Pip assessor job advertised and £32.000 SALARY

Talula1993 wrote: »

The system is far from perfect but the employees are just working by a criteria they are set.

The problem is that they perhaps are not. They're corner cutting to save time. The first thing that has happened at all 3 F2F assessments I've had is a forced admission of that regarding at very least reading my information in advance as directed by handbook. Exposes have shown that training and application of it can be horribly wrong and certainly away from the criteria and how it is meant to be applied. Institutional targets are a long known concern too which no doubt affect behaviours and I wonder if the same is true of bonuses.

The quality of reports for PIP and the WCA are regularly very substandard if not bordering on the unbelievable. The DWP's own measures reflect this. One reason is they, as you seem to suggest otherwise, do not properly study evidence. Basic errors such as even failure to document who attended are commonly reported... as well as shocking extrapolations.. deliberately selective and misleading 'facts' recorded.. and physical examination/measurements described that didn't occur or claim that such was refused by claimant when they had no reason to do so. I've given examples from my own case in the past. For example... I don't go shopping.. I do it online. This is stated to assessor. They record shops online - tick. Then later in the report they say 'has no difficulty shopping' - hmm okay... online true at a stretch. Then in justifying a descriptor choice... 'goes shopping' to imply I go out doing that - not true. In another example I spoke about my one friend I would stay in contact with who I used to work with. This is ultimately recorded as 'has many friends'... which is something absolutely contradicted in any reference to issue of social contact and indeed my testimony. This 'finding' was fortunately not used in descriptor selections. That was my WCA 9 years ago.. I await the report from one this week.

I do expect the workload is heavy.. conveyor belt like... and the customer (patient) not always what you'd choose to face in a job. I wouldn't want to face me as a WCA assessor had to this week and despite his claim the assessment wouldn't take long I suspect after his 'writing up' of the report he'll have gone well beyond the usual parameters in mind for an assessment timescale. So I can buy your claim they often will run overtime when doing the job.

But there is little getting away from it that this job is regarded as a step down into the basement by many medical professionals... an abandonment of principles.. and often for those too incapable of genuine clinical work... but offering stability of 9-5 hours.

I certainly can accept your comment regarding physical assault and intimidation. I can't comment on security. There certainly seems to be spare staff ready to assist in crisis.

One other observation... PIP assessments seem to surround a less hostile approach than for WCA. I would say this might be subtle in many ways... even like procedures for claiming taxi refund.

On your other post regarding medical training. I question whether in many cases it has any value. So basic is the background of many assessors it may be more damaging than helpful. My PIP assessment 3 years ago as example... the nurse attributed all the identified disabilities to the wrong condition making me worry that if I did take the matter to tribunal the otherwise useful to my case document might be tossed in the bin. Unfortunately I'd also by then picked apart many other errors in the report... and inconsistencies.. such as claim I had difficulties washing my hands in the sink regarding one activity and then not regarding another even though there was no rational explanation for that at face value contradiction. In the end like my WCA report it took me to a good award.. I wasn't challenging or complaining about headline outcome but underlying flaws to get there.

A now former acquaintance who I assisted in detail recently on WCA appeal... his assessor made some wild claims about his disabilities that contradicted medical reports from the month he was born and the decades since. He visited our house and needed great help up the few steps into it... yet the assessment report claimed he climbed stairs without difficulty. He has never been able to do that in his life due to the condition he was born with... the assessor claimed she saw him climb a set of stairs yet covert recording indicated clearly there had been none involved at the assessment centre. How does this happen? At tribunal.. the judge came out having been with the other panel members looking at the paperwork before calling him in... and apologised for him having to go through this and that he had won his case and that he did not need to endure his tribunal. The judge said to him the report the DWP relied on was not considered as evidence by them as it failed to meet any basic level of credibility.

Alice_Holt wrote: »

Hi Muttley,
Your post reflects what we see daily in my local Citizens Advice office. I, and a colleague, help clients with (mainly) disability benefit appeals.....

You're obviously doing a great job (including here too over the years). Much appreciated by many claimants I am sure! As I said to my GP when I last saw her (as it turned out the very same day a letter inviting me to WCA assessment was produced) the nightmare of the process would be reduced in half if you had confidence in their ability to do their job. I described it as being on a whole different level of fear and anxiety to that of my (now) wife's Visa applications including the first to start our life here together. She said she had many other patients saying similar. (Such a shame she doesn't fill in the ESA113 form better - she perhaps could have saved me and probably others elevated suffering!)

Actually while I'm here... I don't like advertising and especially regarding my own stuff BUT... if you are bored waiting for dinner to bake...it's relevant but in Discussion Time.. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=6016261

iammumtoone wrote: »

32K is that all they get paid I am gobsmacked!

That's £32k more than the volunteers at my local Citizens Advice who help our disabled and ill clients overturn ATOS's, Capita, Maximus etc inaccurate assessments and flawed DWP decisions at appeal.

https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/work-and-pensions-committee/news-parliament-2017/atos-maximus-capita-medicals-17-19/

deannatrois wrote: »

The assessor accepted what he said and his ESA was continued without a problem (mind you, my son was curled in a ball on his chair quivering for most of the assessment, I had to speak for him).

It's a shame he has to go through such - especially knowing there is a good chance report talks about the difficulties of coping with the interview/assessment and yet still the same may be repeated in the future.

I've a pretty dark sense of humour... I hope nobody finds this inappropriate... but last week I had my ESA face to face. Because I was sat up against the back of the assessor's desk and shaking a lot his keyboard actually was vibrating on the desk causing quite a racket. I'm still waiting for a copy of the assessment report but if it doesn't mention trembling or the equivalent in observations/mental state exam it would be quite something.... I haven't listened to either covert or official recording of the assessment yet but it must've been evident.