If you claim a benefit because a health condition or disability affects your ability to work, you will usually have to go through a Work Capability Assessment. This decides whether you have limited capability for work, and it affects both Universal Credit and New Style ESA. The process worries many people, but knowing what to expect helps. This guide explains the Work Capability Assessment, what it involves, and how to prepare.

What the assessment is for

The Work Capability Assessment is used to decide how your health condition or disability affects your ability to work or to prepare for work. The outcome decides whether you are treated as able to work, as having limited capability for work, or as having limited capability for work and work-related activity, which is the group with the fewest requirements and the extra health-related payment in Universal Credit or the support group in ESA.

How it works

After you claim, you are usually sent a questionnaire, known as the UC50 or ESA50, asking how your condition affects various activities. You return it with any supporting medical evidence. You may then be asked to attend or take part in an assessment with a healthcare professional, which can be in person, by telephone or by video. Based on all this, the DWP makes a decision about your capability for work.

The points system

The assessment looks at a set of activities, both physical and mental, such as moving around, using your hands, communicating, and coping with everyday tasks, and scores how much difficulty you have with each. If you score enough points, you are treated as having limited capability for work. Certain very severe conditions or situations can mean you are placed in the highest group automatically, without needing to score points in the usual way.

What the outcome means

If you are found to have limited capability for work and work-related activity, you are not expected to look for or prepare for work, and you usually get an extra amount in Universal Credit or are placed in the ESA support group. If you are found to have limited capability for work only, you may be expected to take some steps towards work in the future. If you are found fit for work, you can be expected to look for work, and may need to claim as a jobseeker.

How to prepare

Preparation makes a real difference. Fill in the questionnaire fully, describing how your condition affects you on your worst days as well as typical ones, and what you cannot do safely or reliably. Send supporting evidence from people who know your condition, such as your GP, consultant or support worker. Give examples, and do not understate your difficulties, as the assessment can only respond to the information you provide about how your health affects you.

At the assessment

If you have an assessment, answer the questions honestly and fully, and describe the impact of your condition rather than playing it down. It can help to have someone with you for support. Explain how things are over time, including bad days and how often they happen, and mention anything you find painful or impossible. Take your time, and do not feel you have to demonstrate things that would cause you harm.

If you disagree with the decision

If you are unhappy with the outcome, you can challenge it by asking for a Mandatory Reconsideration, and then appealing to an independent tribunal if necessary. Many decisions are changed on challenge, particularly with good evidence, so do not assume the first decision is final. Get advice, as a welfare rights adviser can help you understand the decision and put together a strong challenge if it is wrong.

Changes on the way

The government has announced plans to reform the system, including proposals to scrap the Work Capability Assessment later this decade and instead use the assessment for Personal Independence Payment to decide entitlement to extra health-related support. These changes are not yet in force, so the Work Capability Assessment still applies for now, but it is worth being aware that the way capability for work is assessed is expected to change in the coming years.

The questionnaire

The questionnaire is your first and best chance to explain how your condition affects you, so take time over it. Use the space to describe what happens when you attempt each activity, the help you need, and the effect on a typical day, including pain, fatigue and the impact of mental health. Where a question does not capture your situation, explain in your own words, as a full picture here can sometimes avoid the need for a face-to-face assessment.

Getting good evidence

Supporting evidence can make a real difference to the outcome. Ask the people who know your condition, such as your GP, hospital consultant, community nurse or support worker, for letters or reports describing how it affects you. Evidence that speaks directly to the activities the assessment looks at is especially useful. Send everything you can, as the more the decision-maker understands about your condition, the better placed they are to reach the right decision.

Reassessments

An award following a Work Capability Assessment is often given for a set period, after which you may be reassessed to check whether your situation has changed. If you are reassessed, the same principles apply: describe your condition fully and provide up-to-date evidence. If your health has worsened, make this clear. Knowing that a reassessment may come helps you keep relevant evidence so you are ready if you are asked to go through the process again.

Support while you wait

While your Work Capability Assessment is being arranged and carried out, you continue to receive support, such as the assessment phase rate of New Style ESA or your standard Universal Credit, and you keep providing fit notes. The process can take time, so it helps to keep copies of everything you send and to chase politely if you hear nothing. If you are struggling financially while you wait, get advice, as there may be other help available to you.

In short

The Work Capability Assessment decides how your health affects your ability to work, and determines extra health-related support in Universal Credit and your group in ESA. It uses a questionnaire and often an assessment, scored on a points system. Prepare by describing your worst days fully and sending evidence, and challenge a wrong decision, as many are overturned.

Do not face it alone

The Work Capability Assessment can feel daunting, particularly at a time when you are already unwell and worried, but you do not have to go through it alone. A welfare rights adviser or a charity that supports people with your condition can help you complete the questionnaire, gather evidence, and prepare for an assessment, and can support you in challenging a decision that is wrong. Using this free help often leads to a fuller, stronger case and takes some of the worry out of what can be a stressful and unfamiliar process.

Where to get help

Citizens Advice and welfare rights services can help you prepare and challenge decisions. See our guides to New Style ESA and the Universal Credit health element.

Related guides: Access to Work grants.