Missed WCAs under the new ESA rules

As long as two WCAs in a row haven’t been failed in a row, ESA is paid on appeal once it gets to tribunal, right/wrong?

If ESA has been stopped due to missing WCAs and good cause is not accepted, is each missed WCA counted as a WCA failure - and therefore no payments on appeal - or do the missed WCAs only count as one failed WCA? The DWP call centre advisor told me that some decision makers might allow payments on appeal and others wouldn’t. This is quite vague, to say the least. Does anyone know what the correct response should be from a decision maker in this situation?

The DWP advisor also said that JSA claims should be accepted if the claimant needs income while awaiting an MR decision, and should not have a negative effect on the success of the ESA MR/appeal. Is it as easy as that in practice? My clients are reluctant to claim JSA, but some of them are penniless for long periods unless they try to get JSA during the ESA MR/appeal stages.

My most recent client:

- Missed numerous WCAs (but has passed at least one in the past). ESA claim closed recently but still within one month time limit, so I’m helping her to request an MR. We’ll try to prove good cause for missing WCAs but not sure if that will be accepted, and if not, not sure if she’ll get payments on appeal.
- However, since her previous ESA claim stopped, she has started a new ESA claim. The claim has been accepted and she is waiting for a new WCA appointment. She hasn’t claimed a worsened or new condition but it seems to be have been accepted on the basis of continued med certs’ from her GP. She has been told that she will not get paid the assessment rate for the new ESA claim and should claim JSA in the meantime.
- In the MR request for the previous claim I have mentioned that she has already reclaimed and is waiting for a new WCA.

How is the DWP likely to respond to this? She’s requesting an MR on a previous ESA claim (within the time limit), has already reclaimed ESA and is awaiting a WCA, and is also being told to claim JSA!

You’d probably do well to read this ESA and ‘significant worsening’

and this ESA and abolition of the ‘six month rule’

and then possibly refine your query a little?