Prepare for the work capability assessment appeal hearing

There are a lot of things for you to do over the next few months. So it is important to start preparing as soon as you can. Some things can take a long time.

The guidance below assumes you are preparing for a face-to-face hearing. Nowadays, lots of hearings take place by phone or by video call. Some people prefer this option. All of the advice, except about actually travelling to the hearing applies equally to hearings by video or phone.

This information applies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Last updated: February 2024

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When will the hearing be?

How long it takes for the hearing to be scheduled varies from 5 to 12 months, depending on where you are in the country. Usually you will not get told the date of the hearing until 2-3 weeks before (you should be given at least 14 days notice unless you agreed to be given less on the form) so it’s important to start getting ready as soon as you can.

It is useful to know how long you have to prepare for your appeal. You can phone the tribunal centre dealing with your appeal and ask them how long you are likely to be waiting for a date for the hearing.

Manage your appeal

If you are OK with online things, it is a good idea to sign up to the Manage your appeal service. This service enables you to keep track of how your appeal is progressing, and you can use it to upload evidence (including audio and video evidence if you want to). It will send you texts or emails to let you know that the DWP have responded to your appeal, to confirm evidence has been received, and when your hearing date has been scheduled.

If you asked for an appeal online and gave them your email address, you will have received an email with a link to help you sign up. If you did not, you can sign up by calling 0300 123 1142 Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm or by emailing [email protected]. If you ask by email, you will need to include your National Insurance number, date of birth and postal address.

Get advice

If you have not already tried to get advice, do so now (See How to find an adviser to help with your disability benefits). Some advisers may be able to help do some of this preparation for you. If you are lucky enough to find someone who can help with the preparation, make sure you are clear which things they are going to do for you, and which you need to do yourself.

Do not wait until you know the date of the tribunal, as most advice centres have a long waiting list.

Do you need help with your appeal?

If you are not getting any professional help to prepare for the hearing, you might want to ask somebody else to help you. You may not need any help, but it might stop it from feeling too stressful. It might be particularly useful if you are not very good with paperwork or deadlines.

If you do think it might be useful, think about who you could ask - do you have a family member, friend, neighbour, or someone who helps you who is good with paperwork and organising things?

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Extremely valuable advice and very easy to understand. I would recommend to anyone who is in an appeal process to look at this guide.

J Griff

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Full of excellent tips. I tell everyone about it.

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Look at the big pack of papers that you were sent by the DWP explaining why they made the decision they did. Many people get very confused by the inclusion of relevant test cases at the beginning. Don’t let them put you off. If you don’t have time to become an expert on all the legal ins and outs of work capability assessment decisions, ignore these.

The most important part is the report from the medical assessment. Read through it and look for anything you don't agree with.

Did the assessor ask you the right questions and correctly record your answers?
Are there things in there that didn’t happen or don’t reflect your conversation?
If you had the assessment over the phone, did the assessor grasp the extent of your difficulties?
If your health condition or disability is better or worse on different days, did the assessor understand that?
Make a note of all the things that are wrong. If you can, say why they are wrong. You can include this in your statement to the tribunal.

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Do not be shocked if the assessment report is full of inaccuracies

This seems to happen horribly frequently. We have heard of completely incorrect diagnoses being recorded, easily verifiable physical conditions being ignored or incorrectly recorded, and records of whole conversations that never occurred. If you find this has happened to you, you are right to be angry about it – it is terrible - but don’t take it personally. It happens to a lot of people. However, don’t get too focused on it. Appeal panels know how bad assessment reports often are and so it is easy to get them set aside in favour of other evidence/ what you say in the hearing.

If you are angry about it and have the energy for two things, put in a complaint to the DWP as they are ultimately responsible for the quality of assessments. If you are not satisfied by their response, the complaint will then go to a case examiner, and if you are still not satisfied your complaint can then go to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman who has the ability to request systemic changes as well as a solution for you personally. If you do this, please tell us about it via our website. If you only have the energy for one thing though, focus on your appeal as that is the quickest way of getting your award changed.

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For most people, the thing that is of most help is written evidence from their doctor or other professionals. If you have a social worker, community psychiatric nurse, occupational therapist, support worker, or any other professional, evidence from them will be very useful too.

