ESA

[chris54]

My wife has got the letter today saying she will be moving off Incapacity Benefit and on to ESA.

It will be interesting if this leads to a job.

In the time she has been on Incapacity Benefit she has not stopped looking for a job, been on numerous schemes that where supposed to lead to employment, but 12 years down the road she is still without work.

 

My wife being the eternal pessimist is expecting the worst.

[JeanneA]

I d do hope it works out for your wife although I can understand that you are both worried as I wouls be. Do keep us updated.

[LancsLad]

I think this is a worrying time for a lot of people as their incapacity benefit is reviewed and they move into the new system.

 

I myself am on incapacity benefit and will be facing a review at some time. At a personal level I think I get £17 every fortnight because it is means tested against my pension. As such I am not under enormous pressure to go with the new system as I could take a hit on this. In many ways I am very employable in certain situations such as very flexible working patterns and it will be interesting to see what they offer me in respect to work opportunities if they do. I do not want to prejudge them on this one but I am sceptical if the patronising individuals I have encountered in the system before are anything to go by. My priority in life is in maintaining a quality of life for myself and that involves supporting my own mental well-being. I am not prepared to compromise on that and am fortunate that I am finacially secure enough not to be backed into a corner over ESA.

 

My problem over the past few years is that the system is not very flexible in what they view as a working life. If you do not fit their own profile of what constitutes work then the owness is on you to prove you are incapable of work which I have been able to given my medical background having been through appeal processes and having won my case in them. it will be interesting to see how flexible the new system is or will it be the same people with the same mentality?

 

I have some real concerns though for other individuals who are not in my position. I am sick and tired of politicians coming out and putting a positive spin on these reforms. I have looked through a lot of the details and they can easily be interperated in a very different light. I think time will tell on this one.

 

I hope this post keeps going and that people will put up their own experiences. I know ESA was trialed in a number of areas my nearest one being Burnley in Lancashire and a number of bad stories emerged at a local level on regional news but nothing seemed to come of them in a national response.

 

Hope things work out OK for your wife Chris, fingers crossed, many of us are not lazy far from it but conventional type work might not be the answer.