Challenging a benefit decision From 28 October 2013 there are new rules in place for challenging a benefit decision made by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). If the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) make a decision about your benefits that you do not agree with, you have 1 month to ask them to reconsider it. You cannot move on on to the next stage of having an independent Judge-led review of your decision (called a tribunal hearing) without first taking this step, which is why the process is called mandatory reconsideration. If you receive the DWP’s reconsidered decision and disagree with it, then you are allowed to ask for a tribunal hearing. This is called ‘appealing the decision’ and you have 1 month within which to do it. You’ll need to ask the Tribunal Service for this directly, which is called ‘direct lodgement’. The DWP will not do this for you. *If you are trying to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), then you will not get any benefit during the mandatory reconsideration process. However, if you appeal the DWP’s reconsidered decision, then you will get the basic ESA allowance up until your hearing date. For more information on ESA basic allowance rates and other benefit options, contact the Carers UK Adviceline on 0808 808 7777 or at [email protected]
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 17:23:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015