PIP: Work impact on home life capabilities, and applying.

Hi Elgordo,

I think you should concentrate on the physical aids you use at home. Each aid you mention can attract points.

There are many things you need to do at home which are not required at work. Cooking, bathing, dressing, housework as some examples.

Remember you should be talking always about your worst day and, during assessment remembering the mantra “I don’t have good days”.

The physical stuff you do at work is as you say limited and you probably adjust to accommodate it despite physical pain and discomfort. It also is likely to be short bursts from which you can recover once the issue has been dealt with.

It is also worth remembering that your work drains you too so much that it makes the physical stuff outside work even harder.

I hope this helps

Regards
Pete

Hi ElGordo,
To add to Pete's excellent reply, also think about whether or not reasonable adjustments are made at work to enable you to fulfil your role.
A while ago, Judges considered the kind of options disabled people have. For example, loose easy pull on clothing. But what about wearing a smart shirt and tie? The Judges felt it was important that disabled people shouldn't lose out on benefit because they were expected to take the easy option. As long as the alternative was reasonable, (and why shouldn't a disabled person dress in a smart shirt?) then points/benefit should be awarded. This is the principle of normality established in the Fairey case.
Hence it is totally reasonable for a disabled person to work. PIP points are awarded on the basis that you can do the relevant activity repeatedly as required throughout the whole day. If you fail the activity for any part if the day that is more than just a trivial part, then you shoukd score points.
This is where you may be able to gain points. Some activities like dressing may not need to be done many times. Toilet needs and communication may need many repetitions across the day and possibly night. Remember also that dressing comprises not only getting dressed in the morning, but includes putting on outdoor shoes or coat and removing them, this might need to be done several times.
Think about how you can manage to do your work and why you can do this and not do PIP activities across the whole day. Is it fatigue, is it pain, breathlessness or maybe you are too slow, ( take more than twice the time of able bodied person.) This might help you to explain your disabilities. Please also explain the problems you have at work, so if your colleague needs to help you put on your coat to go out, this is absolutely relevant!
Lastly, remember that you can score points for what happens for the majority of days. If you only work part time, this may not be the majority pattern!
I hope this helps.
Good luck. Let us know how you get on.
LL26