#91
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
There's lots of advice and tips over on this forum Britman:
http://thefullfacts.com/esa/forum/index.php |
#92
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
Just wondering, if you fail your first assessment and appeal, do you still get interim payments until they decide? Or are you left with nothing to live on?
Also, is housing benefit and council tax benefit still claimable during appeal etc? Thanks. |
#93
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
They stick you on JSA in some cases and you are expected to look for work. Some get an interim ESA payment at the lower 'appeals' rate. Yes you can claim HB and CTB.
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#94
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
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And as ***1103;emus said, you can still get Housing and Council Tax Benefit. |
#95
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
Am on JSA and its messing me up losing money for not going to stuff, been told i am not trying to get a job lol I was like yeah yeah i got personnal problems. the adviser was like tough shit start trying harder. gotta love the job center crew
Just waiting to lose my cash for four weeks this time for missing a course |
#96
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
Sad news today:
Disabled rights pioneer Lord Morris of Manchester dies http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...ester-19253539 Quote:
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#97
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
Quote:
I always intended to post an update here about what happened, but nothing happened until this morning... when the obligatory brown envelope dropped through my letterbox. In a word, I failed the assessment (zero points) and my ESA has now been stopped. I thought I might have got away with it, having heard nothing for 29 weeks. Anyway, I shall fight this - let battle commence! |
#98
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
Jesus! Fight the good fight mate!
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#99
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
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#100
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
I still avn't had a pass or failed letter or anything telling me how many points I got lol.
around a week after my ATOS assessment I got a letter saying i've been placed onto the work focused group thingy and my moneys been put up from £56 a week to £98 a week Still not 100% sure if I passed the ATOS assessment tho but I guess it means I must have lol (its been 6-8 weeks since they started giving me £98 a week). Goodluck to every1 appealing / claiming ESA!! |
#101
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
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I've been in this situation before - last time my doctor helped me out with providing additional medical evidence, so I've got my fingers crossed once again. |
#102
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
Sorry to hear the decison went against you.
I thought you can carry on receiving the basic rate of ESA while appealing as long as you provide fit notes? Quote:
BTW, council tax benefit is changing to council tax support in April - it's the new poll tax. The government is withdrawing 10% of funding to councils, and it's expected that millions of poorer households will have to pay between £100 and £250 towards the council tax regardless of their income, so it could cost some people £5 per week. It will vary from council to council though - Durham and Tower Hamlets councils won't be asking poorer households to pay towards the council tax. |
#103
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
Hi Loner, I'm in the same boat as you but a bit further down the line. I had my second review and got 0 points again. After that I was allowed to claim ESA at assessment rate while waiting for my tribunal so I think you should be able to as well. I've heard that the DWP can be a bit dishonest over the phone and may have implied you couldn't claim ESA while appealing to try and pressure you into not appealing.
I've heard that the tribunal judges are a lot more generous than dwp decision makers so there's a good chance of getting your decision overturned at the tribunal so it's definitely worth doing. I've been waiting a year for mine to come up though- they have a massive backlog as so many people are appealing at the moment. There's a website called 'the full facts' which is excellent for advice about all this. |
#104
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
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#105
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
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#106
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
There's so much confusion around claiming ESA and appealing against decisions that I thought I***8217;d write a quick dummies guide:
Hope that helps some folks. |
#108
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
You can definitely still get ESA while waiting for your tribunal- I've been warned by a welfare rights advisor about speaking to the DWP over the phone as they're not always totally honest as they don't want too many people appealing as it makes them look bad.
Good luck with it and feel free to post on here if you need any more advice. |
#109
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
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I've quoted this part though! do you know what we are meant to live on (from April) until Quote:
I hope am deed by April like! |
#110
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
Quote:
Quote:
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#111
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
^ You will definitely still get interim payments if you go to tribunal so I definitely recommend you do it. Make sure you send off the form saying you want to appeal ASAP as they don't give you much time to do it.
I went to tribunal as the lovely Atos gave me 0 points and won it so it's definitely possible. |
#112
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
^ That's correct. You'll have to send in a fit note from your doctor (backdated to when your ESA was stopped) and request in writing that you want to be paid at the basic rate of ESA until the appeal is heard.
