This post was updated on 21 April 22 to show the correct figures for the financial year 2022/23
Work Capability Assessments
Employment and Support Allowance is a benefit for people whose health problems or disabilities put barriers in the way of work.
Universal Credit is a benefit for anyone under pension age, but you get a different deal if you have health problems or a disability that make work difficult.
So, the benefits system has to have a system for assessing the work-related effects of illness or disability; and that system is the Work Capability Assessment.
There are two parts to a Work Capability Assessment:
Step 1 – Limited Capability for Work – LCW
Limited Capability for Work is benefits-system-jargon to mean that you have an illness or disability that either prevents you from working, or makes working difficult for you.
Some people automatically get treated as having Limited Capability for Work, but usually a scoring system is used to assess your physical, mental and cognitive functioning.
If you don’t score the points the benefits system says that you are fit-for-work, but if you pass this part of the assessment you are said to have LCW – Limited Capability for Work
Step 2 – How Severe is Your Condition? WRAG or Support Group?
If you are found to have Limited Capability for Work you won’t be expected to job-seek, but you might be required to do some stuff to look at getting back to work in the future; so-called Work Related Activity.
The second part of the Work Capability Assessment looks at whether you could manage this, or whether your condition is so severe that you have Limited Capability for Work Related Activity – LCWRA (Ffs!)
If you can manage the Work Related Activity you are said to be in the Work Related Activity Group.
If you have a more severe condition you are said by ESA to be in the Support Group, or by Universal Credit to be in the No Work Related Activity Group. (DWP loves to give two different names to the same thing!)
The law of Work Capability Assessments includes a list (actually a couple of lists) of conditions that would mean that you have Limited Capability for Work Related Activity. The list is included at the bottom of this page.
If you don’t come into the lists there is a safety net rule that says that you should be treated as having Limited Capability for Work Related Activity if your illness or disability means that there would be a substantial risk to the health of any person of you were not treated as having LCWRA.
Why Does It Matter?
If you are found to have LCWRA you get a higher rate of benefit – an extra £354.28 per month in Universal Credit or an extra £58.35 per week in old-style ESA.
Also, if you are found to have LCWRA you are exempt from the benefit cap.
I’m in the WRAG , but I should be in the Support Group.
First you should check the lists at the bottom of this page and find at least one criterion that applies to you.
Then you should try to find evidence that what you are saying is true. It will be much easier to get DWP to put you into the right group if your doctor, or CPN or some other professional writes a supporting letter that clearly says that you come into the category that you have identified.
It’s helpful if the person writing the letter is a health professional, but support workers, hostel managers, keyworkers and other independent people who can say how your condition affects you can also be helpful.
The supporting letter must be clear and specific, confirming that you meet the conditions of the descriptor(s) that you have identified.
Once you have evidence you should ask DWP to reconsider the decision that put you in the wrong group.
If it is within one month of the decision you can ask for a mandatory reconsideration.
If the decision was made less than 13 months ago you can ask DWP to do a late reconsideration – but you must explain the special circumstances that caused the delay in asking them to look at it again.
In either of these situations, if DWP decide that you have LCWRA, you will get the extra money back-paid to the date of the decision.
If it’s more than 13 months since the decision that put you into the wrong group you can ask DWP to do a supersession on the decision, but in this case there will be no back-pay.
| You should be assessed as having Limited Capability for Work Related Activity if you: |
| Are terminally ill. |
| Are pregnant, and there is a serious risk of damage to your health or the health of your unborn child |
| Are receiving or recovering from radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or likely to receive it within 6 months. |
| Are over Pension Age and you get AA, high rate DLA Care or enhanced rate PIP Daily Living. |
| Cannot mobilise more than 50 metres on level ground without stopping in order to avoid significant discomfort or exhaustion. |
| Cannot repeatedly mobilise 50 metres within a reasonable timescale because of significant discomfort or exhaustion. |
| Cannot move between one seated position and another seated position which are located next to one another without receiving physical assistance from another person. |
| Cannot raise either arm as if to put something in the top pocket of a coat or jacket. |
| Cannot pick up and move a 0.5 litre carton full of liquid. |
| Cannot press a button (such as a telephone keypad) with either hand or cannot turn the pages of a book with either hand. |
| Cannot convey a simple message such as the presence of a hazard. |
| Cannot understand a simply message, such as the location of a fire escape, due to sensory impairment. |
| At least once a week experiences loss of control leading to extensive evacuation to the bowel and/or voiding of the bladder. |
| At least once a week experiences substantial leakage of the contents of a collecting device sufficient to require the individual to clean themselves and change clothing. |
| Cannot learn how to complete a simple task, such as setting an alarm clock, do to coginitive impairment or mental disorder. |
| Reduced awareness of the risks of everyday hazards due to cognitive impairment or mental disorder, leads to a significant risk of injury to self or others; or damage to property or possessions, such that the claimant requires supervision for the majority of the time to maintain safety. |
| Cannot, due to impaired mental function, reliably initiate or complete at least two sequential personal actions. |
| Cannot cope with any change due to cognitive impairment or mental disorder, to the extent that day to day life cannot be managed. |
| Engagement in social contact is always precluded due to difficulty relating to others or significant distress experienced by the claimant. |
| Has on a daily basis, uncontrollable episodes of aggressive or disinhibited behaviour that would be unreasonable in any workplace. |
| Cannot convey food or drink to your mouth without receiving physical assistance from someone else. |
| Cannot convey food or drink to your mouth without repeatedly stopping or experiencing breathlessness or severe discomfort. |
| Cannot convey food or drink to your mouth without receiving regular prompting given by someone else in the claimant’s presence. |
| Owing to a severe disorder of mood or behaviour, fails to convey food or drink to your mouth without receiving physical assistance from someone else or regular prompting given by someone else in the claimant’s presence. |
| Cannot chew or swallow food or drink. |
| Cannot chew or swallow food or drink without repeatedly stopping or experiencing breathlessness or severe discomfort. |
| Cannot chew or swallow food or drink without repeatedly receiving regular prompting given by someone else in the your presence |
| Owing to a severe disorder of mood or behaviour, fails to chew or swallow food or drink; or fails to chew or swallow food or drink without regular prompting given by someone else in your presence. |
| The Safety Net Rule |
| Even if you do not come into this list you should be treated as having Limited Capability for Work Related Activity if you have an illness or disability that would cause a “substantial risk to the health of any person” if you were not put into the Support Group |