The most useful evidence will explain how your illness or disability affects you, and the help you need (paying particular attention to the descriptors that you meet). This is unusual and really complicated, so your doctor/social worker or other professional may not understand that.

Look at How to write useful evidence for a Work Capability Assessment appeal below. This is a guide for your doctor, social worker, or anybody else writing evidence for you. Mark the particular activities and descriptors you believe you meet on this page (or tell them what they are), and write the date of the DWP decision in the relevant place. When you ask them for evidence to support your appeal, send them a link to these pages and ask for them to comment on those specifically. It will help them to write evidence that will be really helpful to you.

The best evidence will come from people who know you well and who understand your situation. If your GP does not know you well, you should still ask him or her for evidence, but try to get evidence from other professionals too. This could be your social worker or community psychiatric nurse, a paid support worker, a personal assistant, your occupational therapist, somebody who works at a day centre you go to, support staff at your school or college, or somebody else. You could also get evidence from a carer, friend or relative who helps you a lot.

It is important not to be offended if the evidence embarrasses you. For example, if it says that sometimes you appear not to have washed or eaten properly. They are just trying to ensure you get all the help you are entitled to.

Evidence from your support worker, personal assistant, carer, or anybody that helps you

If there is somebody who helps you a lot (this might be somebody you pay, or who helps you at college or work, or it might be your partner, a family member, or a friend), they may be able to write some very useful evidence too. Ask them to write a letter to the tribunal panel explaining what help they give you and how often. Show them the section for doctors and other professionals on How to write useful evidence for a Work Capability Assessment appeal - it will help them to remember everything.

It can be very useful for this person to come to the hearing with you - so that the panel can ask them questions. They may be asked to wait outside until their evidence is needed - so you may need to be prepared to go in alone at first.

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You are appealing the decision the DWP made on a particular date (at the top of the letter). You need to prove how your illness, condition or disability was at that time, not how it is now. Write the date of the decision you are appealing in the blue box on How to write useful evidence for a Work Capability Assessment appeal (or tell them what it is), before you ask anybody for evidence.

Is there any other evidence that you have?

There may be useful evidence you already have or can easily get. Maybe you have letters from doctors or support services already that support your case.

Perhaps you have had an occupational health assessment at work or for adaptations at home?

Or young people may have an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP), or Disabled student grant assessment.

If you have recently been assessed and awarded PIP it is well worth requesting that report and sending it in. Similarly, if you have successfully appealed a work capability assessment decision previously, send in that previous tribunal decision, or ask the tribunal office to find a copy of it and pass it to the new tribunal.

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Paying for medical evidence

GP's and other medical professionals are allowed to charge for evidence and many do. However, if they know you cannot afford it they are often willing to do it for free.

If your doctor suggests that he or she will charge you, tell them that it doesn’t need to be terribly long, and that it could be hand-written if this is quicker. Reassure them that it will only take the time of an appointment. Use How to write useful evidence for a Work Capability Assessment appeal and mark which descriptors you meet. Ask them to read it, so that they are sure of what you need from them.

If they insist on charging you, instead ask them for the last two years of your medical records. They will give you this for free and it may contain some useful evidence.

Write a diary

You should think about keeping a diary of the difficulties and help you need each day. It will help the tribunal panel to get a proper understanding of your situation. It is particularly helpful if your illness or disability is not the same every day. It also needs to reflect how you were affected at the time of the decision about your benefit, so is of most use if your health has not got worse since then.

Keep a diary for a week (or if you have a condition which fluctuates, a longer period will be helpful). It can be very brief. For example - 'Monday – Very confused today. Marie needed to remind and prompt me to do simple everyday tasks, and not to get distracted. We went to the shops and I needed help to cross the road safely’. Include everything that is connected to the activities and descriptors that entitlement to these benefits are based on (see How to write useful evidence for a Work Capability Assessment appeal for the list).

If you get help from somebody and find this sort of thing hard, you could ask them to keep a diary of the help they have given you instead (as an alternative to the letter - see above).

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Show/send this page to the people you are asking to write evidence for you.

Remember to mark the descriptors you meet below. Remember that you can only score points for one descriptor (either a, b, c or d) in each of the activities so choose the descriptor that you meet that gives you the most points.

