DWP assessment

skye_

merlin68 wrote: »

They do try and trip you up, i went to one with a friend.
Do you watch tv, can you use a phone, can you drive, have you any pets.
These are all the tricks designed to catch you out.

They asked me if I have any pets.. why do they ask that?

nannytone_2

presumably .... if you're capable of taking care of another being, then you're capable of taking care of yourself?
not applicable for ESA though, as ESA is about work and not daily living

Savvy_Sue

Kayslay wrote: »

It's just I had an appointment at the job centre a few months back and the "advisor" asked me why exactly I can't work, I gave her my 2 main symptoms which are dizziness and pain on the right side of my abdomen and her exact reply was "but how does that stop you from working then?"

Please don't take this as me having a go at you, but that's not necessarily an unreasonable question.

Obviously I don't know how bad your dizziness is. I have a friend whose occasional bouts of labyrinthitis leave them unable to get off the floor. I've never been that bad, but when mine was bad I sometimes woke up feeling OK, went to work, and had to hold onto the walls for support by mid-afternoon. Sometimes I just felt drunk and dizzy but could just about function OK. And as I had young children at the time, I generally had to keep going anyway.

So if your adviser has only suffered brief dizzy spells after getting off a roundabout at the funfair, they're not going to know how bad it can get.

I don't know if you've found Dizzy Times or http://www.labyrinthitis.org.uk/ but they might be useful.

Same with abdominal pain - well any kind of pain really. It covers such a wide range. Plenty of people work while in pain. I'm not saying that you could or should, just pointing out that an adviser may need a little more detail.

Bingaling86

Unfortunately, you may struggle to score points with undiagnosed illnesses.

They're not trying to trick you, they're trying to assess whether you can do things reliably and repeatedly and in a safe manner - so questions like pets, can show if someone can say, walk a dog for a certain distance, or have the mental capacity to look after a living creature.

fredandwilma

Bingaling86 wrote: »

Unfortunately, you may struggle to score points with undiagnosed illnesses.

They're not trying to trick you, they're trying to assess whether you can do things reliably and repeatedly and in a safe manner - so questions like pets, can show if someone can say, walk a dog for a certain distance, or have the mental capacity to look after a living creature.

Exactly. I would love a pet, (specifically a dog,) it's good for wellbeing (and companionship,) but realistically it's a huge physical, mental and financial commitment, which you have to take into account if you're thinking of the pets wellbeing too.

Kayslay

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Please don't take this as me having a go at you, but that's not necessarily an unreasonable question.

Obviously I don't know how bad your dizziness is. I have a friend whose occasional bouts of labyrinthitis leave them unable to get off the floor. I've never been that bad, but when mine was bad I sometimes woke up feeling OK, went to work, and had to hold onto the walls for support by mid-afternoon. Sometimes I just felt drunk and dizzy but could just about function OK. And as I had young children at the time, I generally had to keep going anyway.

So if your adviser has only suffered brief dizzy spells after getting off a roundabout at the funfair, they're not going to know how bad it can get.

I don't know if you've found Dizzy Times or http://www.labyrinthitis.org.uk/ but they might be useful.

Same with abdominal pain - well any kind of pain really. It covers such a wide range. Plenty of people work while in pain. I'm not saying that you could or should, just pointing out that an adviser may need a little more detail.

Yeah I suppose you're right, I mean I'd probably not have been able to imagine it either if someone told me about these symptoms back when I was well.

Thanks for the link but I think my problem might be different, my abdominal pain and dizziness feel like they're linked, they flare up together.

Also I never get any relief! The symptoms calm down sometimes but never completely go away they're always there.

I can't tell you how p*ss taking it is that there's nothing I'm able to do about any of this.

Kayslay

Bingaling86 wrote: »

Unfortunately, you may struggle to score points with undiagnosed illnesses.

They're not trying to trick you, they're trying to assess whether you can do things reliably and repeatedly and in a safe manner - so questions like pets, can show if someone can say, walk a dog for a certain distance, or have the mental capacity to look after a living creature.

Yeah I've figured I'm pretty screwed.

I've asked my aunt who is 53 years old, she has severe asthma problems and some kind of chronic cough/chest pains and she failed the medical assessment.

Although my GP has given me a diagnosis as "anxiety", which I think is a load of toss, it's their way of saying we don't know what's wrong with you so it must be in your head.

missbiggles1

Kayslay wrote: »

I have nothing to hide nor am I lying so hopefully I'll be fine.

It's just I had an appointment at the job centre a few months back and the "advisor" asked me why exactly I can't work, I gave her my 2 main symptoms which are dizziness and pain on the right side of my abdomen and her exact reply was "but how does that stop you from working then?"

Many would agree with her on that.

Anyway, as roger says, that isn't the point.

missbiggles1

Kayslay wrote: »

Yeah I've figured I'm pretty screwed.

I've asked my aunt who is 53 years old, she has severe asthma problems and some kind of chronic cough/chest pains and she failed the medical assessment.

Although my GP has given me a diagnosis as "anxiety", which I think is a load of toss, it's their way of saying we don't know what's wrong with you so it must be in your head.

Many people believe that the awarding of benefits should be based on your GP's condition. Of course, usually only if it works to their adsvantage.

rogerblack

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Many would agree with her on that.

Anyway, as roger says, that isn't the point.

This ('how does this stop you working') is entirely the point of a work focused interview.
A WFI is intended to address barriers the claimant might have to entering the workplace, and suggest possible courses or workarounds, amongst other things.

Even if unarguably qualified for ESA, people can be quite able to work, and the WFI should not be silent on this issue.