Requesting breaks during telephone WCA

Ok, no worries. Thankyou for your help though, it has been useful.

All the best.

As BIS says it would not be right to say 'do this' or 'do that'. But if you want my personal untrained take I would have their recording.
My reasoning is,
1] not to have the worry of doing your own, or not so much, if you are only doing it as backup in case there is any problem with theirs.
2] Personally I do think that they are a bit less likely to misbehave if they know they are being recorded. Must focus their mind: you will only get one who has agreed to it. Would you really want an assessor who would not agree to it? Because that is what you will get if you don't put your foot down for it.
3] If there is anything in the assessment report you are unhappy with, you can immediately refer to the recording if it was theirs rather than having to get to appeal before it is of declarable use [your covert one can be used at appeal but wouldn't you rather it didn't need to get that far?].
Just my take hoping it helps you to make a well thought out decision. I would never agree to an unrecorded one for our daughter's PIP.
With best wishes, Denby

Hi Bis,

(I would make the request for breaks now. They should give a break when you need one, but not all are particularly accommodating about this - so I would pre-warn them.)

1, Bis in your mind would it be reasonable also for this request to be made for claimants who have eg severe chronic physical pain, and also fibromyalgia, and also CFS - ME,
as they are all overlapping and cause severe fatigue, and claimants would have a lack of concentration, and their ability to focus would or could be impeded during PIP assessment, wobeit it F2F or via phone.

2, would it be also be a good idea if a claimant was to put this down in writing on either the form or a separate sheet of paper, explaining their reasons for wanting regular breaks prior to posting it off to the DWP.

3, How often could a claimant decide when they needed a break, would it be reasonable for a claimant simply just say to the assessor, I'm too fatigued, and in too much pain to continue at present with the assessment, can we please take a 15 minute break and come back to continue.

And obviously it could mean in a 2 hr assessment that a claimant may need 4 breaks, so the assessment in total could run well into a 3 hour job. (very exhausting physically and mentally right ! )

Surely it would seem and look deemed to be inhumane for any assessor not to allow this request from claimants. Many claimants in my view have lost out because they were too afraid too ask if they could take breaks.

And having put this request in writing say on a PIP form, and being denied, would go in favour for the claimant if he/she needs to go to a tribunal, as the assessor did not take into account the exhaustion the claimant had to go through with no rest bites during his/ her assessment, and even especially when the claimant asking a break.

Your views, guidance on this and other mods, and subscribers would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Hi Bis,

How does one translate a smartphone recording of an assessment into a transcript, So one can then print off hard copies of it ?

Thanks.

I requested a recording ...it's changed the date but only by couple of weeks ..
To note if u can't make the revised date they count the change to get it recorded as your one chance and then it gets referred back to DWP and the process of getting a date needs to start again ...