Mobile Menu

  • Home
  • About
  • PIP
    • PIP Overview
    • PIP Claim
    • PIP Assessment
    • PIP Decision
    • PIP Reconsideration
    • PIP Appeal
    • PIP Appeal Challenge
  • ESA
    • ESA Overview
    • ESA Claim
    • ESA Assessment
    • ESA Decision
    • ESA Reconsideration
    • ESA Appeal
    • ESA Appeal Challenge
  • ITV News
  • Articles
  • Charges
  • Contact

PIP GUIDE

  • Personal Independence Payment
  • PIP Claim
  • PIP Assessment
  • PIP Decision
  • PIP Reconsideration
  • PIP Appeal
  • PIP Appeal Challenge

ESA GUIDE

  • Employment & Support Allowance
  • ESA Claim
  • ESA Assessment
  • ESA Decision
  • ESA Reconsideration
  • ESA Appeal
  • ESA Appeal Challenge
  • Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

Office: 029 2000 2425 | info@disabilityclaims.uk | @disabilityclaims

Disability Claims

Header Right

  • Home
  • About
  • PIP
    • PIP Overview
    • PIP Claim
    • PIP Assessment
    • PIP Decision
    • PIP Reconsideration
    • PIP Appeal
    • PIP Appeal Challenge
  • ESA
    • ESA Overview
    • ESA Claim
    • ESA Assessment
    • ESA Decision
    • ESA Reconsideration
    • ESA Appeal
    • ESA Appeal Challenge
  • ITV News
  • Articles
  • Charges
  • Contact
  • PIP assessment points
  • Can you study while on PIP?
  • PIP and carer’s allowance
  • PIP in a care home
  • PIP & mental health
  • PIP appeal process

Deciding Appeals in the Absence of Caimants

Can it ever be a good idea to have your appeal heard by a tribunal without attending? We don’t think so. We have represented clients at face-to-face hearings where the client has been unable or unwilling to attend, but family members came in place of the clients. I certainly remember attending with a client’s parents, with a sister and with a daughter and those appeals were allowed. We have also attended at least two hearings where no one could come; one was allowed but the tribunal adjourned the other as they were unhappy with having just the representative. That appeal lapsed because the DWP changed the decision and gave us the enhanced rate of both components. 

A number of clients have come to us after opting to have their appeals heard without them but where the tribunals have thought that there was merit in the case and they have been reluctant to hear the case, because that would have meant dismissing the appeal. Instead, those tribunals adjourned and issued directions which encouraged the appellant to attend when the appeal was listed for an oral hearing. Think very seriously before you throw this opportunity away as the tribunal is doing its best to signal that you have a chance of winning but they need more information from you. You cannot use this as a way of gauging the strength of your appeal because tribunals are discouraged from adjourning on costs grounds so that most would not think twice about hearing and refusing your appeal, regardless of its potential.

Challenging a tribunal’s decision

If you are unhappy with a tribunal’s decision, either because your appeal was refused or it was allowed but only in part, the starting point is to request a statement of the tribunal’s reasons for their decision, and a copy of the ‘record of proceedings’. You have a calendar month in which to ask for these and that month begins on the day you were given or sent the written decision. These days, the record of proceedings is very likely to be the official recording of the hearing, rather than any note of the evidence that was made by the judge during the hearing. This is unfortunate as the hand written record would sometimes reveal an important misunderstanding on the part of the judge. 

It is necessary to find one or more ‘errors of law’ in the statement of reasons and to ask in writing for ‘permission to appeal’ to the Upper Tribunal. You will not be given permission to appeal by arguing that the tribunal made the wrong decision, that they should have awarded more points or that a new piece of evidence would have made a difference if the tribunal had seen it. The focus now changes from these matters of fact to matters of law. It is outside the scope of this article to equip you to identify errors of law in the statement of reasons, but here is a list of the most common ones:

  • The statement of reasons shows that the tribunal applied the wrong law, that it overlooked relevant case law or that it misunderstood the legislation.
  • The tribunal made incorrect factual findings; it might have failed to make a necessary finding or took irrelevant facts into account.
  • It gave inadequate reasons for its decision.
  • The tribunal’s decision is not supported by the evidence, which could include ignoring or overlooking evidence, misinterpreting evidence or taking irrelevant evidence into account.
  • The tribunal’s decision is perverse, meaning that it acted irrationally and in a manner that no reasonable tribunal could have acted, given the evidence before it and the findings of fact made. This option may look attractive but the bar is a high one and it will rarely apply.
  • There has been a breach of the rules of natural justice, referring to a failure to follow procedure. This can be quite wide ranging but examples could include not allowing a party to the appeal to speak or evidence of bias.

I have seen an unrepresented appellant granted permission to appeal but I am in no doubt that an experienced and knowledgeable representative would do a better job. Worryingly, we have come across too many representatives who recommended that it was better not to try to challenge a tribunal’s decision, simply because they were unsure of how to go about it. We find that there is usually a material error of law to be found in a statement of reasons. 

