Work Capability Assessment - After the Work Capability assessment

After looking at the health care professional's report, and also your questionnaire, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) decision maker will decide whether you have scored enough points (fifteen points) to be considered to have Limited Capability for Work (LCW), and whether you satisfy any of the descriptors to have Limited Capability for Work Related Activity (LCWRA) / be placed in the Support Group.

If you get Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), the decision maker will write to you to say whether you have passed the assessment and will continue to receive ESA, or have failed and therefore will not be entitled to carry on getting ESA. If you are placed in the Support Group, they will also calculate whether you are owed any back pay and will arrange for it to be paid to you. You won't be entitled to the Support Component for the first three months of your claim, but most people in the Support Group do get some back pay as it usually takes more than three months from the beginning of an ESA claim to complete a Work Capability Assessment.

If you get Universal Credit, the decision maker will attach a letter to your journal to say whether you have passed the assessment or not. You can continue to get Universal Credit whether or not you pass. However, if you fail, you might have to start looking for work. 

The letter will confirm what group you have been placed in if you have passed the assessment. If you have been placed in the Limited Capability for Work Related Activity (LCWRA) group, you will usually get extra money on your Universal Credit claim. You may also receive some back payment. 

The decision maker’s decision letter should contain a summary of the healthcare professional's report and a summary of the points you scored.

If you disagree with the decision, you can request a reconsideration of the decision.

See:

• Challenging an Employment and Support Allowance decision  
• How do I challenge a Universal Credit decision?