Are these still on hold?

Isn't Esther McVey your MP? Well well well! I thought UC wasn't coming out for at least another 3 years?

I have to agree and it makes me sick to hearSerwotka proselytize when he knows some of his members are willfully enacting these sanctions.

I have to agree and it makes me sick to hearSerwotka proselytize when he knows some of his members are willfully enacting these sanctions.

Does anyone know what will be expected of post Work Programme ESA claimants, such as myself, that are in the WRAG?

What can be expected of WRAG claimants?

So what can be expected of ESA claimants in the WRAG? What are the JC going to expect or want of me post WP?

Are you sure they can't compel work experience? isnt that the governments big thing at the moment, starting in April?

hello, as a member of the above ESA group my time on the Work Programme (which I started while on JSA, fwiw) ends this month. To that end the JC have written to call me in for a 'post WP support interview', however I have been told that for people in my position this shouldn't happen. This is apparently because the WP doesn't end after two years if on ESA. Can anyone confirm the correct position here? The DWP claim that the WP ends after two years (i started in April 2012) regardless of what benefit you are on or were on when you were referred. FWIW also the WP has proven no help at all and I am not particularly comfortabnle dealing with the JC again. I am undergoing a mental health assessment process and would rather avoid all this as much as possible. Thank you.

your attitude is a joke. and if people think that this issue is a 'non thread' they can **** off. This is EXTREMELY serious to me. and I will not have my feelings traduced by some ****, especially on what is supposed to be a support forum!

I have no idea what pro bono notification is, but how can you be sure that you are right?

They don't stop benefits - the DWP does and will do on their instruction that I refused to book an appointment. I'm afraid that I find your comment extremely naive. If you think ATOS act with responsibility and respect then all I can say is that you have not been paying attention. THey are anything but. Now while I don't know what will happen, I simply cannot assume that they will respect my wish - and if they don't what then? If I put the phone down on them after saying 'i don't want to talk to you on the phone', what do you think they will do? This is a company that has, now, years of bad reputation; there are hundreds of reports of people being mistreated by these people (and the DWP aren't much better, let's be honest), including my own experience. Now while that might be anecdotal, it's still serious IMO.

Of course not, since they don't have that number. As has been said, the DWP has my phone number. That's the problem.

What's that supposed to mean? Are you ATOS? Are you not aware of their reputation, which is a matter of record, I might add. I have no idea what you are trying to say. You've obviously not read what i posted and the reaons I gave for not wanting to speak to them. Given Atos' appalling reputation and my experience with them I wouldn't be remotely surprised if, should I refuse to talk to them over the phone, that they decided I was a difficult customer and referred me back to the DWP. Doing so would mean an instant curtailing of my benefits. I'm not really interested if you believe or agree with me.

how can you be sure of that? last time i dealt with them, a couple of years, ago they caused my benefits to be stopped after lying to me (two different advisers) when i asked if i could postpone my WCA by a ouple of weeks. I don't really trust these people. However even then they didn't ring me to book the WCA they wrote to me saying "you need to contact us by x to book your appointment". It would make more sense if that was still the system, i don't remember what the esa50 form was like then, if it was different at all. I suspect if they ring me and I tell them I can't cope with the phone (it is more the problem of the person I live with answering the call instead or in my absence). If they write to me as they did before, then fine. I don't trust ATOS anymore than I trust the DWP or the Work Programme. Not one of these organisations can be trusted.