UK question - Dept of Work & Pensions 'assessment'

I have been on ESA (incapacity benefit) since December, but now, despite them still receiving sick notes from my doctors, they have sent me a booklet to fill out to assess whether I am indeed unfit for work.

Trouble is, the booklet focuses on physical and mental disability (with questions like 'can you work something complicated like a washing machine?') with only a small mention of anxiety related problems, and nothing at all about depression. I feel that answering the posed questions honestly will not truly reflect my mental state or lack of ability to work.

There's a chance that they will request to see me 'face to face' to further investigate. I don't know what this involves.

I don't feel ready to go back to work. With the job market the way it is it is very doubtful I could get a job in my field -- even if I was capable right now -- and this is why I had stuck it out in an unrewarding job for so long (something that at least contributed to my current mental state, as it was a very negative place to be, long story.) If I could have coped carrying on doing unskilled work I would have stayed where I was -- I had everything to lose by leaving that job: my independence, my own apartment... my friends -- but I just couldn't cope with it anymore. The pressure to keep up an act. To perform. I was having panic attacks every morning on my way to work, panic attacks in the canteen at lunch times, bursting into tears all the time, and cutting myself in my office. All for what was pretty much minimum wage. There are different types of work pressure...

I fear that if they sign me off the 'sick' and put me on jobseekers, that I'll be forced to apply/go into work I don't want to do. I can't face being in that position again.

I can barely function right now, let alone do a 9-5. Even the thought of part-time work terrifies me.

I've worked hard for over a decade (as well as going through further and higher education.) I'm not lazy, I am sick - but I don't know how/if I can prove this.

Has anyone else had to fill in these forms? Did you get any references or anything from your doctors (besides sick notes) or from your therapist to back you up? Did you have to go to a face-to-face meeting? What happened?

Responses, as always, much appreciated xx

Please dont panik, they are sending everyone who is claiming income support, DLA, ESA or incapacity benefit for this assessment, it is the governments way of trying to de complicate the benefit system so everyone is on the same new benefit, only at different levels depending on your ability to work.
I have completed the form you are talking about, they do not take much notice of what you put on it, it is more a way of them assessing the easy targets(those who send it back quickly) and the evaders (those who do not reply then complain when their money is stopped)after stating on it that i am unable to mobilise my wheelchair outside at all, i have been called in for an assessment. they are considerate and send you details of the route to take to get to the assessment, even give you the timings for each bit of the journey, only problem i have had is the journey plan they sent me had me walk to a bus stop, get on a bus, walk to an underground station, get on an underground train .........7 changes in total taking over an hour! the letter also stated the assessment was on the 3rd floor, there is a lift, but it does not work in emergencies like a fire breaking out, so you can go but you are left to fry if the building goes up in flames!!!! (one way to cut the number of claiments!!)
After phoning them to say 11am with over an hours travelling before hand was impossible for me even if i had help i was told to go to my GP and get a letter stating i need a cab, after doing this and being told it would cost £35 for the letter and telling my GP where he could stick it I phoned them back and have been given a later date, later time and they are arranging a cab to take me to a different assessment centre!
so what i can say is persevere! going to an assessment will allow you to tell them more about how your difficulties affect you and how they effect your ability to concentrate, finish tasks etc.
I am hoping the assessors are savvy enough to realise those who are swinging the lead and those who are not, especially as my physical difficulties are caused by a mental health condition, yet i show no 'normal mental health signs' and do not have a physical diagnosis to explain why i am as i am.
My assessment is sometime at the begining of October, I will report on what it entails after i have been so you can be prepared.
I intend to take a copy of my care plan from my social worker and all the reports of the tests i have had and from the professionals who have been involved in my care, that should be enough to shut them up for quite a while I hope.
it is crazy the way this government are looking at what you can do rather than what you can't, there was talk of classing wheelchair users the same as walking people because they can mobilize around an office! no thought of how they get into the office though!!! if the government ran on brains we would be better off with a cage full of gerbils running the country!!!!
definitely talk to your care team about it, gather as much written evidence as possible to take with you, better to have too much than not enough. be/talk about you at your worst on the day of the assessment... exhaust yourself the day before, but be honest with them. I should think there is an appeals process you can go through if their decision is not what you feel is right. I know it is difficult just to function to do the basic living tasks at times, but you need to summon all your energy to tackle this.
Take care
good luck x

