Working and pip

[Overwhelmedandcrazy]

I have just completed a pip assessment
however I’m now worried if they will contact my work
work know about my difficulties but not about my depression and I don’t want them knowing either

They won't contact your work. They rarely even bother to contact your doctor

If it's anything like my daughter's PIP assessment, they'll just reject it anyway.

They can contact your work, but if they did they would never mention specific conditions that you have claimed for, it would be questions relating to assessing your application. In my role I’ve received contact like this from DWP for employees a few times and it never states why they are claiming, or even any info from your claim, it is follow up questions asking for example what kind of tasks you do, does anyone support you to do your work and what kind of support you need to do your work.

If they contacted your work, it would have anything about your claim on it as they want the employers view/adjustments, not to tell your employer any info 😊
I went through pip assessment at uni while working part time and twice now as an employed adult and they never contacted my work or uni or doctor! I don’t think they have the time/motivation to so I wouldn’t worry anyway 😊

So that the OP doesn't lose hope, just wanted to say most rejected applications that are challenged end up being accepted in the end, so if it does get rejected straight away, it's worth asking for mandatory reconsideration.

They won't contact your work. It's medical, nothing to do with work.
They only ever contact medical based people, even then they rarely do.
Nobody will know you are claiming it unless you choose to tell them.

They won't contact your workplace. Nothing to do with them!

They won’t contact your work. They didn’t even contact my GP just used the medical evidence I sent.

This is simply not true, they can & do sometimes contact your work. I have received contact asking for info on the work tasks & support my staff needed.

since the assessment I’m just kind of wondering whether to cancel it as maybe I don’t need it

Only you know if you need it @Overwhelmedandcrazy , it may be that the claim is rejected if they don’t believe you need it, but please don’t let the worry of them contacting your work be your reason to cancel. They will not tell your work anything about your claim, they (if anything) will just be asking their own questions.

If you don't need it, they will tell you.
They are also no permitted to disclose your private health information to anyone outside of the agency.

You went to the effort of filling in the form, so you must have felt that you qualified at some level.

I always advise anyone to get help from citizens advice or similar to fill out a PIP application. If yours is rejected you may want to do this in future.

They can't contact your work so don't worry about that!

If you have depression severe enough to cause that level of disability it's worth letting your employer know (via occ health if your company has one - easier than speaking to line manager) as there is likely to be adjustments that can be made & it will also help your case with any problems with absence etc.

Alot of people with severe mental illness struggle in silence at work due to fear of discrimination etc when this shouldn't be the case. Severe mental illness is a valid disability and every bit as valid as physical disabilities.

I just have come off and think well I can work so maybe I’m not entitled

Lots of people who claim PIP do work. It's intended to help keep people independent & in work.

If you are awarded it then definitely don't feel guilty or 'unworthy' for claiming. There's nothing to lose from applying. Even if you aren't awarded it it's worth going through the descriptors & points awarded to see where you think you should have scored differently as it might be worth getting evidence for those specific points & then appealing.

They don’t contact anyone so don’t worry

Wait and see what the outcome is. As long as you’ve filled it out and answered questions truthfully then you’ve nothing to worry about. Many claim PIP and work, as it’s not about being too unwell to work, it’s not a compensation for not being able to work, but money to help make your life a bit easier as you’ve got disabilities.

Leave the application in, if you aren’t eligible they’ll just not grant it you.

Hi OP I'm a disability benefits advisor; you can work full time and get PIP so it's not specifically a problem that you work, and the DWP will only contact the health professionals you have given them permission to approach (in many cases they don't even do this)

They will ask about work when you have the interview with the health assessor, so if you have had to have time off due to health issues and/or have needed adjustments at work because of your disability this are all important things to mention. Good luck with your application .

Just do nothing. Wait, and see what the outcome is.

Did you include an explanation and evidence of the reasonable adjustments you have in place at work to enable you to work with your disability? I work and get pip and this is what I did. The adjustments I have prove that my disability affects me at work as well at in my personal life, and that seemed to support my application.

Yes they can and they do quite often! **

They will likely ask you at your assessment what type of work you do and any adjustments in your workplace. For example if your depression affects you communicating with colleagues etc they will likely ask how you work around this / whether you have any special requirements.