Morning

I am trying to write my first ESA sub and i am struggling. My client suffers with bi-polar and has serious anger and dealing with people issues which i would hope would place him in the support group. However as i read it from the disability rights handbook he would need to satisfy the descriptors for limited capacity for work? These do not however seem to cover the sort of mental health issues he has or indeed cover very many at all.

Am i missing something here, do i even need to include in the sub which group i think he should fall into?

Would really appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks

Hello- even if none of the descriptors apply, someone can be treated as having limited capability for work related activity if they are:

"suffering from some specific disease or bodily or mental disablement and consequently there would be a substantial risk to the mental of physical health of any person if you were found not to have limited capability for work related activity."

It's on page 54 of the Disability Rights Handbook also.

I would have thought that anyone with serious anger and dealing with people problems might well score on activities 20 and 21 in Sch 2.

Bipolar disorder is not necessarily totally disabling - it will depend on the facts. In between her (rare and short-lived) manic episodes and when not in the depths of depression, my mother managed to do a lot of voluntary work (she was over retirement age but if younger could certainly have worked part-time most of the time).