Sanctioned: Catherine's Story

To leave someone with no money to live on is a disgrace/

Its utterly disgusting the way the sick and the disabled are being targeted and declared fit for work when they aren't. You then get claimants with nothing medically wrong with them claiming ESA/PIP and they seem to sail through the welfare system with ease. It really does anger me to say the least

Explained so clearly and eloquently appreciate you sharing this!

So they declare someone with mental health conditions as 'fit for work'. Then what? What if the person has a breakdown in the job? What if the person attacks an employee because of their mental health? Where does the law stand on this in reference to health and safety of the person who is mentally disabled - and also in reference to the safety of those employees who have to work with someone with mental health? There should be people taking the DWP to court left right and centre.

Hi I did go to citizens advice and they did a great job and I won my appeal. Hope you are well.

this is so true I'm going through it now. I hope you are all right now. tony uk

I feel you need to go and see the citizen advice. In 2011 I was placed on the work component under the ESA. I had a medical at home and they said I was fit for work. Any way after appealing and loosing and then going to the appeal court in London who said the appeal was over turned I had  another appeal and won. I got back pay from 2011, but still the DWP got the figures wrong so I will sue them in the courts.  Under disability discrimination act they can not force you to travel so far. Please go and see citizen advice, they are great and know the law. Any questions please ask and I will see if I can help. take care you are not alone. God bless. 

Just been assessed and placed in the work related activity group. The doctor intimidated me and twisted my answers. Question do the GMC sanction Dr's who act like the Spanish Inquisition, seems they do.

Makes you question the taxes we did pay while fit for work , but when u need help your contributions dont count for poo

I have CFS and IBD and I've been on ESA since it started. Got moved to work-related group three years ago. Never done any activity at all. Just went to the Jobcentre twice a year to tell them I can't do it, which they accepted. Makes me wonder why they put me in the group and why I'm still in it. Maybe things have changed but I do look a lot worse than this woman most of the time and can't usually talk coherently due to fatigue. My problems are definitely not invisible

Its so cruel the way they are treating people who genuinely need help, one of the problems is the people who try to cheat the system, because of people like that, everyone is tarred with the same brush, they think everyone is lazy and dosnt want a job and just sit around doing nothing. Ive overheard the staff in the jobcentre calling people names when they walk off from an interview , its disgracefull how they treat these people, and they have no sympathy for them whatsoever, ive been on universal credit now for one year, i had to come out of work to look after my mother who is disabled with osteo arthritis, i had to wait 13 weeks for any money, and i was told that i couldnt get any money to help until i get my first payment of universal credit, so they lied to me because you can get a loan to help you until you get paid, if you dont know what you are entitled to they will not tell you, ive been lied to so many times in the jobcentre about money that im entitled to but because i didnt know, they told me there was nothing i could apply for, and it wasnt just one person who made a mistake, i asked 3 different people in the place and they all lied to me. Another thing that is totally wrong about the way benefits are given out, foreign immigrants get twice as much money in one week, than a pensioner gets in a week, a pensioner thats worked all their life paying tax and insurance , and someone whos been here 5 minutes , payed nothing into the system, gets twice as much, why do they need more money than anyone else, food gas and electric cost the same for them, and ive been told that they can get a grant of £5000 to help set up their own business, unbelievable, its getting worse and worse

People have just got the have the guts to fight these fuckers and more often than not you win at appeal. Relying on benefits can happen to anyone.

Would Catherine be interested in talking about the WCA for a DPAC documentary?

The trouble is they tar everybody with the same brush people who clearly cant do any work get treated the same as a down and out drop out who cant be bothered to get work i couldent be a job centre worker

I fiddled the sick for over a year by exaggerating my stutter then yeah I do feel guilty when genuine people get accused but if I coulda easy have made a convincing vid to get at everyone's heart strings. It's very easy to fake a serious speech impediment when you already have a mild one.

She should have appealed the group she was placed in..

She seemed lovely but she was very loathe to say what her health condition is so it is extremely hard to comment fairly on her plight.

No one passes for ESA they get bonuses to fail you,same applies to JSA sanctions,massive payouts off you

🙄

Get a sit down job ie supermarkets allow you to sit down and take regular breaks .better for you than relying on benefits there's also child care. And tax credits .you seem educated go back to college do accounting from home around your illness .you just need some inspiration