Let’s see how you got to where you are…
If you have only recently started to get Employment and Support Allowance the rules require you to be assessed by them in the first thirteen weeks. Up until then they are - basically - taking your word for it (and the word of your GP) that you are not fit for work.
If you have been on Employment and Support Allowance for a while they will normally re-assess you about once a year.
Either way the first thing that happened was probably that the Jobcentre Plus sent you a questionnaire, called an ESA50, which you completed and returned.
When they got your questionnaire back, they called you to attend a medical at an ATOS examination centre. The medical report was then sent to the Jobcentre Plus for a decision maker to consider, together with any other evidence they had, like your answers in the ESA50 form.
 The Jobcentre Plus then has three options:
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They applied the 2nd one of these to you.
(If they refused you Employment and Support Allowance completely click here for information about this)
- ‘Should I appeal against not being put in the support group: what do I need to consider?’
- ‘How does the Jobcentre Plus decide whether I should be in the work related activity group or the support group?’
- ‘Please tell me about the appeal process, apart from preparing for and attending the appeal hearing’
- ‘Please tell me about preparing for and attending the appeal hearing’
- ‘My appeal was not successful and I want to take the case further’