ESA Appeal, Payment during appeal,

Hello, I have a query re pages 7 and 8 of your Nov 17 guide to ESA & UC MRs and Appeals. After being awarded ESA on Appeal in 2010 and passing numerous subsequent reassessments including last years, my sister has been reassessed this year and denied ESA. A negative MR decision has been received and she is going to submit an appeal. She lives in a "full service" area for UC. Page 7 of your Guide says that you cannot revert back to ESA once you have lodged your appeal. You need to apply for UC instead. The final paragraph on page 8 though says that if the decision is the first time you have been refused ESA...and have lodged an appeal, you can ask for ESA (assessment phase rate) to be reinstated provided you can send in a fitness for work certificate to correspond with the period in question... I would be very grateful if you could advise which of the two positions would apply here. Many thanks.

Thanks very much Gordon. Yes UC confuses things but as she has not claimed UC the ESA position applies. So will she have to ask her GP for a fitness for work cert?

I have now seen the MR decision. Unfortunately CAB are too busy to help at this stage of the Appeal. The Decision Maker states "under Regs 13 (3) of the Job Seekers Allowance Regulations claimants are entitled to restrict their availability for employment to reflect the reasonable limitations that their health imposes on them. Therefore whilst it is not disputed that you have a health condition, from the evidence available, it has been established that you would be able to engage in some type of work, if you were to consider reduced hours or workplace adjustments or adaptations." Is this correct? I cant see anything in the JSA regs regs which says this and it is certainly not in Reg 13 (3) as quoted.