ESA- assessed after year told fit for work

lorryw

My husband received the assessment rate for ESA for over a year. He rang and wrote asking for an assessment and was eventually his year was up and payment stopped.
He then received a date for an assessment . When he arrived he was told that his papers hadn't been passed to the office and it couldn't take place.
Another date was arranged and he attended and awaited the outcome. Six weeks later (yesterday) he received a telephone call to tell him that he was fit for work.
When he queried wether he could claim for the extra payment for work related group that he would have been placed on had the assessment happened sooner he was told no (the chap was rude)
He still remains unfit for work and has received no benefits since May when his 365 days ran out.
My husband is 61 and still unfit for work. He has worked since he was 15 and finds all of this confusing and distressing.

nannytone_2

if on the initial assessment he was found 'fit for work' ( albeit ridiculously daleyad) he wont get any grouping as they didnt think his claim warrented it. so there is no back payment due unless he chooses to appeal the decision

pmlindyloo

lorryw wrote: »

My husband received the assessment rate for ESA for over a year. He rang and wrote asking for an assessment and was eventually his year was up and payment stopped.
He then received a date for an assessment . When he arrived he was told that his papers hadn't been passed to the office and it couldn't take place.
Another date was arranged and he attended and awaited the outcome. Six weeks later (yesterday) he received a telephone call to tell him that he was fit for work.
When he queried wether he could claim for the extra payment for work related group that he would have been placed on had the assessment happened sooner he was told no (the chap was rude)
He still remains unfit for work and has received no benefits since May when his 365 days ran out.
My husband is 61 and still unfit for work. He has worked since he was 15 and finds all of this confusing and distressing.

So your husband was on the assessment rate of contribution based ESA and did not have a medical assessment until his year of contribution based ESA ended and then he was found fit for work?

I do not understand why you think he would have been placed in the work related group if he had been assessed earlier. Are you saying that during the year he has got better and therefore he would have met more descriptors and scored more points if he had had a medical earlier? Please clarify.

As far as I am aware no allowances are made for this.

What he needs to do is appeal the decision. He must ask for a reconsideration first. During this time a decision maker will look at the claim again so if you have any further information from doctors etc now is the time to send it. If the reconsideration finds that he is fit for work then he can appeal. Since he has used up all his contribution based ESA (and therefore his contribution based JSA) he will not be eligible for any benefits during this time. If the appeal is upheld then the ESA benefit will be backdated to the 14th week of the claim until the end of the 365 days if he is placed in the WRAG group.

Everything that I have said is based on the fact that I am assuming that he is not entitled to income based ESA or JSA. If you think you are eligible then please say. Income based benefits are based on his and yours income/savings/capital.

Edit All this should be explained in the letter you will receive.

TELLIT01

Also bear in mind that he is being assessed for his ability to work, not his ability to continue in the work he was previously doing. For example somebody might have been a manual worker and has a back injury, that wouldn't automatically entitle them to ESA. The view taken is that they could do a job which didn't require heavy lifting.

lorryw

Sorry, I am completely confused.

Who benefits from the Work Related Activity Group? I understand that if you are judged as unable to work then you are placed in the support group. However, if it is decided you can work is the assessment rate of payment withdrawn or are you placed in the Work Related Activity group after 13 weeks?

Indie_Kid

Support group is for people completely unable to work, work related is for those who it's believed they could possibly work in the future and are given support to do this. (such as courses to retrain) If it's believed you can work, ESA is stopped completely.