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We have written this page for medical staff, social workers, support workers, and other professionals who might be able to tell the tribunal what they need to know. It explains how to write helpful evidence for this kind of benefit appeal.

Evidence from professionals helps the tribunal to come to the right decision more than anything else. Your evidence doesn't need to be long or typed.

--------------BLUE BOX ------------

This appeal is about a decision that was made on …………………………. [patient to fill in]. Your evidence needs to be about how their condition affected them at that time.

-----------------END OF BB-----------

1) Consider if your patient/client could reasonably be expected to manage finding a job, going to work, or doing all the things they need to do in order to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance (or the Universal Credit version of it). Your client can be entitled to these benefits if the panel recognise they face a substantial risk from being found fit to work even if they don’t meet enough of the descriptors below. For example, if they sometimes have seizures, violent outbursts, frequent falls, suicidal thoughts, delusions, or need supervision to stay safe, it would arguably be dangerous for them to be forced to travel and work without supervision.

Or if they would be unable to look for jobs, and go to meetings and training on time and without fail (perhaps because of depression or confusion) there is a substantial risk that their benefit payments would stop and they would be unable to feed or care for themselves. If the stress of looking for a job or going to work might make them relapse, that can be counted too.

If you can see that any of this applies to your service user please write in your evidence that ‘Looking for work or working poses a substantial risk to the health and well-being of [name of patient/client] because of….’

2) Consider if your patient/client could reasonably be expected to manage going to the meetings and training sessions they need to in order to continue getting the benefit if they are put in the ‘work-related activity group’ (in ESA) or ‘limited capability for work’ group (in Universal Credit). If you are concerned that they will not manage it, include a sentence along the lines of ‘Being obliged to do work-related activity also poses a substantial risk to their health and well-being because of….’

3) Confirm which of the descriptors below they meet. Your patient/client has marked which descriptors they think they meet below. Please confirm all those that you can in your evidence. For example, if they cannot walk into your consulting room without discomfort, or if they are slow and it takes them twice as long as somebody else, please say that.

If you cannot confirm the descriptor your patient has marked but can confirm another in that activity, please include that. If you cannot confirm any from that activity, please just leave it out as your patient may have evidence from someone else who knows more about their problems with this. If you don’t understand why your patient meets the descriptor they have indicated, please ask them.

If your patient/client could do the activity described but not for a reasonable, continuous period, or sometimes, but not on most days, it counts as being unable to do it. For example, if they can stand and walk for 50 meters, but they can only do it a few times in a day, it hurts them, or they wouldn’t be able to do it the next day, the law sees this as not being able to walk for 50 metres.

This appeal is about a decision that was made on …………………………. [patient to fill in]. Your evidence needs to be about how their condition affected them at that time.

4) If you are a medical professional, please also confirm any diagnosis or treatment.

Physical disabilities

Activity 1: Moving around without the help of another person – including using a walking stick, manual wheelchair or other aid you could use.

Descriptors:

(a) Cannot move more than 50 metres on level ground without stopping in order to avoid significant discomfort or exhaustion, or cannot repeatedly move 50 metres within a reasonable timescale because of significant discomfort or exhaustion - 15 Points

(b) Cannot go up or down two steps without the help of another person, even with the support of a handrail - 9 Points

(c) Cannot move more than 100 metres on level ground without stopping in order to avoid significant discomfort or exhaustion, or cannot do it repeatedly within a reasonable timescale because of significant discomfort or exhaustion - 9 Points

(d) Cannot move more than 200 metres on level ground without stopping in order to avoid significant discomfort or exhaustion, or cannot do it repeatedly within a reasonable timescale because of significant discomfort or exhaustion - 6 Points

Activity 2: Standing and sitting

Descriptors:
(a) Cannot move between one seated position and another seated position located next to one another without receiving physical help from another person -15 Points
(b) Cannot, for the majority of the time, remain at a work station, either:
(i) standing without help from another person (even if free to move around); or (ii) sitting (even in an adjustable chair) for more than 30 minutes, before needing to move away in order to avoid significant discomfort or exhaustion -9 Points
(c) Cannot, for the majority of the time, remain at a work station, either:
(i) standing unassisted by another person (even if free to move around); or (ii) sitting (even in an adjustable chair) for more than an hour before needing to move away in order to avoid significant discomfort or exhaustion - 6 points

