re-instatement of ESA at appeal stage - DWP nonsense

Readers will be familiar with the delays that can occur once DWP have been notified by HMCTS that an appeal has been lodged before ESA is actually re-instated (even assuming current Med 3 hasn’t disappeared into the black hole in Wolverhampton).

The latest problem seems to be that some DWP staff think the 28 day target for producing a submission to the tribunal also applies to re-instating ESA - “we don’t re-instate ESA until 28 days after the appeal is notified to us”.

No amount of assertiveness and reference to the lack of any such ‘28 day period’ in Reg 30, DMG, Memos etc will disuade them from this view (even when they cannot quote from where they have been instructed that a 28 day period applies). In the case a colleague was dealing with yesterday we had actually received the submission within 11 days - but DWP still refusing to re-instate ESA!!

Is anyone else coming up against this nonsense?

Some sort of clarity would be good in these cases, we have not come across the 28 day delay but sometimes JSA just close the claim as soon as the Tribunal Registration letter comes out but omit to tell claimant or ESA. Result-gaps in the sick lines leading to delays and losses of payments.

Thanks for clarifying where such nonsense might come from!  I met a customer last week who had also been told that she would have to wait 28 days from the medical certificate having been received and the appeal being acknowledged before she could be paid.  It is helpful to know that the 28 days just relates to a target for producing a submission.
I am experiencing problems with people getting their ESA pending an appeal, even when the JC+ definitely have a valid medical certificate and the HMCTS have acknowledged the appeal.  This occurs despite mentioning hardship on the SSCS1 form - I believe that this was supposed to fast track the procedure.