JSA and appointee

Hello,
This post could fall into JSA and ESA - anyway here goes - long story short:
Claimant aged 50ish
Lives alone with support from family but prior to this was in residential care for many years.
Was employed by council for donkeys years on a supported gardening scheme - he has learning disabilities.
Austerity lead to redundancy and he claimed JSA with help of elderly Dad. Was placed in work programme - sanctioned over and over as could not complete any of the tasks due to learning disability (appalling, wrong etc)
Claimed ESA for first time in April ‘15 - info on ESA50 triggered DWP to assess him for appointeeship - granted to elderly Dad.
You know what is coming - WCA, nil points and been told to claim JSA.

Of course we are challenging this.

Does anyone know of any JSA claimants who have an appointee ? Can this work with someone who has an appointeeship because they are unable to manage their own affairs due to a learning disability?

Any thoughts/comments welcomed.

Thank you, Elaine

What follows is based on the assumption that what you’re after doing is getting him some sort of income (i.e. JSA) during the MR stage to see him through to the point he can get ESA pending the appeal…..

Clearly, he’s been able to work in the past. But that supported scheme doing gardening work would clearly have been less onerous (in terms of the mental/capacity demands) than the hoops one has to jump through claiming JSA - hence his having ended up with sanctions.

But assuming he could get down the Jobcentre to actually bump on every fortnight, both his Jobseeker’s agreement and his availability could (and should) be tailored to meet his disability/limitations - though he’d clearly need support (from you?) to ensure those measures were put in place….

What about the provisions that allow 13 weeks of JSA entitlement whilst temporarily sick - bang in the Med3 with the JSA claim and by the time the 13 weeks is up, the MR should hopefully be concluded.

The bit I don’t know about is whether the appointee (assuming elderly father himself actually capable of this) is allowed to complete the jobsearch record and to actually sign for the claimant - could make it easier if so…..

Having assessed him as requiring an appointee, and therefore incapable of managing his own affairs, how do JCP justify a “fit-for-work” decision?

Unbelievable! Formal complaint and referral to MP!!

According to: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226772/Part-05_Appointee.pdf

Jobseekers Allowance/ESA customer with appointee

5407 You must always deal with the appointee in the first instance when considering conditionality operational matters eg arranging interviews. The onus is on the appointee to ensure that the customer is aware of interview times etc.
You can discuss conditionality matters with the appointee but you must not make a determination or decision eg imposing a sanction, without involving the customer. The latter must be at formal conditionality interviews.
The appointee cannot satisfy conditionality on behalf of the customer.
The customer and appointee must attend for signing;
Given the nature of these benefits the capacity of the customer should always be under review. You must not allow the appointeeship to continue because it is convenient for the customer.

(Re the sanctions/unreasonable claimant commitment side of things, you may want to consider if there is breach of an Equalities Act duty.)

past caring - 01 December 2015 01:07 PM

Clearly, he’s been able to work in the past. But that supported scheme doing gardening work would clearly have been less onerous (in terms of the mental/capacity demands) than the hoops one has to jump through claiming JSA - hence his having ended up with sanctions.

Fabulous bit of propaganda/condemnation there. Not a criticism. More a passing thought…

A world in which claiming and keeping benefits is harder than any work you might obtain appropriate to your circumstances. Certain people would rub their hands together in glee at that!

Incidentally, having an appointee isn’t going to directly influence a fit for work decision. Appointeeship is solely about the mental capacity to manage ones benefit affairs. It can be illustrative of incapacity in other areas but not conclusive. The MCA allows for a person explicitly to have capacity for some issues but not others. It also has zilch to do with physical capacity. So, much as I would also be inclined to complain, I’m not sure it’s as black and white as that.

Thank you everyone. Jon, I had quick look at the DWP appointee document earlier - I’ll review again as it will form part of my MR.