“They said I was well enough to work”
Some people in this situation feel like they should just give up, others feel absolutely furious. The DWP often don’t apply the criteria correctly. Challenging the decision can take a long time, but everybody should get what the law says they are entitled to. Remember you have nothing to lose.
Most people in this situation have to start by asking for a mandatory reconsideration, but if you applied for ESA and it was either the first time you had claimed, or when you last claimed ESA you received an award, you can go straight to appeal. This is very useful as it means you can get the assessment rate of ESA while you wait for your appeal hearing and it means that if you win your appeal you will be able to stay on ESA rather than move to Universal Credit (which for most people pays a lower amount). See Appeal a work capability assessment decision.
If you claimed ESA before and the last time you were not given an award (and either you didn’t challenge it or you did not manage to get the decision changed) then you do need to ask for a mandatory reconsideration first. Start by using our Work Capability Assessment mandatory reconsideration tool.
“I should be in the support group, but they’ve put me in the work-related activity group”
Some people in this situation feel like they should just be happy they got something. Others are concerned that if they ask for the decision to be looked at again, they might lose their award. This is technically true, but if the DWP have recognised you are entitled to at least 15 points, you are unlikely to lose your award completely. Try not to worry. If you are concerned, try to see an adviser.
Remember, everybody should get what the law says they are entitled to, and the DWP often don’t apply the criteria correctly.
Use our Work Capability Assessment mandatory reconsideration tool to check what award you think you should have got. If it’s not the same as you were awarded, use our tool to ask the DWP to look again at the decision. If they don’t change their decision, you should appeal.
“I was on New-Style ESA in the support group until I was reassessed and now I don’t get anything”
This is because when you were reassessed they put you in the work-related activity group. You can only get New Style ESA for one year if you are in the work-related activity group. If you were in the support group you could stay on New Style ESA as long as necessary.
Use our Work Capability Assessment mandatory reconsideration tool to check what award you think you should have got. If you might still be entitled to be in the support group, use our tool to request a mandatory reconsideration. If they don’t change their decision you should appeal.
“My condition has got worse since I was assessed”
If your illness or impairment has got worse since the date of your decision, it cannot be taken into account in an appeal. Instead, if you now meet higher scoring descriptors you should make a new claim or ask for your current claim to be reassessed.
“My claim was closed because they say I didn’t send back the questionnaire on time”
You should ask for a mandatory reconsideration of the decision to close your claim and explain what happened. Maybe you did send the form back but it went missing, or maybe you failed to send the form back but you had a good reason. If the reason for your difficulties returning the form is connected to your condition (for example, if you were in hospital, if you are unable to deal with your post without help, or if you were too anxious or distressed to complete the form) you have a very good case for them to reinstate your claim.
If you don’t think you ever received the form, bear in mind the DWP will have evidence of having posted it to you. So, you will need to explain either that you have had difficulties in general with post not being delivered to your address, or that you didn’t know the form had arrived because you need help to manage your post, and you didn’t receive that help.
Use our Work Capability Assessment mandatory reconsideration tool to write the letter.
“My claim was closed because they say I didn’t attend the medical assessment”
You should ask for mandatory reconsideration of the decision to close your claim and explain why you failed to go to the assessment. If the reason for your difficulties is connected to your condition (for example, you were unwell that day, you didn’t open the letter about the assessment because you need help to manage your post, or were too anxious to cope) you have a very good case for them to reinstate your claim.
Similarly, if you had asked for a home assessment and were waiting to hear back from the DWP about whether that was possible, you could argue that was a good reason not to go to the assessment at an assessment centre. Use our Work Capability Assessment mandatory reconsideration tool to write the letter.
