Many hearings happen over video now. However, some are still face-to-face. Whatever kind of hearing you have you should prepare in a similar way.

Attending a hearing isn’t like going to court. You can go alone or take a friend or family member with you for moral support.

The hearing itself will usually last about 40 minutes.

Remember it is YOUR appeal. If you get upset, you can ask for a short break. If you are in discomfort from sitting in the chair after a while, you can simply get up and walk around the room a bit.

In the unlikely event that the panel are considering a reduction of your existing award (for example because you appealed the decision not to put you in the support group, and the panel feel that you may not be entitled to any award at all), the judge will give you warning and ask if you want a few minutes to consider your options. This is very rare. But if it does happen to you, ask for the hearing to be stopped and explain that you wish to withdraw the appeal. If you do this, the Tribunal is very unlikely to take away the benefit you get at the moment.

The panel will usually make the decision that day. This usually takes between 10-20 minutes. They will give you a written outline of their decision as well.

Sometimes the panel will not be able to make a decision quickly. If this happens, they will post it to you instead. It should arrive within a week. If they are not able to make a decision quickly, it does not mean that you have not been successful with your appeal.

The panel

The panel will usually be made up of two people - a judge and a medical expert, usually a doctor. The doctor does not work for the government or the DWP. The panel should introduce themselves and explain what will happen.

Remember the panel are completely separate from the DWP. They are here to see that you get the benefit if you can show you are entitled to it.

Usually the members of the panel will be nice and easy to talk to, and will just want to get a full picture of your illness or disability and the help you need. Try to answer their questions fully.

The DWP

The DWP have a right to send somebody to your appeal to explain why they made their decision and they do this sometimes. Don't worry about this though. If they send someone, they are nice and non-confrontational. It will not be the person that made the original decision about your claim.

Whether you have a video hearing or face-to-face hearing these tips will help you get the right award, and stop it from becoming too stressful.

• Make sure you log on or arrive at the tribunal centre in plenty of time.
• If you think it might help, ask a friend or family member to be with you for emotional support. They might also be able to help by reminding you of things you have forgotten. If you do ask a friend, show them the page for friends or relatives.
• Don't dress up or make a big effort with your appearance. It is important that the panel see you as you are on a normal day. Otherwise, they might get the impression that you don't need help, even if you do.
• The panel may be running late and so you might have to wait. If you have made any notes of what you want to say, use this time to go over them.
• Be aware that the tribunal will take into account what they see you do from the momen you are visible. For example, if you have said you can’t sit still for long, or have great difficulty walking, they might watch how you are.  If you are having a good day, and your illness or disability is normally worse, make sure you tell them.
• If you had asked for any help with communication or translation and it is not available, insist on having the hearing another day.
• If you don't understand a question, ask them to repeat it or put it another way. If you still don’t understand, tell them that. Don’t agree to anything you don’t understand to be polite.
• If they say something that isn’t right, make it clear that it is not true. For example, if they say “You don’t have much trouble with sitting do you?” make it clear if you do have trouble with sitting for more than an hour.
• If you have written a statement or a triubnal submission, ask if they have had a chance to read it. If they have, you won’t need to worry about covering everything in the discussion. If they haven’t, they will usually pause for a moment while they read it.
• Don't worry about using the 'right' language or ‘buzz words’. It is much better to use your own words. If you think they haven't understood something you have said, say it again in a different way.
• They usually ask whether your condition has changed since the decision.  Remember that you need to prove that the DWP made the wrong decision at the time, so it is unhelpful to dwell too much on how your condition has got worse. It is better to emphasise where your difficulties have remained broadly the same. 
• They will often ask you about if you had any problems this morning. If somebody has helped you (perhaps by physically helping you to get up, or by prompting and encouraging you and keeping you calm so that you can manage the hearing) be sure to tell the panel. Tell them if you needed help to read or understand the instructions to log on to the video hearing or how to get to the tribunal centre.
• Don't make light of your illness or disability. Be as frank about your condition as you can be. 
• Try to make sure you don’t exaggerate the problems that you have either. If you do, the panel might not believe you when you are not exaggerating.
• Try to make sure that you explain how you meet the specific descriptors. For example, if they ask if you manage when things don’t go according to plan, don’t just say yes or no. Spell out what difficulties you have and give examples of when you have not coped well when something unexpected happened and what happened as a result.
• If you find you haven't said everything you want to say because they haven't asked the right question - tell them anyway. It is important that you say everything (unless you wrote a statement or submission, in which case you don’t have to worry about this). A clever tactic is to make notes about what you want to tell them (for example, take a list of everything you think you should have been given points for and why you meet those descriptors) and tick them off as you say them. Make sure that they are all ticked off before you leave. If you have taken somebody with you for moral support - this is a very useful thing for them to do - they can remind you to say anything you might have forgotten.
• If how your illness or impairment affects you changes and you need different amounts of help on different days, you will need to make this clear. It is best if you can say roughly how often you need help with each thing, rather than saying 'sometimes'. The rules say that the tribunal must make their decision based on how you are on the majority of days.
• Many people find they get very emotional at the hearing. It doesn't matter if you get upset. It won't make any difference to your chances. Remember - you can ask for a break to compose yourself.

The tribunal panel will tell the DWP their decision and you will get an official notice of the decision.

If you were successful, the DWP will work out how much they owe you. You will start receiving the new amount every month, and a sum covering any amount they owe you while you waited for the appeal.  You will usually receive your money in about 4 - 6 weeks.

If you weren't successful, you will be sent a leaflet to explain your options. Sometimes you might be able to appeal to the Upper Tribunal. This is like a higher court. However, this can only be done if the panel did something wrong with the law. It is very complicated, and very few people can do this without an experienced adviser. If you want to look into this possibility, you need to move quickly - you will need to ask for a copy of the tribunal’s statement of reasons within one month. You cannot appeal to the Upper Tribunal without the Statement of Reasons. See How to find an adviser.

If you don’t believe you are well enough to work (or manage the jobseeking tasks you need to do to get JSA or Universal Credit on the basis that you are looking for a job) you may be able to try again for the limited capability for work element by submitting a new fit note from your doctor. If you have recent NI contributions because you have been working) you could make a new claim for New Style ESA. (But you won’t get the assessment rate while you are waiting for a work capability assessment again, unless you can show that your condition has got significantly worse, or that you have a new condition).

The DWP also has the right to appeal to the upper tribunal if they think the tribunal panel did something wrong. This rarely happens. If it does happen, they will write and tell you.

Disclaimer

The information in this guide applies to England and Wales and Scotland. It will also be useful for people in Northern Ireland. The law is complicated. We recommend you try and get advice from the sources we have suggested if you can.

The cases we refer to are not always real but show a typical situation. We have included them to help you think about how to deal with your own situation.

If you would like this guide in another format please email guides@lawforlife.org.uk

Acknowledgement

This guide was written and updated by Advicenow.

Advicenow would like to thank all those who provided advice and feedback on this guide, particularly David Shah who peer reviewed this edition of the guide.

Thanks to the Ministry of Justice for funding this update.