PIP, disabilities and working

[RestUp]

Yep totally unreasonable. Move on.

Just wondering what disabilities you have and if claiming PIP was easy.

Seems such a minefield!

Boredoutofmymind I complained, reported the assessor to the Nursing & Midwifery Council, I asked my MP for help, she complained as well, the reply was so bad she refused to let me see it. They lie & get away with it, always take someone with you & get the assessment recorded, legally or not.

There's some good advice on this thread and some very poor advice too.

Follow the guides carefully. The free CAB one is good, Benefits and Work do one too but you have to join for a year.

Above all else, be truthful, back up your statements with as much medical evidence as you can and be prepared to go to Mandatory Reconsideration and Tribunal.

I don't know what form the Face to Face assessments take at the moment, or how long it takes from first applying to having a Face to Face assessment.

From Disability Law Service,
"A health professional will carry out your [Face to Face] assessment. They will write a report and send it off to the DWP. The consultation will not be a full physical examination or an attempt to diagnose your medical symptoms. It will focus on how your life is affected by the challenges you face because of your health condition or disability

You need to request a copy of the Face to Face report and if you think you have not been awarded enough points, you need to challenge it. Again, evidence to back up what you say is very helpful.

Part of the form suggests you submit a diary of how your daily life is affected, again, this is helpful information so people can see exactly how you cope or not in your day to day life.

We worked in a role where she would advise people about benefits and they would tell her they are too unwell to work and she would just tilt her head and give them the eye

Well she sounds pretty ableist then to be honest! That's brilliant she was able to work but that doesn't mean nobody else can possibly not be able to, does it?

[quote Asherline]@Nat6999 how is that legal to not allow someone to use the bathroom. You shouldn't be made to wet yourself to prove anything[/quote]
You should definately make a complaint.

@OldLang

I've no idea how she was awarded it, she has increased her work hours to full time , taken on a more demanding job etc

Ugh. Fortunately for us, it's not a disabled person's job to try and cure your rudeness educate you about invisible disabilities.
What an astounding lack of awareness and tact.

Yes I apologise - the increasing her working probably wasn't a good example. I do know this person pretty well ( inside and outside of work ) and do not understand how she qualifies, but like you say there may be invisible issues.

@NekoShiro

Best advice I can give is to fill out the forms based on what your worst days look like you really have to be clear about why you need this help, have also been told it's common to be denied first and then accepted when you reapeal

This is wrong. It's not about your worst days, it's about the majority of the time. You need to make it clear that the difficulties you have affect you more than 50% of the time.

The new iteration of the PIP form no longer gives the option of "it varies" as well as yes and no for whether or not you can undertake an activity.

It also doesn't explain that to be able to do something, you have to be able to do it safely, repeatedly, reliably and in an acceptable timescale.

There's loads of case law around PIP and unless you know the most important bits, it's easy to omit to mention things that are relevant. Benefits and Work have a really helpful information pack about how to describe the difficulties you have, it's worth joining so you can get a copy.

PIP isn't easy to get because the system is skewed against applicants. That's why the success rate at appeals is around 80% and rises to over 90% when appellants have help from a benefit specialist.

And very often the assessors' reports are complete fiction. I no longer go to assessments with clients, but when I did, I sometimes thought that the report referred to someone completely different, as it bore no relation to the assessment I was at.

If you can get help from CAB, local advice centre or similar, OP, I'd strongly advise you to do so. It could save a lot of hassle.

I don't know what form the Face to Face assessments take at the moment, or how long it takes from first applying to having a Face to Face assessment

In this area (Sussex) they're still being done over the phone. The waiting time is a lot shorter, 3-4 months mostly.

Appeals are also being done by phone, and they are coming through more quickly too (6-9 months).

No, it’s not easy. I have a friend with cerebral palsy who visibly struggles to walk even a couple of steps and had a lifetime DLA award, motability car etc.

When transferred to PIP he was refused completely. It’s really shocking.

I have endometriosis, adenomyosis and ME. I’ve been on morphine for over 15 years every day. I had to stop working in 2011, and since then have been either self employed or very part time. I now have twins who are disabled (both receive higher rate care DLA) so very little of the rest I used to have.

I don’t get any disability benefits because I don’t really have much evidence to provide. I’ve gradually over the tears beeb discharged by everyone - now I just get my painkillers on repeat and try to get on with it.

The assessment process is absolutely brutal - I struggle with anxiety and the idea of it sends me into a panic. We can get by without it but I

Sorry pressed send too soon - I know I should apply as I should be entitled to it but it terrifies me.

My advice would be to include as much evidence as you can, preferably written by doctors. The form says do not ask your doctors for this information as you will be charged and if they consider they need it, they will ask for it. Well they won’t.

I paid £30ish for a letter in which my GP addressed various descriptors from the form, explaining why they were difficult for me, it was worth every penny.

Virtually nobody in RL know I get PIP due to the discrimination already seen on this thread. I spend it all and more on help I wouldn’t otherwise need.

I was advised to apply - have OCD, PTSD, PCOS, adhesions, neurogenic bladder; dyspraxia and autism - I’m scared to try!

Tried to fill out the form and not sure what I am supposed to tell them - previous application several years ago I was told I couldn’t possibly be dyspraxic as I was able to hold a pen, I couldn’t have any mental illnesses as I wasn’t self harming ‘properly’, and had washed my hair that morning ... so I’m not sure if I should try again !

My GP helped me fill out my DLA form years ago (over a period of I think three hours - she blocked off her afternoon so we could complete it together) - can’t see that happening now sadly .

Be prepared for a very long wait. I started a claim for 16 year old Ds in October last year. He hasn't even been assessed yet. We phoned last week and were told they are still dealing with paperwork the month before his was submitted.