ok so I had my assessment, it consisted of me being at my worst (not by choice) - arms spasming all day, the cab driver wheeled me into reception, the receptionist wanted me to sign a form, i could not co-ordinate my fingers to grip the pen so that was left unsigned, the receptionist wheeled me up to the next floor where another receptionist wheeled me into the examiners office, he asked me what my last job was - nursery teacher , what each of my listed meds was for, how i manage cooking and dressing and asked me to touch my shoulders which one hand managed with difficulty, the other just would not bend at the elbow due to the spasm it was in at the time. i offered him the reports i took, he refused to look at them. he tested my lung function by a spiromitery test, it read around 1 when for my age it should be just over 3, he turned my chair around so i could see an eye test chart and asked me to read the middle row then said "i doubt you will be able to get on the examination bed with those spasms will you" bearing in mind i was 5 point harnessed into my wheelchair to keep me upright and my arms were not co-operating as they were still spasming i looked at him and said "no chance"
he then went outside and got the receptionist to remove me from his room.

Two weeks later I got a letter stating I was being moved into the 'looking for work' category of ESA and that i have to attend a meeting with a person who will support me back into employment! if i do not attend my benefits will stop.

I am now in the process of appealing the decision.

i will update with any results as they come in

Yeah, apparently a lot of people are not fond of the assessment?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/20...atred-disabled

Wow, so sorry to hear about that, Yellowted. Sounds like quite an ordeal to go through, as well, only to hear that they're going to try and force you into employment! Just what kind of work do they suppose you'll be able to do if things are sometimes so bad for you that you can't hold a pen to sign your name?!

It makes no sense what this government is doing, at all. I know that some people do take advantage of the benefits sytem, but now it's like they're calling us ALL cheaters. What worries me as well is that the jobs market isn't great at the moment -- I fear being put into a job against my will, that they deem me 'able' to do, but that could cause me crippling anxiety and depression. There are some lines of work I know I'm not suited for, it would just be too much.

My therapist helped me to fill in my form, and she said she will write me a letter if I need her to, to give her opinion of me not being fit to work yet. Is this the kind of thing you mean by 'reports' that you took with you? And they didn't even look at them?! Unbelievable.

If they're going to force you into work, I've simply got no chance. My mere anxiety/depression is going to mean they'll think I'm a proper scrounger. I have no way to prove them wrong. Before this happened to me I would have had no idea how debilitating it can be, but now that I have experienced it, I am terrified of being forced into a situation I am not well enough to cope with. I want to get better: I'm working with my GPs to try and find a combination of meds that works, and I'm going to see a therapist every week at my own personal expense -- because I WANT to get better, I WANT to work, but if I'm forced into the job market too soon it could be detrimental to my mental health. I've been slowly recuperating for some months, and I do not want to return to the dark place I was in that caused me to quit my last job. I did NOT want to have to walk out on that job. If I could have carried on working, I would have, BELIEVE me.

I'm really worried about being asked to attend this assessment. It seems futile. They're going to decide what they want to. I've been trying not to think about it, and perhaps I'm worrying prematurely, but it doesn't look promising, does it?

In a way, I feel the need to jump before I'm pushed -- to try and look for a job before I get forced to do something hideous. Kid myself that I have some kind of control. I suppose this is what they want. I hate that this is causing the desperation to set in again -- this is my LIFE, and I feel I'm being rushed into decisions that could be to my detriment, all so some politicans can make some good looking statistics in the short term, not looking to the long term effects on the affected people, or how long we'll manage to struggle on in our new jobs before being tipped completely over the edge and ending up in the hospital -- how much is THAT going to cost the taxpayer? That's if we don't all kill ourselves. But whatever, at least we won't be costing £65.40 a week in benefits.



Sorry to rant, I just find it all very upsetting!

Please do keep me updated as to how you go on, Yellowted, and if you're successful with your appeal.

