Sickness benefit claimants are ‘not well prepared' for Work Capability Assessments (WCA) that decide their eligibility, an investigation has revealed.
It also found that health care professionals (HCP) conducting the assessment believe its introduction represented a ‘considerable shift in the threshold for claiming a sickness benefit.'
As a result many Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants who undergo a face-to-face WCA are either totally lacking in knowledge or their expectations are overly influenced by campaigning materials.
The Institute for Employment Studies report into customer and staff experiences of face-to-face WCAs for ESA further warned that both groups could suffer as the benefit is rolled out to those who previously claimed incapacity benefit (IB) or income support.
Its authors cautioned that: "The reassessment of IB customers... means that a great many more people will fall within the ambit of the ESA claim process, placing additional demands on staff delivering it.
"Customers who have claimed under the previous IB regime may also react differently to the WCA to those who are claiming a sickness benefit for the first time.
"There is also a need to improve inconsistent and sometimes poor levels of customer service, for instance providing clear and consistent advice about the criteria for funding travel arrangements and the availability of home visits, and making to simpler to change appointment times where necessary," they added.
The study also revealed that many clients viewed WCAs ‘primarily as a means of weeding out fraudulent claims' and were ‘often unhappy with the way the assessment had been conducted, and had not felt listened to by the health care professional.'
Customers' accounts confirmed they were often expecting a physical examination or diagnostic test, when in practice, the assessment mostly consisted of discussion.
In addition, HCPs identified the reassessment of existing incapacity benefits customers for ESA, using the WCA, as a considerable challenge.
And some HCPs were unhappy at the lack of a rationale for decisions which had been overturned, often receiving no feedback on how the appeal decision had been reached.
There were positive factors, including the Work Programme due to be introduced by the coalition government, which it was suggested should provide additional tailored support for those who are found fit for work but need help to manage the impact of a health condition.
The WCA is currently being reviewed, and the report states it is important that close attention is paid assessing specific conditions which have been identified as problematic and where there are multiple or fluctuating conditions.
