PIP appeal- No PIP2

Hi

I am wondering if anyone has come across this situation before please- I assisted a client to apply for an MR as she was turned down for PIP with zero points. She provided a letter from her RA nurse and PIP did not change the decision at MR. She has rheumatoid arthritis and is on biologics. She is worked full time at the time of the decision and PIP used this as justification for no award basically however she had advised that her work has moved her office downstairs and changed her duties.

When she then appealed she received the PIP submission and bundle and it came to light that there were numerous pages missing from her PIP2 form- all that was in the bundle was the tickboxes for each descriptor and then the answer to the mobility question and the any other information question. I queried this with PIP who said that they 'probably didnt have it but it was gone to the appeal now so it was up to them to decide.' The client completed her PIP2 herself and did not have a copy. We went to an appeal hearing last August which ended up being adjourned-the chair decided to direct PIP to produce the PIP2 and confirm if the assessor saw it before the telephone assessment. PIP completed a supplementary response stating they no longer had the form and apologised, they also stated that the assessor did not have it prior to the telephone assessment but they were content that she had enough info and made the right decision. So the appeal was relisted for hearing.

We have just been to the hearing today and it has now been adjourned again- the chair was quite rude to me also which I didnt appreciate. However, the reason they adjourned is that they started querying about her working full time. She now works part time but they said obviously they are looking at the date the decision was made in 2021. They asked if she had an occupational health assessment done, the client stated she was unsure, but that her duties were changed after diagnosis in 2017 and being off sick. She said her manager had arranged this so she wasnt sure if it was a occ health thing or just managers discretion. The chair states they want to see a copy of this. I stated I was unsure how relevant this was as people can work and get PIP- bear in mind they also have her medical notes- and the chair got annoyed at me 'questioning' her.

Has anyone else had a similar case? I thought the Tribunal would have been interested in the fact that PIP made 3 decisions without the full information, that the assessor made her report without the full facts and that procedurally the decision was made erroneously but instead they focused the fact she was working?

Any guidance welcome

Hello there,

My daughter is going through a similar situation. She works full-time and has been turned down for PIP. She recently sent off her MR and is awaiting a response. I have shown her this post and here are her thoughts:

1) People can apply for flexible working hours regardless of a health condition. Since your client doesn't know if she has been seen by Occupational Health , there is nothing to state why her number of hours have changed. You said that her work has moved the office downstairs and changed her duties. Companies can move people around the office for any reasons other than health conditions. i .e structure. The tribunal is asking for a copy of the occupational health because there has to be a clear distinction why this move was made in the first place.
2) The letter from the RA nurse only confirms your client's health diagnose . This does not relate to how your client's workplace is supporting her, despite the medical reports given.
3) Occupational Health is arranged by the companies HR department and if a medical report is needed from them, your client would need to give HR consent to this.
4) Despite that people can apply for PIP when working. Your client would need to be referred to occupation health if the company has concerns that relate to the employee's health and their ability to do their job, which is conducted by an external healthcare professional.
I can see why the tribunal has questioned this and wants see a copy as this comes under specialist input. I would say that this is vital to your client's application, especially if they are working.

She scored 0 on all descriptors and has now sent off the occupational medical report to support her MR.