Diary of a benefit claimant.

Cabbie21 wrote If she does not meet the criteria, she will be expected to look for work.

I seem to remember somewhere that there is a "middle category" (not known by that name) where someone is not expected to look for work but to do what is termed work-related activity. I think that was sort of preparing for the possibility of work - I think one thing was preparing a CV. I don't know if it includes things like attending a training course.

Whiff, I don't know who told you that you had to have a diagnosis to get benefits because that is absolutely untrue. You should be assessed on your symptoms, not your diagnosis. You can have a diagnosis for things and have no symptoms where you wouldn't get any points awarded or you can have lots of symptoms and have not diagnosis so you will get lots of points if they fit the criteria.

i have not explained it properly.
she does not have a job.
doc has given her ert to say not to work for 2-3 months, there is a date, i don't know it.
she wants to work.
there is a job she could do. she will be taken on.
she is receiving money from/via jobcentre, which i presume is sick pay. she has not been asked to look for work, presumably because she has sick note from doc.
i wondered what the implications of that work capability form is.
is she required to fill it in. does it mean she cannot start work. what if she does not fill it in, will they stop the sick pay. i mean within the period covered by doc's sick note.
she does not want to fill it in. too many questions.
thanks SD, i know about language-line, but not relevant in this case.

Nothing the Job Centre gives is called Sick Pay. Pay only comes from employers. JC is the “public front office” of the DWP who administer Benefits.

Someone who believes they are not well enough to work needs a fit note ( used to be called a sick note) from their GP. In the early stages of their claim this will cover them and they will not be asked to look for work. But after 13 weeks they will be assessed, on paper ( the long form) and in person/ by phone. This can take longer. Then a decision is made. There are three possible outcomes.
1. Found fit for work and expected to apply for jobs or start work.
2. Found to have Limited Capability for Work, but expected to undertake things to prepare for work, under the direction of their Work Coach. The activites will vary and may include a training course or preparing a CV for example.
3. Found to have limited capability for Work Related Activity. In ESA it used to be called the Support Group. Extra money is paid, and the claimant is not expected to look for work or do any work related activity. There are very specific criteria for getting into this group.
I hope this helps. I have tried to keep it simple.

I should have said, the DWP’s decision trumps the doctor’s note. The decision can be appealed, within four weeks normally.

Someone found fit for work, or who discontinues their claim by not returning the completed form or not attending their assessment will have their nsESA claim closed. If they have claimed UC, their entitlement will depend on their earnings and other circumstances.

does anyone know if she needs something from the doctor to say it's alright if she chooses to start work before the period covered by the doc's sick note has expired.
eg doc note, official form, i don;t know what it's called, says to abstain from work until 2 months hence.
she wants to work, decides to reduce medication for depression, rather than waiting for interminable-seeming wait to see MH doc to reduce script.
so she decides to start work in say one month.
will she suffer any disadvantage, does anyone know.
sorry it's so garbled. she expects me to know all this and explain it to her... !
i don't think she really accepts that i just don't know.

I doubt she would need anything to allow her back to work.
I know somebody who spent some time in the "limited capability" group, and it allowed her some breathing space to be able to ease back into work. (She had panic attacks and anxiety)
Again, Cabbie will know far more than me.

No, there is no official document the GP can issue to cancel the fit note. A person is assumed to be fit if they apply for a job. If they have a disability they can still work, but the employer must make reasonable allowances.
I suppose an employer might ask her where she last worked and why there is a gap and she might say she was unwell, but I cant see why she can’t try to work. In those circumstances her fit note can be ignored, but is it wise.?
Time will tell whether her health is up to it, or not. But she will probably have to start again with DWP.

icanhandthemback I was told that in 1988 and evey year until 2003 when my husband died. Didn't try again after we had to go too a tribunal and was treated worse than a murderer .

I had an email from EON in October telling me I could get £140 towards my energy bill. But they wanted to know my diagnosis when I said it had no name. Sorry we can't fill in the form without a name.

Now I have a diagnosis and it's rare and was born with it. It impacts on my physical health. All my joint and muscles are damaged through the last 34 years of limb jerks and seizures. Plus falls as a child and adult. But still I am refused any help financially. As according to my decision I don't qualify for because according to them I am very mobile and can look after myself. I am punished because I live on my own my husband dieing at 47 wasn't enough. So faceless jobs worth past judgement without even seeing me.

Because I don't have physio and not had input from falls unit. I don't need physio as I go to a GP referral exercise class for strength and stability. I have had 34 years to know what adaptions I needed to have done to my bungalow and paid to have them done. According to the jobs worth I am not in pain. And yet I have had constant pain in my left arm and leg for 34 years even a morphine drip didn't touch the pain.

Phoned Monday to do the MRN and my neurologist has agreed to write a letter of support ready for my appeal.
The Brain Charity is also going to help me.

I was very upset when I read the letter and now I am steaming mad..

