Postal Strikes and Benefit Communications

17 November 2022 14:43
  • Information Briefing Papers

Ongoing strike action, in particular postal strikes called by the Communication Workers Union, have brought into focus the question of timely correspondence between benefit claimants and relevant departments.

    We recognise that some disruption will be unavoidable when essential workers exercise their right to strike. Therefore, our concern in the current briefing note is to offer reassurance to those benefit claimants who may be worried about the potential impact of delayed correspondence effecting communication with the office responsible for administering their award.

    The Department for Communities has repeatedly assured us in engagement meetings that their staff will give due consideration to the impact of the postal strikes, and that benefit administrators are regularly reminded of their responsibilities in this regard. Their basic position is that discretion will need to be applied on a case-by-case basis owing to the variety of reasons why delays can happen. For that reason, advisers are encouraged to raise cases with the Department for consideration.

    Whilst we are grateful to the Department for this assurance, it should be emphasised that there are a number of scenarios in which administrators and decision makers are required by legislation to apply this discretion. In short, these are the scenarios in which ‘reasonableness’, ‘good reason’ or ‘good cause’ are specified as grounds for failure to provide information or attend required appointments.

    Some of these rules are general, relating to the process of decision making, and have broad application across benefits. It should be noted that none of the terms referenced above – ‘reasonableness’, ‘good reason’ or ‘good cause’ – have been defined directly in legislation. As such, interpretation of how the Department should apply discretion in these cases relies on principles of common law and natural justice. Of particular note are the principles outlined in Chapter A1 of the Advice for Decision Making Guide and Chapter 01 of the Decision Makers Guide.

    Challenging Decisions

    A key aspect of natural justice in relation to the administration of benefit is the claimant’s right of appeal against decisions of the Department. Since 2016, regulations have required claimants to follow a process called Mandatory

    Reconsideration as an initial stage of the appeal process, which is shorthand for the requirement that the decision be looked at again by the Department prior to the claimant taking that case to the Tribunal. In the case of both Mandatory

    Reconsideration and appeal, claimants must submit their application within 1 month from the Department’s notification to the claimant, with certain exceptions. As a consequence, timely communication between Department and claimant are crucial to the exercise of the right of appeal. If the Department or the Tribunal does not accept an appellant’s reasons for making an application outside that time limit, this severely hinders their ability to obtain redress.

    The relevant guidance and legislation is as follows:

    Welfare Reform Benefits (UC, PIP, New-Style ESA and JSA)

    Housing Benefit

    Other Benefits

    NB: The information above relates solely to the process of disputing a decision on a claim for benefit, and does not include reference to procedures and time limits on either claims or the notification of changes of circumstances. This is because we would strongly advise claimants to make use of digital and telephony channels for communication with the Department on these matters, and therefore they are less likely to be impacted by postal strikes.

    Medical Assessments

    Most people making a claim for disability benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP), or means-tested benefits on the grounds of limited capability for work, such as Employment & Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit (UC), will be subject to a medical assessment. Generally, that assessment will include the completion of a medical questionnaire, provision of relevant medical evidence and attending a medical examination. At each stage, communication from the Department to the claimant, and vice versa, may be delayed. As such, the Department must give due consideration to any role played by postal strikes.

    Attendance Allowance & Disability Living Allowance

    Employment and Support Allowance

    New-Style

    Old-Style

    Personal Independence Payment

    Universal Credit

    Work-Focused Interviews

    All of the benefits paid to claimants who are out of work, whether as a result of unemployment, incapacity, or caring responsibilities, can require the person receiving the benefit to attend interviews at their local Jobs & Benefits office for the purposes of monitoring their compliance with the work-related conditions of entitlement that apply. Claimants will often be notified of the need to attend these interviews by post, although it should be emphasised that this is not the only way in which the Department will inform claimants. Failure to attend a notified work-focused interview is deemed a ‘sanctionable offence’ under legislation, and as such can lead to loss of benefit. However, claimants must be given the opportunity to present good reason/good cause for their failure to attend.

    Employment and Support Allowance

    New-Style

    Old-Style

    Income Support

    Jobseeker’s Allowance

    New-Style

    Old-Style

    Universal Credit

    ​​​​​​​​​​Contact Details

    Advice NI Policy & Information Team

    Kevin Higgins; kevin@adviceni.net

    Matt Cole; matt@adviceni.net

    Bridget Meehan; bridget@adviceni.net

    Charlotte Ahmed; charlotte@adviceni.net​​​​​​​

    Download
    Last updated:
    Thu, 11/17/2022 - 15:09