wrag vs sg JC decision making process

Let’s see how you got to where you are…

If you have only recently started to get Employment and Support Allowance the rules require you to be assessed by them in the first thirteen weeks. Up until then they are - basically - taking your word for it (and the word of your GP) that you are not fit for work.

If you have been on Employment and Support Allowance for a while they will normally re-assess you about once a year.

Either way the first thing that happened was probably that the Jobcentre Plus sent you a questionnaire, called an ESA50, which you completed and returned.

When they got your questionnaire back, they called you to attend a medical at an ATOS examination centre. The medical report was then sent to the Jobcentre Plus for a decision maker to consider, together with any other evidence they had, like your answers in the ESA50 form.

The Jobcentre Plus then has three options:

It can decide that you are fit for work (they call this ‘not having a limited capability for work’. This happens to a lot of people, including people who are pretty sure in their own minds that they are not fit for work.
It can agree with you that are not fit for work (they call this ‘having a limited capability for work’). However it also thinks that, with help, you may well be able to work in the future. This is called being put in the work related activity group.
It can agree with you that you are not fit for work (again, they call this ‘having a limited capability for work’). It also thinks that there is no realistic chance of you being able to work in the future, even with help. This is called being put in the support group.

They applied the 2nd one of these to you.

(If they refused you Employment and Support Allowance completely click here for information about this)

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