The Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

Failure to take part in a work-focused health-related assessment

53.—(1) A claimant who is required to take part in a work-focused health-related assessment but fails to do so must show good cause for that failure within 5 working days of the date on which the Department gives notification of that failure.

(2) The Department must determine whether a claimant who is required to take part in a work-focused health-related assessment has failed to do so and, if so, whether the claimant has shown good cause for that failure in accordance with paragraph (1).

(3) In determining whether a claimant has shown good cause for the failure to take part in a work-focused health-related assessment, the Department must take the following matters into account—

(a) whether the claimant was outside Northern Ireland at the time of the notification;

(b) the claimant’s state of health at the time of the work-focused health-related assessment;

(c) the nature of any disability which the claimant has; and

(d) any other matter which the Department considers appropriate.