**RESOLVED** Work activity or support group?

[tremar]

My grandson who is disabled with cerebral palsy is having problems with the dole office. He is 27 years old and has never worked, he has never been out on his own or used a phone. Recently he has been attending the dole office on a monthly basis but they had no luck with is problems. Last month he was sent to Atos for an assessment and that assessment was that he should be on the support group and no longer needed to attend the dole office. A week later he got an appointment to attend the dole office and look for work. When his mother rang them up she was told by the adviser could not understand what the support group meant but he still needs to look for work and if he does not attend he will be sanctioned. My grandson got a letter confirming he he was on the support group has already had a payment on the new benefit. He has a reminder that he has a an appointment on the 19th November and advised him that he is on both benefits ESA work activity and support group and needs to attend or lose his money. Can anyone advise me.

Regards

tremar

[judgemental24]

Re: Work activity or support group?

I believe Osbourn changed the rules that any new claim for ESA with the last budget

i will double check

http://www.newstatesman.com/staggers/2015/07/budget-2015-what-welfare-changes-did-george-osborne-announce-and-what-do-they-mean


Support group

You don’t have to go to interviews, but you can ask to talk to a personal adviser. You’re usually in this group if your illness or disability severely limits what you can do.

I think it was a bit early from the ATOS appointment to getting that letter, crossed in the post

It normally takes a few weeks to officially be put into the support group from first assesment by ATOS

[Kati]

Re: Work activity or support group?

Hi [MENTION=8695]tremar[/MENTION] ... to LB

Is there any way you can email me a copy of the appointment letter he received (kati@legalbeagles.info)? Quite a few of these letters allude to the appointment being mandatory when they are voluntary (and unfortunately Jobcentre advisors are not as clued up as they can be on the new regulations ... although they are amended so often that it would be almost impossible for them to know what they are meant to anyway)

Is he in the WRAG (work related activity group) for ESA or the Support Group? It should tell him on his award letter.

Those in WRAG have to go to dwp interviews, those for people in the SG are voluntary!

https://www.gov.uk/employment-suppor...wance/overview

[judgemental24]

Re: Work activity or support group?

I must agree with Kati as i am on ESA and the support Group myself

[Kati]

Re: Work activity or support group?

letter:


- - - Updated - - -

As you say @tremar ... he was put into the support group. As per my link earlier (from gov.uk - post #3):

Support group

You don't have to go to interviews, but you can ask to talk to a personal adviser. You're usually in this group if your illness or disability severely limits what you can do.

[Kati]

Re: Work activity or support group?

appointment letter and reminder:


OK [MENTION=8695]tremar[/MENTION] ... as I said in my first post, the fact that your grandson has been placed in SUPPORT GROUP ESA (instead of WRAG) as shown in the letter dated 2 October actually means that he is exempt from being mandated to attend these "work focused interviews". This award letter proves that he has been placed in SG.

I suggest that you write a formal complaint to the jobcentre manager involved ... enclosing a copy of the award letter. Either post it (recorded/signed for) or hand it in in person (making sure the person at the DWP copies and stamps the front page as proof of delivery). State that as your grandson is in receipt of SG he is not meant to be mandated to any WFI and that as a result he will not be attending. Add that if they insist on him attending then you require them to issue a Mandatory Activity Notice (MAN) which will then be used in any future appeals.

Copy in your MP on the letter too ... requesting that they step in to assist. The gov.uk link I posted yesterday will give you information which can be shown to both the DWP and your MP.

[Kati]

Re: Work activity or support group?

as an update to the thread, I advised Tremar to contact the DWP district manager directly on this matter and have received a reply today:

Hello Kati,

Just to let you know that the job centre has now cancelled my grandson's appointment and confirmed that they now know that he is on the support group. Many thanks for your help it is much appreciated the email to the district manager did the trick.

A list of the district managers can be found here - https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...-july-2015.pdf

[judgemental24]

Re: **RESOLVED** Work activity or support group?

Way to go, chalk up another but the question has to be asked

How and why was it allowed to happen and put added stress on the OP??

Will this advisor be put on some sort of training course??

I doubt it

Disgraceful