Some of our customers can complete their Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) assessment by telephone. If this is possible, you will receive a telephone call or a letter to invite you to attend a telephone appointment and to provide you with further details of the assessment.
Those applying for ESA may be sent a capability for work questionnaire, also known as an ESA50. Please complete the form as fully as possible, answering all the questions. It’s important you return the form by the date on the letter you are sent. We will use the information you provide on the form to decide what type of assessment you may need.
You may also download the ESA50 to your computer. If you use the online form, fill it out, print it, sign it and then send it to us.
If you need help filling in the form, you can now speak to a dedicated advisor on our helpline by calling 0800 072 0398.
You can also go to your local benefits office and speak to your work coach.
Interpreters
Please let us know at least two days before your assessment if you need a language interpreter for your assessment. This will help to make sure that we can have an interpreter available for you.
Appointment arrangements
We’ll call you to arrange a date and time to suit you and follow up with a confirmation letter of the details of your appointment. Your appointment letter will have a contact number and information about the assessment.
If you need help before your assessment, contact us. The Customer Enquiries line is open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm.
What happens with your support before your assessment
Whilst you are waiting for your assessment to be completed, you will be paid the assessment rate designated under ESA. You can find more information about Employment and Support Allowance on the DfC website.
Further evidence
You will need to send any medical evidence or other information you might already have, such as reports, care or treatment plans about you from GPs, hospital doctors, specialist nurses, community psychiatric nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, social workers, support workers, learning disability support team, counsellors or carers.
You may be asked for details of the professionals or carers who know the most about your health conditions, illnesses and disabilities.
Remember – only send us copies of medical or other information if you already have them. Don’t ask or pay for new information or send us original documents. Please write your National Insurance number on each piece of information you send to us.
If you haven’t yet received an ESA50 it might be easier for you to gather some of your medical information in advance. This form allows us to decide what type of assessment you may need.
As soon as you have completed the form, you need to sign and date it, and return it in the envelope we provided. It’s important for you to return the form before its due date.
The DfC may not be able to continue to pay you benefits if we don’t receive this form in time.
If you cannot return the form in time, let us know as soon as possible. There is also a box that allows you to explain why your form was late. If you have any concerns at all about the form, contact us as soon as you can or ask a representative to contact us.
Be ready for the functional assessor to call you 10 minutes before the time of your telephone appointment. Ensure your phone is fully charged, find a quiet place with good signal and no background noise.
Think about what will make the telephone call more comfortable, for example using headphones and having a drink of water available.
The healthcare professional will introduce themselves and explain the consultation to you. If you want a companion to join the call, the healthcare professional will ask you for their number and they will need to be ready to answer the phone at the time of your appointment. It may be an 0800 number or private number.
The healthcare professional will record information on a computer. Some questions may not relate directly to your medical condition, but to daily activities.
What to have with you/available:
- any medication you may be taking
- any information from your General Practitioner (GP) or Specialist which explains how your condition affects you
The consultation questions may include:
- When your illness or disability started
- How your condition changes from day-to-day
- How it affects your daily life
- How it affects your mood and the way you behave
- How you cope with things from day-to-day
The healthcare professional will record information about your pain, fatigue, and the medication you take.
Our healthcare professionals are doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and paramedics registered with their governing body.
These include:
• the General Medical Council
• the Nursing and Midwifery Council
• the Healthcare Professions Council
Our healthcare professionals go through a specifically designed training course, approved by DfC on behalf of the Secretary of State.
Companion or chaperone during your assessment
You can have someone with you at your telephone assessment although the assessment will focus on you, a companion can offer useful support to you.
This would usually be the person who knows you best and understands you and your needs. For example, this may be a relative, support worker or friend but they must be 16 years old or over. If your support worker or friend cannot be with you in person we can add them to the telephone call.
Taking notes
You or your companion are welcome to take notes for your personal use. Your notes will not form part of the medical report that we send to the DfC.
After your assessment our functional assessor completes a report using criteria laid out by the DfC. This is to provide the DfC decision maker with an impartial, justified medical opinion about how you are affected by your medical condition.
The assessment report will describe your medical conditions and the activities you undertake in a typical day. It will also have the Functional assessor’s observations, and the results of any physical examination undertaken.
The report is one piece of information DfC uses in deciding your entitlement. The Functional assessor who carries out your assessment does not make any decision about your allowance, benefit or credits. The Functional assessor will not know the outcome of your claim.
Decisions on claims
DfC will let you know of the outcome of your claim.
DfC makes decisions on claims. Direct any questions or concerns about the outcome of your claim to the DfC office handling your claim. They will know what information they have used to decide your entitlement. The Health Assessment Advisory Service will not be aware of this. We have no decision-making role.
