Over half DWP disability assessors leave in a year over feeling ‘despised’

Department for Work and Pensions reveals that health professions are leaving profession in droves

Health professionals tasked with assessing people for disability benefits are leaving the profession in droves over feelings of being ‘despised’ and ‘de-skilled’, research from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed.

In a newly-released report, the department says that over half (52 per cent) of its health assessors left in a single year, with 40 per cent of new recruits leaving within the three-month training period.

The research, which looks at assessors for both the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and the health-related element of Universal Credit, was carried out in Spring 2022, with findings taken from 2021 figures.

Both assessments have long been criticised by disability rights campaigners as difficult and inconsistent processes. According to polling by disability charity Sense, more than half (51 per cent) of disabled people with complex needs report feeling humiliated by their PIP assessment. A further 45 per cent said the process made their symptoms worse.

Assessors must be qualified healthcare professionals. One told researchers: “We all got in healthcare for altruistic reasons and that maybe isn’t the case in this job… you’re a cog in the machine doing bureaucratic work.”

The DWP says that over half of its health assessors left in a year in 2021 (PA)

Many do not apply for the role until there is “no other option but to leave the NHS”, the report finds, but then feel that they have transitioned from a role in which they are “respected” to one where they are “despised”.

At a PIP assessment, an assessor will give an applicant points based on how limited their ability is to carry out daily living activities, which decides the level of the final award.

The assessment for the health-related element of Universal Credit is called the ‘work capability assessment’, where the assessor is instead determining the applicants ability to carry out work or work-related activity (like interviews and training).

A DWP contract manager elaborates on the challenges many assessors face as former health workers, saying: “The idea that they would want to be on a treadmill of collecting details but not intervening is alien to a significant proportion of the health sector.

“A lot of people that apply for roles don’t understand this point. They arrive. Have rigorous training and [the] penny drops that this is what role is.”

The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is claimed by 3.8 million people (Getty/iStock)

One former PIP assessor told The Independent last year that she was “working [herself] to death”, often staying from 5am to 10pm as her growing backlog of cases became unmanageable.

The former nurse, who was an assessor for two years, said: “They suck you into it, because when you first go they tell you ‘give it six months, because it’s a totally new way to how you’ve been working as a nurse’”.

“Most assessors leave at around six months because they realise they’ve been had”, she added.

Lucy Bannister, head of policy and influencing at Turn2us, said: “People recovering from illness or navigating the additional cost of disability should rightly expect to be treated with dignity and respect. But this report shows that’s not happening.

“The staff carrying out assessments for disability benefits describe the system in the same terms as disabled people: punitive, exhausting and inflexible, focused on tick-boxing rather than care. It’s not working properly for anyone.”

Sir Stephen Timms, who is leading a review into the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) (UK Parliament)

A DWP spokesperson said: “We commissioned this research to better understand the challenges facing the health assessment workforce and have been acting on its findings since it was conducted.

“We've worked closely with our assessment providers to improve recruitment, training and working conditions, and the full-time equivalent health assessor workforce has grown since this research was carried out.

“We're committed to ensuring assessments are carried out by skilled professionals who are properly supported in their roles, and we continue to work on improvements as part of our wider transformation of health assessment services.”

After rowing back on proposed changes to PIP last year, the government announced a review helmed by disability Sir Stephen Timms to make the benefit “fair and fit for the future”. It is understood that the work will have a strong focus on the assessment process, with a report expected in autumn this year.

The government also plans to abolish the work capability assessment and have only one process based on the PIP framework. However, work and pensions minister Pat McFadden recently confirmed this will not happen until after the conclusion of the Timms review.