A report launched in March 2010 by national charity Citizens Advice, and supported by eighteen other organisations, highlights grave concerns with how sick and disabled people are being assessed for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
ESA was introduced in October 2008 to replace the existing incapacity benefit for new claimants. It aims to give more help to those who might, with support, be able to work.
Since ESA was introduced, CAB advisers across England and Wales have been reporting high numbers of seriously ill and disabled people being found ‘fit for work’ under the new Work Capability Assessment (WCA). Examples of CAB clients in this situation include people in the advanced stages of Parkinson’s Disease and Multiple Sclerosis, people with severe mental illness, and some who are dealing with acute short-term health problems, such as awaiting open heart surgery.
The report '
Not working - CAB evidence on the ESA Work Capability Assessment’
outlines concerns with the limited effectiveness of the assessment. Claimants undergo a medical test, which should assess what they can do, but the charity’s evidence shows that the test doesn’t account for the complexities of many illnesses and disabilities. Citizens Advice is hearing numerous reports of hurried medicals, where medical examiners miss vital details, make unjustifiable assumptions and don’t place enough emphasis on the impact of mental health issues on the ability to work.
The report shows how, for these people, failing the WCA can have an enormously detrimental effect. By being told they must find work, they face further hardship by either having to claim JSA, which is a less supportive benefit, or, in many cases, no benefit at all. Moreover, the stress of the test, and the prospect of fighting unfavourable decisions at a tribunal adds to the considerable pressure of their situations. In these cases, the system risks moving already vulnerable people even further away from a return to the workplace.
David Harker, Chief Executive at Citizens Advice said:
“The current test to determine eligibility for ESA isn’t working. We are seeing cases where the Government’s aim of moving people into work is being totally undermined.“Seriously ill and disabled people are being severely let down by the crude approach of the Work Capability Assessment. A much more sophisticated approach is needed, that not only looks at a person’s ability to undertake a certain task on the day of the test, but considers supporting medical evidence and other aspects, such as the variability of a person’s condition and the external barriers they face in finding work. “We are very concerned about the 69 per cent of people assessed who are refused ESA. Some of our clients should never have been subjected to the work capability assessment, and we believe that if someone is seriously ill, more information should be gathered from their doctor before this decision is made. Undoubtedly, there are some people ready and able to go back to work at the time of their assessment, but our evidence shows that there are many more people who, by being moved off the benefit and away from any further support, are effectively being written off.”
He concluded: “Citizens Advice calls on the Government to address the problems outlined in the report, which are causing hardship to seriously ill people at a time when they most need support.”
Just 3 examples of people failing test:
A former engineer in his 50’s who was working as a driver. After feeling ill for a number of months he visited his G.P and was immediately referred to hospital where he was admitted with heart disease and required a triple bypass. About three weeks after he’d been discharged he started to feel extremely ill again. He went back to hospital and after a series of new tests was diagnosed with inoperable and incurable stomach and liver cancer. Although he was advised to continue taking regular exercise, he found walking and breathing difficult, was in constant pain and suffered a number of uncomfortable side effects from both his cancer and heart medication. At his WCA he was found fit for work on the basis that he remarked how he walked daily (although not far and not without discomfort) and could raise his hands above his head (once). None of his medical consultants could believe the decision. He recently appealed the original decision and was successful in being put into the support group for people not required to look for work.
A gentleman with Parkinson’s disease had both physical and cognitive difficulties. He went for a WCA and was found fit for work despite being unable to stand for longer than 10 minutes, a tendency to fall, deteriorating speech and concentration - he slurred his words and could not control saliva, and had very poor short term memory, with inability to recall conversations that happened a few hours previously. His mental health had also suffered because of his difficulties.
A man in Leeds who, following an attack by a gang during which he was shot at and suffered multiple injuries, suffered post traumatic stress disorder along with anxiety and depression. The man, who had consistently worked throughout his life until this point, now finds it hard to leave the house and suffers flashbacks, but is undergoing medical treatment and counselling as he wants to return to work as soon as he can. He failed his WCA and was found fit for work. He feels completely let down by the system and believes the test didn’t take into consideration the true impact of his situation, because the questions were focused so much towards prescriptive questions which just require ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers. He says he felt like he was on trial and that he was being branded a benefits cheat, when all he wanted was enough time to get himself better before returning to work. He appealed the decision and was successful and is now in the group for people needing extra support and time before finding a job.
You can read the full report on a pdf on the CAB website
