HIV and Sickness Benefits
posted: 03/05/2011
Before the May Day holidays the Department of Work and Pensions got a lot of press coverage by claiming that its reforms of sickness benefits were working. It claimed three quarters of the people applying for the new Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) are either fit for work or stop their claim before they’ve had the medical assessment. They claimed this proved the need to urgently reform benefits, and that Ministers are right to reassess everyone on incapacity benefit.
Don't give up on benefits with HIV
People living with HIV who are claiming benefits for sickness – either Employment Support Allowance or Incapacity Benefit - should not feel intimidated. Benefit experts and the National AIDS Trust point out that the system isn’t working properly for people with HIV. But people with HIV very often win if they don’t give up, stick with their claims and get expert help. Very many people with HIV win if they appeal.
False logic
The Department of Work and Pensions is wrong to claim that lots of refused claims and high rates of drop outs from medicals prove the new system of ‘Work Capability Assessments’ is working. For people with HIV these show the system is seriously failing. People with HIV can and do win with help.
HIV and long term conditions
Research by NAT shows that people living with HIV are being found ‘fit for work’ despite medical evidence showing a range of serious physical and mental health problems. These include severe immune deficiency, co-infection with pneumonia or TB, fatigue, depression and debilitating side-effects from essential HIV treatment.
Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT (National AIDS Trust), commented:
‘The refusal of 39% of ESA claims is not conclusive evidence that Work Capability Assessment (WCA) is effective. These claimants may be found ‘fit for work’ under the rules of WCA, but many face very real health-related barriers to work which have been overlooked during the assessment process.
NAT is also extremely concerned by the high drop-out rate of 36% before a decision on the benefits is made. Dropping a claim does not prove someone is not eligibile for Employment Support Allowance. NAT continued ‘An independent review of the Work Capability Assessment revealed serious problems with decision-making and administration, and real failures in the way the DWP communicated with claimants. Stopping a claim halfway, points towards fundamental flaws in the system – which are yet to be resolved.’
More information
If you live in NW England with HIV and and have problems with benefits please contact our support team
DWP statistics can be found here
NAT’s report ‘Unseen disability, Unmet needs - A review of the impact of Work Capability Assessment on people living with HIV’
The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) is the test undertaken to determine whether a person is eligible for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). The WCA aims to identify claimants who have ‘limited capacity for work’ or ‘limited capacity for work-related activity’, so that they may receive the right support to help them live well and (where appropriate) return to work. Those who are found ‘fit for work’ are not entitled to receive ESA. The test contains a series of questions, called ‘descriptors’, which relate to physical and mental functions, and from which claimants score points.
The report of the Independent Review of the Work Capability Assessment
In October 2008, Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) was introduced to replace Incapacity Benefit and Incapacity-based Income Support as the primary income support benefit for people who are unable to work due to disability or illness.
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