the person she was due to meet at our local JCP and she was totally different! Very understanding on the phone and told her she didn't need to attend the interview. I haven't spoken to her for a few weeks but far as I know, she still hasn't attended any and is still waiting for her appeal.

Worth a try...?