esa without medical

hi,
I decided that being in the ESA working related is wrong for me. I do not understand how they cam to the decision that i should not be in the support group. I rand DWP this morning and asked for a written statement of reasons for the decision.
I did not attend a medical and the Dwp employee stated that everyone whom has been on long term incapacity benefit has been placed in this group and when i go for my work focussed interview the decision as to which group i am in can be changed..
I am even more confused than i was before.
What do i do next - do i just wait and go to work foccused interview and hope things change...
I find it hard to believe that being on all my meds including Morphine and Oramorph they think i am capable of work.
If i was capable i wouldnt be sittng round or should i say spending days in bed in agony i would be out working as i always had been since leaving school i worked for 32 years and still cant believe that i am incapable and that is the operative word here..incapable.....

Does the fact that i receive HRC and HRM not have any bearing and i am now worrying even more as my DLA is up for renewal in Dec 2012 and will the fact that i am in the work related group for ESA hold an important factor in that renewal process....

A very worried - sick - tired and about to give up on everything

Imelda

imelda wrote:

hi,
I decided that being in the ESA working related is wrong for me. I do not understand how they cam to the decision that i should not be in the support group. I rand DWP this morning and asked for a written statement of reasons for the decision.
I did not attend a medical and the Dwp employee stated that everyone whom has been on long term incapacity benefit has been placed in this group and when i go for my work focussed interview the decision as to which group i am in can be changed..
I am even more confused than i was before.
What do i do next - do i just wait and go to work foccused interview and hope things change...
I find it hard to believe that being on all my meds including Morphine and Oramorph they think i am capable of work.
If i was capable i wouldnt be sittng round or should i say spending days in bed in agony i would be out working as i always had been since leaving school i worked for 32 years and still cant believe that i am incapable and that is the operative word here..incapable.....

Does the fact that i receive HRC and HRM not have any bearing and i am now worrying even more as my DLA is up for renewal in Dec 2012 and will the fact that i am in the work related group for ESA hold an important factor in that renewal process....

A very worried - sick - tired and about to give up on everything

Imelda

Hi Im,

If you feel that you should be in the Support Group of ESA rather than the WRAG, then you can appeal the decision, within 1 month of the date of the WRAG award letter.

You should do this by submitting the GL24 Form, which can be downloaded from the link on this page :

How to submit an appeal

Once your GL24 is received by the DWP, an automatic reconsideration of your award will take place, this will be carried out by a different DWP Decision Maker, if you wish to submit any fresh evidence or redraw the reviewing DM's attention to evidence already provided, you should submit it as soon as possible, if you wish to have it taken inti account at the reconsideration stage.

You will have around a 4 week window of opportunity to do this, from when they receive your GL24.

If the decision is not changed at the reconsideration stage, it will be sent forward to the appeals process, without the need of any further action by you.

You can withdraw your appeal at any time, and you will continue to receive the WRAG rate of ESA whilst you appeal.

See these relevant pages from our FAQ's :

How long do I have to appeal?

Is there any risk to challenging a decision?

Where to get advice?

How long to hear an appeal?

Do I have to attend WFIs while I appeal?

You may wish to request the relevant ESA Forms to find out how long your WRAG award will last before reassessment,as you did not have a face to face you would request the ESA85A, please see :

ESA medical – what forms to ask for?

ESA Forms

To aid your appeal, please refer to our recently update ESA Appeals Guide Jan 2012, which can be accessed from here :

ESA Guides

See also :

Qualifying for the Support Group

You shoud also review the ESA & Appeals Sections in our FAQ's, accessible from here :

FAQ’s

With regards to the comments made by the DWP about all long term IB recipients being put into WRAG, this is simply not true.

WFI,s are supposedly to prepare you for work at some time in the future, and has nothing to do with placing you in either group of ESA, this decision can be made by the DWP DM alone, paying heed to any recommendation made by ATOS, and any other evidence, see :

Work Programme

Work Focussed Interviews, (WFI’s)

WFI's can be deferred, or even carried out over the phone, but you cannot demand either.You can attend with a companion if you wish.

DLA and ESA are totally seperate benefits, with a few crossovers in "Continence" and "Mobilising".

You should draw attention to any of your limitations that fulfill the criteria of the Support Group Descriptors.

If after reading the above you have any further general questions please come back to the forum,here.

bro58