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Work Capability Assessment tips and advice?

strawberrysherbet11

Hi everyone. So, not even a week after my PIP assessment, I get the letter for my work capability telephone assessment with Universal Credit for the 22nd October . Does anyone have any advice or tips for this, as I can’t seem to find much info. I did have one in 2018, but had to stop halfway though due to a panic attack, so can’t remember much. I was placed in the limited capability for work group that time. Thanks in advance ?

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poppy123456

Hi,
If you kept a copy of the form you filled out then have a look at that to remind yourself what you wrote. Part of the assessment will be for you to verify what you wrote.
They will want to know what a typical day is like for you. The questions they ask will be different for everyone, which is why you can’t really find any information on it.
It’s similar to the PIP assessment but of course it’s different criteria. For the WCA they assess your ability to do any type of work.
Some people find it helpful to write some notes before the assessment takes place. Personally I don’t find that helpful because for me I prefer to just concentrate on answering the questions rather than looking at my notes and getting all flustered.

Make sure your phone is fully charged before the assessment and have a drink next to you. Assessment lengths can be anything from 20 to 90 minutes sometimes longer.

strawberrysherbet11

@poppy123456 thank you, that’s very helpful

I do have a copy of the forms so I’ll make sure to have that all ready and be prepared.

feeky1973

Hi @strawberrysherbet11 how did it go? I have a relative that has one coming up soon and the 'unknown' worry is causing their mental health to get worse. Were you able to ask for the phone assessment to be recorded? Would appreciate any advice from your experience

poppy123456

feeky1973 said:

Hi @strawberrysherbet11 how did it go? I have a relative that has one coming up soon and the 'unknown' worry is causing their mental health to get worse. Were you able to ask for the phone assessment to be recorded? Would appreciate any advice from your experience

If the assessment is face to face you can ask for it to be recorded, not sure about a telephone assessment.

In my opinion, they are better off concentrating on getting ready for the assessment rather than having it recorded because that won’t help them be placed into one of the groups and if the worst happens the won’t be able to use the recording at a Tribunal unless they have it professionally transcribed which costs.

If they kept a copy of the form they returned they should have a read of that before the assessment, this will help them remember what they said. Part of the assessment will be to verify what they wrote in the form. The rest will be for the assessor to find out what a typical day is for them so the questions are likely to be based on this.

They should try to avoid answering with just a yes or no and to give as much detail as possible. Assessment length an be anything from 20-120 minutes.

feeky1973

Thank you @poppy123456 I'll remind them to read through the form. I've read about people having their 'evidence' with them during the assessment. By evidence do people mean the form or is the other things to take?

poppy123456

The form you fill in is part of your evidence. Other evidence can be anything from medical evidence to a diary that you've written yourself, letters from someone that knows you well etc. They very rarely contact anyone for evidence so the onus is on you to make sure it's sent to support your claim.

feeky1973

AH ok the form has been sent already and have a date for phone assessment. So its a good idea to have a copy of whatever was sent with the form too then for the assessment? If we have made a dairy do we need to share it with the assessor (as in show it to them somehow) or can it just be for us to refer to help answer questions? Also have had a recent letter from GP to support issues (it wasn't sent with form) and wondering how this can be shared do we just talk about it on the day?

poppy123456

You haven't said if the assessment is face to face or telephone. If it's face to face then any extra evidence can be taken with you on the day. If it's telephone of course you won't be able to hand in any extra evidence.

For the diary, some people send this as evidence. Personally, i've not ever done this. If it's face to face, you don't have to take the form with you, just have a read of it before you go to the assessment. A letter from a GP is only useful if it states exactly how your conditions affect you, if it doesn't then you need to ask yourself, is it worth sending it.

feeky1973

@poppy123456 Hi its phone assessment