Employment and Support Allowance ( ESA

jules44

Hi All,

Has anyone applied for this new benefit as yet?? If so what is the assessment like??

I am thinking of finishing work I only work 20 hours a week now but it is begining to take its toll as I suffer from:-

OA Right hand, Both Knees and Feet
Spondylosis of the cervical and Lumbar spine
Tendonitis both wrists
on set of Osteoprossis Left hand
Fibromyalgia

My doctor will sign me off work as soon as I ask him to, I'm 46 years old..


Cheers
Jules xx

lizzieuk1

Hi Jules,
I've just applied took ages on the phone, I did the income assessed claim which apparently if u don't qualify for they will then look at contribution based. I have to say the first person I spoke to was pretty inexperienced so it did take forever and I had to be called back the next day to finish it off second person better. U have to give all savings details and need ur ni number etc etc says all online if u look on DWP site.
No idea how I will do prob get nothing but worth a try. Obviously u need to be signed off by the doc.

trepolpen

hi Jules , would talk to CAB or someone like them for advice , chances are if you got ESA you would be put in the working group for 12 months , there is a criteria to get into the support group like being only able to walk short distance , to get into the working group you need to score 15 points to qualify

jules44

Thanks for that Guys, I had to fight to get DLA last year this went to the tribunal and I won, they awarded me the higher rate mobility component and the lower rate care, have problems walking any distance without incurring pain, unable to use a stick, crutches (also the arthritis crutches), or scooter due to my hands may just be able to use an electric wheelchair with joystick control.

Am I correct in saying that if they put me in the working group they will have to help me to find employment which will be suitable to me?

Jules xx
8)

trepolpen

to get into the Support group you need to score 15 points in one section , ie. like being unable to walk 50 meters without stopping in order to avoid significant discomfort or exhaustion like DLA , so if you qualify for DLA you should be ok , myself did not even need to go for medical

Just make sure you got the support of your doctors & get help filling in the forms

sbolam

I would seek professional advice for people such as dial or even CAB as others have mentioned, the forms are very tricky to fill in and doing them on your own can be risky with the way they then deal with what you said in the actual interview (they call it a medical).

they will try and catch you out with trick questions. so be very careful what you say and take someone with you this is a must as if you go to appeal they can be a witness to your claim.

I am on my second appeal after a terrible interview. They just lie and assume everything..

put please don't get too stressed over it, its really not that bad. its a case of them just making it very difficult as possible for everyone and hoping you will not appeal..

that's the way I see it anyway.

Stephen.

toady

Hi Jules44, here are some useful links with guides to esa, form-filling, what to be aware of etc. Even if you do get help with your forms from cab etc it pays to do a bit of homework & it's less info to take in all at once if you break reading up on things into chunks.

Guide to filling in ESA50 (pdf file) - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/99kwk99lv5v4gm6/mUXeTRMvci/Fullfacts Claim Form and medical guide.pdf
Guide to the way the overall assessment process works - http://dwpexamination.org/forum/useful-templates/esa50-guide/
Summary of the points scoring system - http://pseudo-living.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/esa-descriptors-and-points.html

You have a month to fill the form in unless you have 'good cause' to send it later. Even if you don't have your form yet, start rounding up helpful stuff to support your claim such as, as much medical records as you can get to back up your condition, reports/letters from GP consultant etc, tests results & xrays, medication info etc.

As far as the work group goes (wrag), it isn't to help you find a job then & there as such (as I understand it), it's more about attending appointments to look at what help you might need to get back into work at some point, whether any courses related to your condition would help, that sort of thing.

Good luck with it all.

jules44

Thanks for all of your support and info, as always when you claim for anything its very rare for them to say yes first time around, as soon as they say no I always put in for an appeal, luckily I have my medical records as I had to use them for my DLA appeal and at present I do have a really good doctor, could not believe my DLA Appeal though, as two members of the panel looked like they were about to fall asleep lol

And like everything else, governments decide that rules for this that and the other need to be changed or updated, unfortunately it usually takes a couple of years before everyone actually knows what they are supposed to be doing

jules xx