Okay, now for my good news. Quote:
Well, I asked the DWP to reconsider the decision without going to appeal, and this morning I got a letter confirming that the reconsideration went in my favour! I've also been moved from the work-related group to the support group! My ESA will also go up by around £20 a week as I will now qualify for contributions-related ESA - prior to this I was on income-related ESA. I feel gobsmacked by all this, but in a nice way. Never give in guys, keep fighting! |
#113
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
Good luck with it, Loner, and well done Clawhammer- here's a banana for you
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#114
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
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#115
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
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15. Getting about a)Cannot get to any specified place with which the claimant is familiar. 15 points b)Is unable to get to a specified place with which the claimant is familiar, without being accompanied by another person. 9 points c)Is unable to get to a specified place with which the claimant is unfamiliar without being accompanied by another person. 6 points d)None of the above apply 0 points 16. Coping with social engagement due to cognitive impairment or mental disorder a)Engagement in social contact is always precluded due to difficulty relating to others or significant distress experienced by the individual. 15 points b)Engagement in social contact with someone unfamiliar to the claimant is always precluded due to difficulty relating to others or significant distress experienced by the individual. 9 points c)Engagement in social contact with someone unfamiliar to the claimant is precluded for the majority of the time due to difficulty relating to others or significant distress experienced by the individual. 6 points d)None of the above apply 0 points Here are the descriptors that are relevant to social anxiety. You need to score 15 points to pass. There are other descriptors you may pick up points on relating to depression as well. |
#116
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
I found this kinda interesting, posted on the Benefits and Work site:
The latest quarterly tribunal statistics for April to June 2013 reveal an astonishing 86% increase in ESA appeals compared to the same period last year. The 93,000 ESA appeals in the last quarter make up 70% of all social security appeals. However, there are huge regional variations in the success rate for ESA appeals. The highest success rates are in the south east of England and in London, where a massive 47% and 45% of appeals, respectively, are successful. In the West Midlands and North West England, this drops to just 31%. The full figures for ESA appeal success are as follows: East Midlands 39% Eastern 36% London 45% North East 37% North West 31% Scotland 40% South East 47% South West 41% Wales 36% West Midlands 31% Yorks & Humber 33% Why should the success rate be higher in London and the south-east and lower in the west midlands and north-west? |
#117
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
Even though i have a medical certificate and on meds etc i didn't even get a look in for esa because my partner works more than 30 plus hours and because i have not worked in 7 yrs i have not paid enough national insurance, so i just get credits towards that.
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#118
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
I am finding this thread useful.
This is my situation at the moment, any advice you think would be useful would be appreciated. I've been working for six months and before that was seeing the disability advisor at the jobcentre. When I was signing on they did take into account that I have history of depression and social anxiety and I was looking for work that would be in the right environment. I was offered a job at the 'work choices' scheme where I was going once a week and I accepted it. I knew I wouldn't be able to carry on forever, but wanted to stick it out for as long as I could. Now I have reached the point where I feel I have to leave because when I am there I feel unable to speak to anyone and I isolate myself because it's much easier that way and feels like the only option really. I feel like the longer I have been there the more exposed I am and the people I have tried to talk to can see that I am not really okay and feel awkward. I have to isolate myself because it is less draining that way and the job is physically tiring enough as it is. So I will be leaving soon and applying for ESA. I wouldn't mind going back onto job seekers because that is what I was on before and they took into account my mental health, but I have been told by someone there I have to apply for ESA because I am leaving the job. It is disgusting that people with genuine problems are going through trouble with this. If only I was able to feel comfortable in the workplace and not isolate myself things would be great and I wouldn't have to bother with it. We shouldn't have to talk ourselves down to some assessor if we are just being genuine and doing what is in our ability to do. |
#119
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
Not sure if this will apply to anyone else here, but I thought I'd give it a mention.
There's now a government initiative, called the Energy Companies Obligations scheme (ECO), in which the big six energy companies have an obligation to help people with low incomes make their homes more energy efficient, i.e., by offering free loft and cavity wall insulation and free boilers. This is specifically aimed at people receiving means tested benefits. The criteria is a tad complex, but if you're a home owner and receive an income-related WRAG or support group component of ESA, then you are probably eligible. In my case, as I tick all the boxes, I qualify for a free 'A' rated boiler and installation worth about £2,300! There's more information on Money Saving Expert. Incidentally, EDF and Npower are currently offering fixed fuel tariffs until March 2017 - that's no price hike for 4 winters! You'll also get £30 cash back if you switch tariff via MSE's Cheap Energy Club. |
#120
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Re: Employment Support Allowance and Social Anxiety
I'm glad things have worked out Clawhammer, getting the support group rate of £106 or so p/w is the least you deserve. My ESA claim won't be going any further by the looks now, as my Doctors letter said I seem fit to work but would struggle in groups. I will still be signing with the ESA advisor though but I am down for JSA.
I couldn't bring myself to say too much how I am living though and get affected as I felt so anxious and embarrassed being there. But I do feel I could cope working, as I have before. It's just getting given the chance instead of being constantly rejected. |