RE : Work related activity group

[John5]

Hello, I have had a letter from the DWP, after my medical with Atos, The letter says i have been placed in a Work related activity group, I don't really understand what this is , I think its saying i am fit for work and someone will help me find some ??? . I am not fit for work what should i do ? Thanks

[Hidden]

Hi

They are not saying you are fit for work now, otherwise you would be taken off sickness benefits and put on Job seekers allowance, what the WRAG is designed to do is to help you allegedly prepare for a return to work in the future.

So they will expect you to attend interviews at the job centre with a personal advisor who will try and help you improve your prospects of finding work in the future. However and this is the important bit, you are not expected to look for work now. In the WRAG group you will also get paid the current ESA rate.

A lot of people who apply for ESA end up in this group. However if you think you are too ill to be in this group you can appeal against this decision and try and get put in the support group Where you will not be expected to attend any interviews etc. In which case you have 1 month to appeal. Hope that helps.

[hog2203]

I was placed on WRAG around 8 months ago, it took 4 months for an advisor to see me and all he now does is see me every 4 to 6 weeks and asks me if I have looked for work when I tell him I have looked but nothing is suitable he just says yes you are too sick to work I will see you in 4 to. 6 weeeks. WRAG are only designed by the government to reduce benefit for those that need them as I am sure like me your bnefit will drop by around £20 per week. It has made little difference to me as I have always looked for work when I feel up to it and will always do so it is just the ddrop in benefit that has made a difference as that has£20 a week makes a difference

[John5]

Hi and thank you for your replies , I do feel that i shouldn't be in this group, I have many medical problems , when i was told by letter i had to have a medical by Atos , my GP wrote to them saying i couldn't make it to there , and she asked if they would do a home visit instead, which they did on the terms of my illness , I am more or less house bound , How am i supposed to get to the Job center , Does anyone think i should apply for what Silverstar said in her comment the support group!! Thanks again

[kerrykell in reply to John5]

Hiya john i to have been put in the work group.

They said that i need to go to a group that will in the future be there to help me with skills that in the future may help with wirk in the future.

They said that the suppord group is for people who cant communicate in any way or able to walk.

I told them with my fog and stiffness i fall in that Gd catagorie.

I now will have one to one but i am still not sure how i will get there when i have not been able to get out of bed for 4 weeks.....

They BUG me .

[kerrykell]

I woul appeal how can you go job centre if the dr said you cant attend a medical.

Are they really this STUPID REALLY??

[John5]

Thanks , But if i appeal , and it goes to a court of wherever it goes how do i get to the appeal I cant , I cant win , or would they send someone out again My GP will write to them but i need to know as its upsetting me very much , i am sure lots of you have been in the same situation as myself, sorry to keep going on .

[Hidden]

Hi

If you appeal the DWP can look at your case again and can overturn their original decision, so far so good. If not then your case will go to a tribunal. Many people do try and attend in person as it gives them a chance to put their side of the case across and for the panel to see for themselves the health problems of the person.

However it is not mandatory to attend if you are unable to. The appeal will look at the evidence submitted by both you and the DWP and will come to a decision. The more medical evidence and information you can supply about how your health is affected on a daily basis the better.

No one can say whether or not you will win but you have nothing to lose by appealing. Be warned though many appeals are taking months before they get to the tribunal as there is such a backlog.

[charlie_2]

Hey John5

The same thing happened to me. I started an appeal right away,and it took forever. but stupid dwp after my first appeal said I can't extend work support past 365 days. They screwed up and thought i was appealing to try and go beyond the allotted days...idiots. had to complete all the pw again. When i finally got my decision, it was in my favour and the money paid to me had to go back all the way to when they made the wrong decision. The thing is although we really needed the money, i always feel so guilty. i have worked all my life and have never been on any type of benefits. my partner is real good about it,telling me that I deserve them...sorry got off track.

you will have to go to jobcentere when they ask you to or you will lose the benefit, even if you are in the process of appeal. i was lucky. the first time i went the guy at the center said someone clearly made a mistake. he could see how much pain i was in.he did some pw and fiddled with forms on the computer. he told me i wouldn't be called back ever again. he was right. what ever he did worked.

APPEAL, it's a pain in the ass but if you know you can't possibly work in the near future it's the way to go.

take care

charlie

[ehlers]

I have been in the wrag I for 18months now , I was asked to attend every 2 weeks to a4e building, I did this on the appointment days if well enough if not i would phone personal adviser on the day and he would do interview by phone. my health deteriorated about 11months ago and since then I get a telephone interview from my adviser to see how I have been , if I have been able to look for any voluntary jobs even just a few hours a month , working from home or out and about. Up until this month I have had too many flare ups that when he phoned me fortnightly, I told him the days I had flare ups and he put down "unwell and the dates of flare up which if employed I would be ascent from work, which no employer would accept" and " client continues to look for voluntary jobs to fit around her illness" . He is really happy as this week I have got a voluntary job online one hour every. Wednesday as a web site facilitator for a nhs group. This I feel I can manage even if in bed. So WRAG ain't expecting all those after medical to find full time employment , in my experience its only if and when you can work based on individual basis . I have not attended any group session or had to look for certain amount of jobs , or travel to job centre fortnightly , I have found it to be very much run on an individual basis . So guess what I'm saying is I wouldn't stress loads if you don't get transferred onto the support group , as long as you have a phone to keep regular contact with them . Hope this helps you xxxx

Good luck if you do appeal against the group you have been put in x