There are two methods that the DWP uses to determine whether someone is capable of work
- The own occupation test which is concerned with the claimant's ability to do his or her own
work.
- The personal capacity assessment which is concerned
with the claimant's ability to do any work.
The own occupation test looks at whether the claimant is incapable of "doing work which (he or she)
could reasonably be expected to do in the course of his or her occupation." It is usually satisfied by means of the gp's
statement and the claimant's statement on the sick note although the DWP may want a second opinion and may ask the claimant to attend a medical examination
given by a DWP-approved doctor.
With regard to sick notes, the HMRC (in leafet E14) advises employers to "Remember a doctor's statement is strong evidence of incapacity and should
usually be accepted as conclusive unless there is strong evidence to the contrary". The leaflet also lists a
number of common
diagnoses together with a number of weeks after which an employer may wish to consider seeking further advice.
The personal capacity assessment is applicable after the claimant has been incapable of work for 28 weeks. The claimant will be asked
to complete a questionnaire and may also be required to attend a medical examination given by a DWP-approved doctor. The assessment is points-based
(you need 15 points to qualify)
and covers both physical and mental disabilities. The DWP leaflet on the personal capability assessment states- "Many people on Incapacity Benefits
suffer from two or more disabilities. The assessment therefore includes a means of assessing the combined effects of different disabilities, with
weighted scores attached to each relevant descriptor."
The are a number of significant exemptions from the personal capacity assessment-
- claimants who already recieve the highest rate care component of disability living allowance or constant attendance allowance at either
the intermediate or exceptional rate.
- Claimants who are assessed as 80% disabled for severe disablement allowance
or are entitled to industrial injuries disablement or war pension on the basis of at least 80% disablement.
- Claimants who are terminally ill and whose death can "reasonably be expected within 6 months".
- Claimants who are registered blind
Claimants suffering from the following severe medical conditions are also exempt;
- a severe mental illness involving the presence of mental disease,
which severely and adversely affects the claimant's mood or behaviour and which
severely restricts his or her social functioning or awareness of the social environment
- tetraplegia
- paraplegia or "uncontrollable involuntary movements or ataxia which effectively renders the
sufferer paraplegic"
- persistent vegetative state
- severe learning disabilities
- severe and progressive neurological or muscle-wasting disease
- active and progressive forms of inflammatory polyarthritis
- progressive impairment of cardio-respiratory function
which severely and persistently limits effort tolerance
- dementia
- dense paralysis of the upper limb, trunk and lower limb on one side of the body.
- multiple effects of impairment of function of the brain
and/or nervous system causing severe and irreversible motor sensory and intellectual deficits
- manifestation of severe and progressive immune deficiency states
characterised by the occurrence of severe constitutional disease or opportunisitic infections or tumor formation.