Activity 3: Reaching

Descriptors:
(a) Cannot raise either arm as if to put something in the top pocket of a coat or jacket - 15 Points
(b) Cannot raise either arm to top of head as if to put on a hat - 9 Points
(c) Cannot raise either arm above head height as if to reach for something - 6 Points

Activity 4: Picking up and moving or things using your upper body and arms

Descriptors:
(a) Cannot pick up and move a 0.5 litre carton full of liquid - 15 Points
(b) Cannot pick up and move a one litre carton full of liquid - 9 Points
(c) Cannot transfer a light but bulky object such as an empty cardboard box - 6 Points

Activity 5: Manual dexterity

Descriptors:
(a) Cannot press a button or turn the pages of a book with either hand - 15 Points
(b) Cannot pick up a £1 coin with either hand - 15 Points
(c) Cannot use a pen or pencil to make a meaningful mark - 9 Points
(d) Cannot use a suitable keyboard or mouse - 9 Points

Activity 6: Making yourself understood through speaking, writing, typing, or other means, without help from someone else

Descriptors:
(a) Cannot convey a simple message, such as the presence of a hazard - 15 Points
(b) Has significant difficulty conveying a simple message to strangers - 15 Points
(c) Has some difficulty conveying a simple message to strangers - 6 Points

Activity 7: Understanding communication by either verbal means (such as hearing or lip reading) and non-verbal means (such as reading large print), using anything to help that you could use (glasses, hearing aid etc), without help from someone else

(For the descriptors below, you only have to show that you have difficulty or are unable to understand a spoken or written message, and not both).

Descriptors:
(a) Cannot understand a simple message due to sensory impairment, such as the location of a fire escape - 15 Points
(b) Has significant difficulty understanding a simple message from a stranger due to sensory impairment - 15 Points
(c) Has some difficulty understanding a simple message from a stranger due to sensory impairment - 6 Points

Activity 8: Finding your way and being safe, using a guide dog or other aid if normally used

Descriptors:
(a) Unable to find your way around familiar places, without the help of another person, due to sensory impairment - 15 Points
(b) Cannot safely cross the road (or complete another potentially dangerous task), without the help of another person, due to sensory impairment - 15 Points
(c) Unable to find your way around unfamiliar places, without the help of another person, due to sensory impairment - 9 points

Activity 9: Extensive incontinence (other than bed-wetting) despite using any aids normally used

Descriptors:
(a) At least once a week experiences loss of control leading to incontinence, or substantial leakage of the contents of a collecting device, so that you need to wash and change your clothes -15 Points
(b) At least once a month experiences loss of control leading to incontinence, or substantial leakage of the contents of a collecting device, so that you need to wash and change your clothes -15 Points

(C)At risk of incontinence, bad enough for you to need to wash and change your clothes, if you are not able to reach a toilet quickly - 6 Points

Activity 10: Consciousness during waking moments

Descriptors:
(a) At least once a week, has an involuntary episode of lost or altered consciousness that causes significant reduction in awareness or concentration - 15 Points
(b) At least once a month, has an involuntary episode of lost or altered consciousness that causes significant reduction in awareness or concentration - 6 Points

Mental, cognitive and intellectual function

Activity 11: Learning tasks

Descriptors:
(a) Cannot learn how to complete a simple task, such as setting an alarm clock - 15 Points
(b) Cannot learn anything beyond a simple task, such as setting an alarm clock - 9 Points
(c) Cannot learn anything beyond a moderately complex task, such as the steps involved in operating a washing machine - 6 Points

Activity 12: Awareness of everyday hazards (such as boiling water or sharp objects)

Descriptors:
(a) Reduced awareness of everyday hazards so that there is a significant risk that they will hurt themselves or others, or damage property or possessions, so that they need supervision most of the time to stay safe - 15 Points
(b) Reduced awareness of everyday hazards so that there is a significant risk that they will hurt themselves or others, or damage property or possessions, so that they need frequent supervision to stay safe - 9 Points
(c) Reduced awareness of everyday hazards so that there is a significant risk that they will hurt themselves or others, or damage to property or possessions, so that they occasionally need supervision to stay safe - 6 Points

