After you claim Employment Support Allowance (ESA) it is likely that you will be required to go through a Work Capability Assessment. You may be exempt if you have certain medical conditions.
The assessment looks at your ability to perform a list of daily activities. Based on your ability to carry out these activities, the Department for Work and Pensions then decides whether you have “limited capability for work”.
The assessment is usually in two stages. First you will be sent a questionnaire in which you are required to assess yourself. You may then be asked to attend a medical assessment by a health professional.
The questionnaire
How you fill in the form is very important. If you do not put something down on the form at this stage, it is less likely that a decision maker or an Appeal Tribunal will accept that you have difficulties which you only mention later.
Here are some tips for completing the questionnaire:
1. Read the notes on the form before answering the questions. Take your time. It may help to write your answers on a separate piece of paper first.
2. The questionnaire is designed to assess your ability to carry out a range of everyday physical and mental activities. It is not about the job that you used to do. The test is whether you are reasonably capable of doing some kind of work, given appropriate training.
3. Don’t assume that you have to be unable to do everything in the questionnaire to pass the test. For example, if you have a back problem you would not normally have sight problems, or difficulties using your hands. However, you might have considerable problems with standing or bending, which may be enough to pass.
4. Think carefully about how well you can manage each activity. You should not just think about whether you can do it once, but whether you could repeat it. If doing something causes you pain or leaves you exhausted, you should say so. Use the spaces below the questionnaire to explain this.
5. Try not to guess distances and times. It can be surprising how much people over- or underestimate them. For example, if you can only sit for a short length of time, how far through a television programme can you sit before you have to move? The form gives you some suggestions to help you. If you are not sure how far you can walk, try asking a friend to pace it out for you. Use the spaces below the questionnaire to explain how you have measured your ability.
6. Many people have ‘good and bad days’. You should complete the form based on your bad days. You should then state that your condition is sometimes not as bad as this. If necessary, estimate on average how often you could perform the activity and how often you could not.
7. Write any extra relevant and important information that you have not already mentioned, such as if you have had to give up work for medical reasons, in the space at the end of the form for additional information.
8. If you are completing the Mental Capabilities section, you should try to give as much detail as you can about why you find something difficult. Try to think of a particular example of when something happened and how it affected you, or when you tried to do something and the problems that you had. For example, if you have problems avoiding danger, you might describe what happens when you try to use a cooker, such as forgetting to switch it off or not checking that the gas has caught light.
9. It is a good idea to keep a copy of your answers.
10. The test is based on how many points the decision maker awards you. To be assessed as having “limited capability for work” you must score at least 15 points for either physical or mental capabilities, or a combination of both.
*Remember.. Take your time, think through each and every question and give as full an answer as possible for each section. Do not minimise your condition. You have plenty of time between receiving the form and returning it, so use the time wisely… make notes and then go back and fill the form in, using your notes as a guide.
The more information you provide the better prepared you will be for the next stage… the ATOS medical.
Good Luck!
[PDF] Form ESA50 – Limited capability for work questionnaire
Web link to: The Limited Capability for Work Test