NAS welcomes job centre work capability assessment spot-checks

A national autism charity has welcomed news that spot-checks will be conducted at job centres to assess whether recommendations to improve the work capability assessment have been implemented.

Professor Malcolm Harrington, who last year reviewed the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), recently revealed that he will be conducting unannounced checks of job centres to assess how his recommendations have been implemented and whether they are improving the situation. The work capability assessment is used to determine eligibility for Employment and Support Allowance.

This move will help continue to improve the work capability assessment, which, despite Harrington’s review, is still receiving heavy criticism from people with disabilities, according to Mark Lever, Chief Executive of the National Autistic Society.

Work capability assessment and hidden disabilities

“We [NAS] continue to hear of significant problems in the work capability assessment system for those with autism and other ‘hidden’ disabilities,” Lever said.

“Many people tell us they find the process extremely stressful and that their needs are overlooked by assessors who don’t understand what autism is. Following the assessment, many adults with autism have received an inappropriate level of support, which fails to meet their needs, and some have been left bereft of support altogether.

“Many people with autism want a job but need support to be able to work. An incorrect assessment can have a devastating impact, meaning that people are less likely to get the help they need to find a job and face financial hardship.

“Professor Harrington has asked the NAS and other charities to make recommendations for how the WCA could be improved further. We urge Ministers to push these forward quickly in order to prevent more of society’s most vulnerable from being left impoverished. It is essential that the Government supports those with autism and other disabilities so that they can contribute to the workplace and society as they wish to.”

Professor Harrington will complete a second review of the work capability assessment later this year, as part of the government’s strategy of keeping it under independent review for five years to ensure it is working well.

LDT Editor

See Full Bio