Challenging Benefit Decisions

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your benefits application, feel the wrong decision has been made, feel that you have been discriminated against, and/or feel lessons need to be learned, you can take action.

Do you think you have experienced discrimination?

If you, or the person you are assisting to claim benefits for are disabled, public authorities such as the Jobcentre or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), must not discriminate against you when they make decisions about your benefits.

The Equality Act 2010 says that you must not be discriminated against because:

• You have a disability
• Someone thinks you have a disability (this is known as discrimination by perception)
• You are connected to someone with a disability (this is known as discrimination by association)

Under The Equality Act, service providers must take your disability into account when dealing with you as a customer. This means they may have to change the way they do things, so you are not disadvantaged by your disability. This is called a reasonable adjustment.

Examples of reasonable adjustments are:

• Providing telephone appointments instead of face-to-face meetings
• Providing a private room for meetings
• Allowing the claimant to record their interview in order to be able to playback information they cannot retain

If you have suffered a disadvantage because of your disability, it could be disability discrimination.

The Equality Advisory Support Service can assist you if you think you have been discriminated against.  You can contact them via freephone, textphone, and email. Find contact details here.

You can find further information about disability discrimination on the Equality and Human Rights Commission website.

Do you disagree with the decision made about your benefit claim?

If you disagree with a decision about welfare benefits, tax credits, or child maintenance, you can ask for the decision to be looked at again. This is called a mandatory reconsideration.

You can ask for mandatory reconsideration if the following apply:

• It is less than 1 month since you received the decision
• You think the office(r) dealing with your claim has made an error or missed important evidence
• You disagree with the reasons for the decision
• You want to have the decision looked at again

Asking for mandatory reconsideration

Contact the benefits office that gave you the decision. You can contact them:

• By using your journal (if you get Universal Credit)
• By phone
• By letter
• By filling in and returning a form asking for mandatory reconsideration

For Northern Ireland, you need to complete this form.

The phone number and address of your benefits office will be on your decision letter.

What you need to provide

When you ask for mandatory reconsideration, you need to provide:

• The date of the original benefit decision
• The claimants name and address
• The claimants date of birth
• The claimants National Insurance number

Explain what part of the decision you think is wrong and why. You should send evidence to support your reasons wherever possible.

You can read the guidance for asking for mandatory reconsideration here.

If you ask for mandatory reconsideration, someone will look at your whole benefit claim again.

The government has an easy-read guide to explain what a mandatory reconsideration is and when you can ask for one here.

If you continue to disagree with the outcome

You can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal if you think the decision in the mandatory reconsideration notice is wrong. The tribunal is independent of the government. A judge will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision.

You usually need to do this within one month of the date of your mandatory reconsideration notice.

Do you want to appeal the outcome of a mandatory reconsideration?

A copy of the mandatory reconsideration outcome must normally be included.

An exception applies for certain employment and support allowance decisions relating to the work capability assessment where you do not need to complete a mandatory reconsideration first, instead, you can appeal straight away.

In England, Scotland and Wales, you can submit an appeal online. In Northern Ireland you need to use form NOA1(SS).

HM Courts & Tribunals Service, or The Appeals Service in Northern Ireland, will send a copy of your appeal to the DWP and ask them to provide a response to explain how they came to their decision.

The DWP must do this within 28 days, although they can ask for an extension. The DWP will send you a copy of the response.

You will then be sent an appeal date. You must be given at least 14 days’ notice.

The appeal should be informal and have a legally qualified judge, plus a doctor if the case is regarding disability benefits. For further information about appeals see here.

Citizens Advice can provide support with mandatory reconsiderations and appeals.

Advice Local is a website which can put you in touch with local services who can support you with making an appeal.

Do you want to make a complaint?

You may wish to make a complaint about the way your claim was handled, alongside a mandatory reconsideration, or appeal.

See here for details for on each benefit department, their contact details, and information on how to make a complaint, including accessibility.

After you have made a complaint, you should receive a final response by telephone or letter from the DWP Complaints team. This will tell you the outcome of your complaint, and how to contact the Independent Case Examiner if you are not satisfied with the outcome.

For further guidance on how to bring a complaint to the Independent Case Examiner see here.

For further Information on Welfare Benefits please see other articles on our Information Hub, including:

Useful Sources Of Information About Benefits

Financial Benefits You May Be Entitled To

Disability Living Allowance

Disabled Facilities Grant

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