I know these letters come across as really hurtful, but the decision maker has not met you, it is not a personal insult, though I am sure it feels like it. I have seen so many bad decisions, saying totally the opposite of what the claimant says.
You need to wait for the MR and if the decision is unchanged, you must appeal. Meanwhile concentrate on looking at the descriptors, and to what extent you can or cannot do those activities safely, at a reasonable speed, or repeat them as often as required. Say why they are impossible, or unsafe. Give examples of what went wrong when you tried.
Put aside the Letter and the anger. Get some help to work through the process.

Cabbie did all that on the forms and my phone assessment. And reinforce my points when I phoned about the MRN. Funny enough everyone I know who applied for PIP where all turned down first time and MRN but won on appeal.

The Appeal panel means a fresh start, so go for it! All the best,

Whiff, I am so sorry you are going through this. The system is soulless. I hope you get enough support to get your claim through and using The Brain Trust sounds like a really good idea. My daughter has a congenital condition which they know causes joint dislocation and joint damage but they keep telling her she will get better so has to keep being reassessed. We've done the tribunal route and she was successful but she took a lot of persuading. She just hates they way she thinks they are calling her a liar.

That's it in a nutshell icanhandthemback the fact they are calling you a liar. I fully understand how your daughter feels. She must be in constant pain. And then not to be believed. I wish these people who judge us could spend a day in our bodies and see how they cope. Within a hour they would be begging for strong painkillers.

You daughter is probably like me she has been in pain for so long your body begins to tolerate it to a degree. I know I must be in more pain now than I was years ago but my body has just gotten used to it. I hate it when it flares and stops me doing everyday things.

Like a lot of people packaging is a nightmare. I have to buy what I can open not always the cheapest. Perfect example Sainsbury's bleach large lid but you have to squeeze push down and turn I haven't the strength in my hands to do it. So buy Domestos as it has a small tapered lid you just twist it's easy for me to open with rubber gloves on for grip .

I really wish manufacturers would try their packaging on people with various problems and not on people who haven't limb problems.

Cabbie thank you I am not going to stop fighting.

This is awful.

If we have the figures that show the number of initial fails along with number of the same cases that are successful on appeal, then someone should be examining why these cases didn't pass first time around, re train the staff who processed them initially, and stop the nonsense.

I've lost track of who in the government is responsible for this. ( tbh I probably didn't ever know who that was) and it's about time that this was made a high priority to get sorted.

I think that processing of claims for some benefits for people living in Scotland is being transferred to Scotland and I've heard that the intention is to have a cleaner smoother system in Scotland but the proof will be in the pudding as they say .

What is happening now really isn't any kind of " service" for a lot of vulnerable people.

The jobcentre used to refard me as "the client".

Is that still the parlance?

Discuss!

Whiff wrote

> Like a lot of people packaging is a nightmare. I have to buy what I can open not always the cheapest. Perfect example Sainsbury's bleach large lid but you have to squeeze push down and turn I haven't the strength in my hands to do it. So buy Domestos as it has a small tapered lid you just twist it's easy for me to open with rubber gloves on for grip .

> I really wish manufacturers would try their packaging on people with various problems and not on people who haven't limb problems.

I wonder if GNHQ could arrange a sponsored thread from a trade body for packaging or something like that, so that hopefully some progress could be made.

So I am self-reporting this post to GNHQ in order to draw this idea to the attention of GNHQ and in the hope that GNHQ will try to arrange something please. No need for a prize draw, it just needs an influential person from the packaging industry to participate, several times, not just once at the end of the run of the thread.

I have reported my post, with the following note.

> Can GNHQ help please?

Like a lot of people packaging is a nightmare.

There's an irony that I have to get my grandchildren to open some of the packaging for me as my joints complain too much!

I’m pretty sure that Sponsored Threads come about because the advertiser approaches Gransnet, or something along those lines.
And I definitely don’t think that they would approach anyone who wasn’t prepared to pay for the privilege.
Not the other way around SD.
GN is a business, and not a very lucrative one.
We are very lucky to have it really.

Whiff I’m so sorry that you are going through further upset.
The letters are indeed very insulting, and unnecessarily so.
I remember I was recently denied Carer’s Allowance - the implication was that I wasn’t in fact a carer.
So yes, Whiff, thinking of you

I have some videos to post regarding the descriptors, and things to consider.

They will help welbeck to help her friend, if she decides to go for the work capability assessment, and anyone else involved in the pip process, possibly.

FannyCornforth

I’m pretty sure that Sponsored Threads come about because the advertiser approaches Gransnet, or something along those lines.
And I definitely don’t think that they would approach anyone who wasn’t prepared to pay for the privilege.
Not the other way around SD.
GN is a business, and not a very lucrative one.
We are very lucky to have it really.

There is a saying, Do not grumble away your opportunities.

I have made a request to GNHQ.

I hope that something good will result from my request.

I do so agree about packaging. I couldn’t even open a bottle of bleach, the first time when you have to squeeze the top to break the seal. Sealed packs of bacon, fish etc, well I use scissors. I can’t pull them open. And let’s not talk about ring pulls!

By the way, this is worth a mention under Preparing Food and Washing, for PIP.
StarDreamer, I believe the DWP now says Customers! Crazy! We are not buying anything from them. If we were, we would have more rights.