Atos assessment done

[angelm54]

I had my assessment 2 weeks ago and have the decision, i have been put int wrag, however, the woman who left work at the same time as me has been put into a support group but doesnt have as much arthritis as me , she has it in her knees, i have it in my hands, feet, hips and going into my spine. I asked if they had my medical records, but they hadnt requested them so they have only gone on what i told them myself, is this right ??. I have now been given a work related interview, i am 60 can sit for half an hour at a time and then stand for about half an hour, have to keep changing, are they really going to find me a job to suit at my age, and why has the other lady been placed in support and not me, i would love to know how they make these decisions x

[Bananas5]

Oh dear. I will try to answer all you questions but it realy doesn'y mater abut the other person. Whys and what ifs.

Get a request for a manditory reconsideration in straight away and appeal against their decision. You need to be in the ESA support.

I can't do the links but all the info is there on the gov ul site.They don't always ask for your GPs records. They may have felt they had enough info on your RSA 50 alone.

It doesn't mater how much arthritis you have - they aren't interested - it is what you can do. Thet areb't assessing one person against another. No blue print.

Good luck nd get that consideration in and appeal.

Pat x

[angelm54 in reply to Bananas5]

Thanks Pat , i will take a look x

[Bananas5 in reply to angelm54]

My spelling was pretty awful so hope you understood?!

It doesn't read back to me til after I've posted and too late then to change.

Here if you need any help

Pat x

[Hidden]

Hi angelm54

They did the same to me so I went to the job centre and got a appeal form, it took about two to three weeks before I got a reply and they over turned it in my favour and I was put into the support group and when your in there you don't need a assessment for another three years. also when you appeal the person who looks at the appear will go though your medical records. I wish you good luck and I hope you get it sorted.

[rcwallace21]

Ask for a mandatory reconsideration. I am a citizens advice adviser and I see this all the time. Please go to your local CAB for help as they may have a benefits appeals adviser that can help. You have a month from the date on the decision letter. Hope this helps.

[angelm54 in reply to rcwallace21]

Thank you , i will do this x

[paulapips64]

I'm in the same boat as you they put me in working group but have now found out I need a hip replacement as well as a knee replacement ive also got arthritis of the spine and everywhere else so I phoned them to tell them this and was told to get proof off my doctor as in a letter so she wrote them a letter and asked to please consider changing desicion am waiting to hear reply hope this helps x

[angelm54]

Thank you for all your advice , i will be going to the CAB and i hope all your appeals get the right judgement xx

[mikipaulo]

I would think that knees had more influence only because they interfere with sitting, the act of standing up, and actually standing.

You must carefully consider & test if your estimate is true. Can you REALLY sit for half an hour & stand for half an hour, repeatedly for an 8 hour day? Can you do this day after day without frequent absenses? Can you stoop to write or use computer at a desk or do they have to provide two levels of work stations? Must you take breaks more often than a regular employee to ease your pain? Must you lay down during breaks? Do they have to provide ergonomic chairs, keyboards & other workstation equipment to accommodate you? Do your pain levels, fatigue from not sleeping, or pain medications effect your memory or slow down your thinking process? Will an employer accommodate this?

The board try's to make it about what you can physically do. You need to make it about what an employer will have to do for you to be able to work for them. Show the board that no employer would reasonably be expected to accommodate all your limitations effects on your work performance & you win.

If you can appeal the decision, do so right away. Then go show them the reality of your conditions limitations. If you can't appeal, then show the same thing to the people who are trying to place you in a job. And don't accept a job unless the employer agrees to accommodate your needs.

Good luck & God Bless!

[angelm54 in reply to mikipaulo]

Thank you for this there are some valid points there i hadnt even thought of, will be asking lots of those questions x

[johnsmith]

There two support groups for ESA. The support group and the you have a health disability, that does not prevent you from doing some work group.

I have had work related interviews. The nature of what I have means that I cannot do long periods of work. However I have been doing some work since the time I have been on incapacity benefit under the rules of therapeutic earnings as self employed.

The work related interviews are just a formality in my case. I discuss the issues of keeping up work related skills. I discuss the issues of endurance, chronic pain and lack of sleep. I discuss the issue of never knowing from one minute to the next what my work capability is. I inform the job centre what I do and keep my GP informed of what I do.

I still get ESA. Not being in the support group gives me freedom to do things. Am I in the wrong group. I do not know. The job centre knows that I am unemployable where an employer is concerned and do not chase me to get a job for an employer. The down side. I had to run the hoops of permission to work forms and filling in the permission to work as a self employed person. Stressful because because no one knew what was required until a decision maker assessed them. I have discussed my situation with a decision maker and all I have to do is to fill in some forms once a year concerning my self employed earnings. The important thing is I am still on ESA.

Being in the WRAG group means that I get £6 a week less than what I had when on incapacity benefit. This is not too much of a hardship. I like the freedom of being able to do some work. I like the freedom of not looking over my shoulder every time I do some work.

I don't know if this is helpful or not.

[angelm54 in reply to johnsmith]

Thanks for the reply will look into this x

[Offcut]

I would ask for the reconsideration for sure. It as has been said earlier it is not based on a set table but very much what you put or do not put on the form. When they see you depending on what they put can make a great difference to the outcome. I applied for ESA and my assessment was a farce they took none of my medical notes I had sent them and supplied on the day into account. They asked me to lift my arms and from that they stated I would be able to work as I would be able to lift an empty box off a shelf? I have never seen an empty box lifters job advertised in over 2 years? I did get points because of my Limp ( Arthritis) but not enough. I appealed this and went to a tribunal. They had the same paperwork and awarded ESA Support in less than 10 minutes and the judge and doctor showed genuine concern on how I cope when my wife is at her part time job.

Be Well

[angelm54 in reply to Offcut]

Thank you , pretty much how mind went , even though the nurse had to help me up as i had been sitting for awhile, i do wonder x

[chairbasedIns1]

I hope CAB helps.For these assessments you have to answer in a NEGATIVE manner unfortunately. It is just some one ticking boxes. If you cant do something sometimes-you cant do it. If there are not enough boxes ticked you dont qualify and people tend to answer yes to things they cant do ALL THE TIME. I know it is against most people's natural way of doing things, but I have learnt that this is the system. The same with PIP if you are eligible.

Hope all goes well.Be negative now and then go forward positively with what you can do, possibly in a voluntary capacity and you may improve enough to qualify for work as a DISABLED person, which is less hours a week expected.

[angelm54]

Thank you for the reply , all these answer are helping me to move forward on this x