Your application for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal will be decided by a judge sitting alone and without a hearing. We find that at least half of our applications are refused by these judges. Do not be put off by this; you will be provided with an Upper Tribunal form UT1, on which to apply directly to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal and we find that the more knowledgeable judges there are very likely to agree with the exact same grounds that failed to impress the local judge. 

 

Recent Posts

  • Is it better to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Attendance Allowance (AA)?
  • Can cancer patients get PIP?
  • Can you study while on PIP?
  • PIP assessment points
  • PIP and carer’s allowance
  • Do I still get PIP in a care home?
  • PIP tips & tricks
  • What grants can I get on PIP?
  • How much is PIP?
  • Can I get a mobility car on standard rate PIP assessment?
  • Do I have to tell PIP if I start work?
  • PIP Supersession Requests
  • PIP Form Help
  • PIP mandatory reconsideration
  • PIP payments backdated
  • Challenging a PIP tribunal decision
  • How to do a PIP reconsideration
  • Enhanced PIP Benefits
  • PIP Claim – Change of Circumstances
  • What other benefits can I claim with PIP?
  • What illness qualifies for PIP?
  • PIP & ESA appeal over 29 months
  • PIP for Depression and Anxiety
  • PIP Appeal in Sutton
  • How long does it take to claim PIP?
  • Does Carers Allowance Affect PIP?
  • This PIP appeal in North London needed Pebbles help
  • PIP appeal hearing date arrives before the PIP appeal papers
  • The impact of Fibromyalgia on a PIP Claim
  • Fibromyalgia and PIP
  • Questions asked at PIP assessment
  • PIP Appeal in Cornwall
  • Section IV: The PIP appeal process and alleviating your stress levels
  • Section III: The PIP appeal process and alleviating your stress levels
  • Section II: The PIP appeal process and alleviating your stress levels
  • Section I: The PIP appeal process and alleviating your stress levels
  • PIP appeal in Cambridge
  • Can you work full-time and have a substantial PIP award?
  • What you need to know about PIP rates and components
  • PIP Appeal Tribunal Awarded Six Times The Number Of Points Awarded By The DWP
  • A Good Outcome, With The Client Receiving Exactly The Award We Wanted.
  • PIP Appeal in Central London
  • Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Your Mental Health
  • How Many Days?
  • No Need To Score Points To Be Successful
  • Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for over 65
  • Would The Ambulance Crew Make It In Time?
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Descriptors
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Points
  • PIP appeal in Southampton
  • PIP appeal in East London
  • PIP appeal in Inverness
  • ESA and PIP appeals in Birmingham
  • From DLA to PIP
  • Deciding Appeals in the Absence of Claimants
  • Now that’s what I call a PIP reconsideration request..
  • Moving from DLA to PIP
  • PIP appeal in Leicester
  • 15 Points for Mobilising and Support Group Placement
PIP Articles

Is it better to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Attendance Allowance (AA)?

By DC-ADMIN | 18/02/2023
PIP Articles

Can cancer patients get PIP?

By DC-ADMIN | 15/02/2023
PIP Articles

Can you study while on PIP?

By DC-ADMIN | 18/01/2023
PIP Articles

PIP assessment points

By DC-ADMIN | 15/01/2023
PIP Articles

PIP and carer’s allowance

By DC-ADMIN | 18/12/2022
PIP Articles

Do I still get PIP in a care home?

By DC-ADMIN | 15/12/2022
PIP Articles

PIP tips & tricks

By DC-ADMIN | 18/05/2022
PIP Articles

What grants can I get on PIP?

By DC-ADMIN | 15/05/2022
PIP Articles

How much is PIP?

By DC-ADMIN | 18/04/2022
PIP Articles

Can I get a mobility car on standard rate PIP assessment?

By DC-ADMIN | 15/04/2022
Previous Post: «PIP Case Studies Now that’s what I call a PIP reconsideration request..
Next Post: From DLA to PIP PIP Case Studies»

Footer

Address

37 First Avenue
Trecenydd
Caerphilly
CF83 8PE

PIP Guide

  • PIP Claim
  • PIP Assessment
  • PIP Decision
  • PIP Reconsideration
  • PIP Appeal
  • PIP Appeal Challenge

ESA Guide

  • ESA Claim
  • ESA Assessment
  • ESA Decision
  • ESA Reconsideration
  • ESA Appeal
  • ESA Appeal Challenge

Get in Touch

Office: 029 2000 2425

info@disabilityclaims.uk

@disabilityclaims

@personalindependencepayment

Site Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About
  • PIP
  • ESA
  • ITV News
  • Articles
  • Charges
  • Contact

©2011-24 DISABILITY CLAIMS  |  Privacy  | Cookies  |  Terms  |  Accessibility  |  Sitemap  |  Disclaimer 

You agree to the use of cookies for analytics, personalised content and ads. Accept
Cookies

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT