Healthcare professionals

Employment and Support Allowance has been designed to enable your patients to achieve their full potential through work and to help them to gain independence from benefits. It does so by focusing on the patient’s abilities – on what they can do rather than what they can't – and offers personalised support in their move towards work. This help includes a comprehensive condition management programme, available as part of our Pathways to Work programme.

Most Employment and Support Allowance customers will be assessed through the new Work Capability Assessment, which replaces the Personal Capability Assessment used in Incapacity Benefit.

The Work Capability Assessment is a face-to-face meeting of up to 75 minutes. It is carried out at a Medical Examination Centre by specially trained healthcare professionals approved by the Secretary of State. This service is provided by Atos Healthcare.

The assessment is made up of three parts:

1. Assessment of limited capability for work - this is to understand the effect on the individual of both mental and physical disabilities and will determine entitlement to Employment and Support Allowance. It is based on the same principles as the current Personal Capability Assessment, but the descriptors and scores for both physical and mental functional activities have been extensively reviewed and revised.
2. Assessment of limited capability for work-related activity - this identifies those customers with the most severe limitations as a result of their illness or disability. These customers will become members of the Support Group of Employment and Support Allowance and they will not be expected to prepare for work.
3. The new work-focused health-related assessment - this enables the customer to discuss with the healthcare professional their views about moving into work and to identify any health-related support that may help them.

The customer will receive a copy of the work-focused health-related assessment report and may want to share this with you.

We already ask GPs to provide information on their patients and Employment and Support Allowance doesn’t mean significant change to interaction with patients or the paperwork GPs need to complete.

GPs will still be asked to provide statements of incapacity for work (usually on form Med 3) until the Work Capability Assessment is carried out, which is usually within the first 13 weeks of a patient’s claim.

We may ask GPs to complete form ESA113. This is similar to form IB113 which we already ask GPs to complete for patients with severe disability who might be entitled to benefit without the need for a face-to-face assessment. GPs are asked to complete form ESA113 from medical records, not to carry out a separate examination of your patient.

GPs may also be asked to complete form DS1500 to provide information about patients who are terminally ill or who are not expected to live longer than 6 months. This is a factual report in which GPs provide details of their condition and any current, planned or future treatment. We do not ask GPs to give an opinion on prognosis or life expectancy.

Your patients will not be denied benefits solely on the information you give us. The decision to award Employment and Support Allowance is made by expert decision makers and is based on a range of information, evidence and independent medical advice.

There is more information about Employment and Support Allowance for doctors and healthcare professionals on our DWP health and work pages.

• DWP health and work – Employment and Support Allowance
• Pathways to Work