Thanks for the link, Perna, maybe if the media and major charities vocally support those with illnesses and disabilities it might count for something. Here's hoping.

don't be too hasty in finding yourself a job Just some Girl, I have heard that many appeals result in the decision being over turned, it seems they are failing everyone on the hopes that people will not appeal! I can see their thinking that if people do not appeal their disability figures will reduce, only don't think they have considered the unemployment figures and those living below the bread line will rise because those more able to appeal are more likely those who are more able to work!
still have not heard anything back yet, will post when i do
in the mean time, try not to worry about it, the assessments are being done over a few years so you may be ok for a while yet

I haven't been asked to go for the assessment yet, but my therapist is adamant she'll support me, and I think my doc will too. My therapist has the theory that they can't 'force' me to work as long as my doctors consider me unfit... I'm not too sure about that, I hope she's right. I know I need to feel well before I can cope with a job. Not there yet!

I got that form as well - I haven't filled it in yet - most of it doesn't even apply to me.

I had to send mine back by the end of October. There wasn't much that applied to me either - most of it is to do with physical or mental disability rather than illness like depression or anxiety. There are a couple parts you can fill in though, with details of how your issues affect you - if you have a therapist I recommend getting their input on that. Good luck with yours.

received my P45 in the post the other day! still no word about going to the work focused interview though and i am not going to push it!
if you get called in for an assessment, try to take someonr with you into it as backup to witness what they ask/do and your responses so when you appeal you have a witness to back you up

I might ask my nurse if she can help - that's a good idea.

Good Luck with yours as well

I'm sure I'm going to have to go for the assessment as well

Kureha.....everyone will be called in for assessment some time during the roll out time which has already started through till 2013/14 i think! Make sure you send your form back at least a few days before the date they specify to allow for postage delays If they do not get it back on time they will stop your benefits.

Ah right - I didn't know that.

Well I've started filling out the form, so I'll get it sent soon, probably tomorrow.

any news from anyone aboout the UK benefirts changes?

They call you with the decision, They phoned me on Friday to tell me that I will be put on ESA and I am too sick for work but in future they may contact me to see if I am well enough to work, Don't make sense at all, I have cerebeller ataxia, BPD, Migraine. No cure for Cerebeller at all, I fall into everything. They said I will be put on this is January.

David cameron, dont like him, scape goating people on benefits. He is rich fool

I had to go for my assessment in November, but I haven't heard back from them about it yet. I found the experience stressful, and worry about what they're going to do about my ESA. The guy asking the questions didn't seem too sympathetic, or particularly knowledgeable or understanding of mental health issues. The whole thing felt like a huge waste of my time, and like it didn't even matter what I said. I also feel like my intelligence was being insulted - yes I'm depressed, and yes I have panic attacks and anxiety, but I'M NOT STUPID! Yes I can make a flaming sandwich, if I can be BOTHERED. WTF?!

I filled in the forms in November and only just heard back last week, Maybe give them a call and ask them how things are going for you? If you aren't successful then appeal against it, They annoy me they see you just for a few minutes they do not live with you for 24 hours a day so how on earth do they know what your day to day living is like? Good luck.

I hope people's applications for ESA are going well. I too am currently applying for it (I've received back the claim form to check the details are correct, I need to ring them to correct some of their mistakes). I am dreading having to do their stupid assessments, as I've read so many negative things about them.

everyone is being moved to ESA, it is the governments way of reducing the amount of money you get without (or so they think)you realising it! ok they say that your money will not go down, but the new threashold is lower than before, so although your money will not go down it will not go up either for a few years till the yearly benefit increases bring the new lower threashold up to the amount you are on at present, by which time people on ESA wont have a pot to P in! I would love to see politicians live off what they expect us to live off, see how many of them get depression then! they probably spend my weekly finance in one night out!
Buttercup has been very lucky to be put in the group not expected to look for work, most people are expected to look for work either with or without support regardless of their actual capability to work.
After having my assessment, being told i am fit for work, and appealing I have since received my P something or other, the thing you give to a new employer, but have not been called in for an interview yet... i am not fit for work and am certainly not going to spend the little energy i have on looking for a job that i stand no chance of getting or holding down!