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Tag Archives: Work Capability Assessment
Fitness for work – the real life questions the system never asks
So I filled in an ESA50 last week and was reminded afresh what a terrible form it is. Yes, we all know it’s terrible, a terrible form for a terrible benefit in a terrible system. It’s not designed to be … Continue reading
Posted in Employment and benefits, Mental health, mental health debate, Mood disorder, Politics and current affairs, Stigma and discrimination, Uncategorized
Tagged Benefits, Benefits system, Bipolar, Department for Work and Pensions, DWP, Employment, Employment Support Allowance, ESA, ESA50, Fitness for work, Fluctuating conditions, Lifelong disability, Long term sickness, self-employment, State benefits, Welfare, Work, Work capability, Work Capability Assessment
Comments Off on Fitness for work – the real life questions the system never asks
Rethinking the #UnfairWCA
When Rethink Mental Illness asked activists with experience of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) to talk to MPs, I jumped at the chance. I feel incredibly strongly about the inadequacies of the WCA and the Atos staff who administer it, … Continue reading
Dear MP: how to say “no” to a mental health campaign nicely
N.B. The first email in this exchange is automatically generated by the Rethink Mental Illness “MP Capability Assessment” campaign after entering my postcode From: XXXXXX@gmail.com Sent: 15 August 2013 14:57 To: XXX Subject: Your MP Capability Assessment interview Dear Mr XXX, Your … Continue reading
It’s official – the WCA is unfair
Today, three judges at a tribunal equivalent to the High Court ruled that certain aspects of the process of applying for ESA (Employment and Support Allowance), including attendance at the WCA (Work Capability Assessment), were unfair to people with serious … Continue reading
I appealed – and I won!
Apparently, I did it! I challenged Atos’ decision that I merited nil points at Work Capability Assessment and I won. The information provided has apparently taken me from the zero points awarded by the Health Care Professional (HCP) and the decision … Continue reading
Posted in Mental health, Politics and current affairs
Tagged ATOS, Benefits appeal, Bipolar disorder, Bipolar I, Department for Work and Pensions, DWP, Employment and Support Allowance, ESA, Fluctuating conditions, Hypomania, Mental health, Mood disorder, Royal College of Psychiatrists, WCA, Work Capability Assessment
16 Comments
“And the score from Glasgow is… nil points.”
Yesterday I arrived home from a very difficult time away to find a Department for Work and Pensions decision letter following the painful and humiliating Atos Work Capability Assessment (WCA) I underwent in July. Before I say any more, let’s just … Continue reading
What rabbit hole have we fallen down? My experiences of Atos Work Capability Assessment
Ever since claiming Employment and Support Allowance, I’ve worried about being called to a Work Capability Assessment. A few weeks ago, a letter marked “Atos” dropped through my door. As I’d feared, it instructed me to attend for WCA at … Continue reading
Ready for work? That’d be an “it depends”
About a year ago, I was at a bus stop when I happened to bump into a friend. I was delighted to see him out and about; some months earlier, he had experienced a disastrous stroke which had left him … Continue reading
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