Activity 13: Initiating and completing personal action (which means planning, organisation, problem solving, prioritising or switching tasks without needing prompting from somebody else)

Descriptors:
(a) Cannot, due to impaired mental function, reliably initiate or complete at least 2 sequential personal actions.
15 Points
(b) Cannot, due to impaired mental function, reliably initiate or complete at least 2 personal actions for the majority of the time.
9 Points
(c) Frequently cannot, due to impaired mental function, reliably initiate or complete at least 2 personal actions.
6 Points

Activity 14: Coping with change

Descriptors:
(a) Cannot cope with any change to the extent that day to day life cannot be managed - 15 Points
(b) Cannot cope with minor planned change (such as a pre-arranged change to the routine time scheduled for a lunch break), to the extent that overall day to day life is made significantly more difficult - 9 Points
(c) Cannot cope with minor unplanned change (such as the timing of an appointment on the day it is due to occur), to the extent that overall, day to day life is made significantly more difficult - 6 Points

Activity 15: Getting about

Descriptors:
(a) Cannot get to any specified place with which the claimant is familiar -15 Points
(b) Is unable to go to a familiar place without being accompanied by another person - 9 Points
(c) Is unable to go to an unfamiliar place without being accompanied by another person - 6 Points

Activity 16: Coping with social engagement due to cognitive impairment or mental disorder

(This is about your ability to interact with people in face-to-face social situations. It must be more than shyness or reticence.)

Descriptors:
(a) Engagement in social contact is always impossible due to difficulty relating to others or significant distress experienced by the individual - 15 points
(b) Engagement in social contact with someone unfamiliar is impossible due to difficulty relating to others or significant distress experienced by the individual - 9 Points
(c) Engagement in social contact with someone unfamiliar is not possible for the majority of the time due to difficulty relating to others or significant distress experienced by the individual - 6 Points

Activity 17: Appropriateness of behaviour with other people, due to cognitive impairment or mental disorder

Descriptors:
(a) Has, on a daily basis, uncontrollable episodes of aggressive or disinhibited behaviour that would be unreasonable in any workplace - 15 Points
(b) Frequently has uncontrollable episodes of aggressive or disinhibited behaviour that would be unreasonable in any workplace - 15 Points
(c) Occasionally has uncontrollable episodes of aggressive or disinhibited behaviour that would be unreasonable in any workplace - 9 Points

Activity 18: Conveying food or drink to the mouth

If any of the below descriptors apply, you should automatically be put in the support group (ESA) or Limited capability for work-related activity group (Universal Credit).

(a) Cannot get food or drink to own mouth without physical help from someone else
(b) Cannot get food or drink to own mouth without repeatedly stopping, experiencing breathlessness or severe discomfort;
(c) Cannot get food or drink to own mouth without needing somebody with you to regularly prompt or remind you

(d) Fails to get food or drink to own mouth without receiving either physical help from somebody else or needing somebody with you to regularly prompt or remind you, because of a severe disorder of mood or behaviour

Activity 19: Chewing or swallowing food or drink

If any of the below descriptors apply, you should automatically be put in the support group (ESA) or Limited capability for work-related activity group (Universal Credit).

(a) Cannot chew or swallow food or drink
(b) Cannot chew or swallow food or drink without repeatedly stopping, experiencing breathlessness or severe discomfort
(c) Cannot chew or swallow food or drink without needing somebody with you to repeatedly and regularly prompt or remind you
(d) Fails to chew or swallow food or drink or fails to do so without needing somebody with you to regularly prompt or remind you, because of a severe disorder of mood or behaviour

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Read all the evidence through - does it reflect your difficulties accurately? If it doesn't, you don't have to send it to the panel. If you don't think the evidence is useful it may be worth going back to the person who wrote it and discussing it with them. Looking again at our guidance on How to write useful evidence for a Work Capability Assessment appeal, is there anything they can add to make it more useful?

If you have got useful evidence, upload a photo of it using the Manage your appeal service or photocopy it and send it into the HM Courts and Tribunal Service before your hearing. Send it as soon as you can and always have a copy with you on the day. Sending the evidence in advance is useful because it maximises the chance of the DWP changing the decision in your favour.

If your hearing is in-person, take your copies with you and ask the clerk or panel to confirm that they have received them.

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