Yes I get PIP and I work. It's to help with the additional costs of being disabled. I require for example a high up automatic car to be able to drive at all, a bungalow or flat with step free access, lots of splints and aids that need replacing as much as monthly (but one set a year on the NHS), I can't work full time, I can't chop food for example I cut myself and drop things but my job is typing at an adapted desk which is fine.

My daughter gets pip and she has autism. Getting any money was a bloody nightmare. She was on DLA prior to pip and I had to do two mandatory reconsiderations. They only awarded the money for a year at a time because she might 'get better' (erm, no). When she went onto pip she only just scraped enough points for the correct rate because they buggered it up. They said she has no issues with communication when I had to complete the phone assessment for her because she's mute most of the time! I think they deliberately make it tough to prevent you claiming. It's not right.

@Punxsutawney

Be prepared for a very long wait. I started a claim for 16 year old Ds in October last year. He hasn't even been assessed yet. We phoned last week and were told they are still dealing with paperwork the month before his was submitted.

Yeah I submitted my 16 year olds last April and she got assessed in December.

I would agree that they do make it unnecessarily difficult to get it, but taking advice from CAB/other relevant services improves your chances. And being denied is certainly not the end of the road. There are still more stages to go and a majority will be awarded on appeal. I've had several clients awarded zero points and go on to be assessed for higher rate mobility.

@Babyroobs

Thanks for that reply. Reflecting, my own message was quite rude too so apologies for that.
It just makes you very weary when you constantly feel as though you need to justify everything you can and can't do. I look relatively healthy on the outside but no one can see the crippling chronic fatigue, or the 30+ pills I take daily, or the constant joint dislocations I get and need to reset myself or I'd spend my life at A&E. At work, it takes me everything I have to manage less than 15hrs per week. No one there has seen my mum help me into the bath or wash my hair because my shoulders dislocate (or even be unable to wash altogether as I'm bed bound on my worst days). That's not something I'd share with colleages so I can imagine them being surprised that I get PIP.

OP, it is possible to get PIP and work. It's not means tested at all so your income doesn't matter. It's also possible to work and get UC on the basis of being disabled (different criteria and ime, one of the most convoluted, unfit and inept systems in existence but that's another thread) if you earn under the threshold. If you are awarded this, you can earn £512 a month before deductions happen. UC is means tested, including savings but does not include PIP as income if you are awarded it. Good luck.

I have a severe chronic pain disorder, for the past 16yr. Have to take a very high dose of morphine daily to function. Never been able to get any disability benefits whatsoever no matter how many consultant letters or appeals I’ve gone through. I genuinely just assume at this stage that it’s a mythical thing and people who’ve managed to get it are lying lol.

@ChangePart1

I have a severe chronic pain disorder, for the past 16yr. Have to take a very high dose of morphine daily to function. Never been able to get any disability benefits whatsoever no matter how many consultant letters or appeals I’ve gone through. I genuinely just assume at this stage that it’s a mythical thing and people who’ve managed to get it are lying lol.

In my experience there just doesn't seem to be much logic as to who gets an award and who doesn't. Providing evidence to show how your difficulties meet the descriptors is your best bet, so rather than just diagnosis letters, things like OT reports or pain clinic reports etc.

I haven't claimed PIP but did claim ESA a few years ago. Benefits and Work were so helpful, well worth the £20 for access to their material. A relative also claims ESA and found B&W invaluable.

Of course you can claim PIP and work, providing your work doesn't clash with what you say for PIP - if you work as a chef you would struggle to claim PIP on the basis that you can't prepare meals for example.

A family friend who is an amputee claimed DLA, the precursor to PIP for many years and was also in work.

I agree to be careful with the assessments and expect a pack of lies. I was described as being the opposite sex and having developed X condition in my 20s when I was born with X and had issues from birth as a result. A friend of mine who uses a wheelchair due to having a leg amputated and who has a rare disorder which means they cannot use a prosthetic, was described as showing 'no evidence to require a wheelchair' and lost their DLA as it was then which lost them their motability vehicle.

DH is bedbound with terminal cancer. His application was easy.

A colleague has cerebral palsy and holds down a decent job. He also has significant mobility issues and some cognitive impairment. What they've put him through is the course of his claim and appeal would make you cry.

It’s a bloody nightmare to claim but if you think you are entitled to it then don’t let that out you off. Get help wih the form and feel them how it is most days.

DS who is autistic transferred to PIP at 16 and in fact it was pretty straightforward once the form was done. It is a 33 page form but I sent that back plus over 20 pages of evidence .

They didn’t ask to see him for a face to face thankfully and he was awarded Enhanced Care and Mobility for five years.

I’m hoping once we apply again in two years time that he will be able to cope with public transport and then we won’t need the mobility component. He’s always likely to need someone to support him though.

@KizzyMoo

My old manager got the highest rate pip she worked full time and managed a team. She was severely disabled and had a PA. She was wheelchair bound and could only move her fingers to control her chair. She was an inspiration. We worked in a role where she would advise people about benefits and they would tell her they are too unwell to work and she would just tilt her head and give them the eye

Well that's a ridiculous way to think. No two disabled people are the same, and no two people who share health conditions are the same. It has to be viewed on an individual basis.

@KizzyMoo

Disabled people as inspiration porn isn't ok. Neither is the bigoted attitude from the person you describe. It's hardly inspirational to discriminate against disabled or ill people just because she had the adaptions that made it possible for her to work is it?

Also, pedantic and presumptuous of me. But giving someone a patronising head tilt doesn't quite fit with only being able to move fingers to control a wheelchair.