Toolbox Talks - Personal Independence Payment
Next date
About this course
Are you looking to strengthen your PIP advice skills in a way that fits your schedule?
These 5 x one-hour online sessions provide an excellent opportunity. Increase your technical knowledge, brush up on the latest case law and guidance, and pick up new skills to help you achieve the best possible outcomes for clients.
The shorter format is designed to fit around the other demands on your time, with online sessions delivered over five consecutive Friday lunchtimes.
9 January 2026 - Reassessment delays and maximising back pay
PIP award reviews are still taking 38 weeks on average, and sometimes much longer. In our first session, we will answer some key practical questions:
- Are there techniques for speeding up a review?
- If the client’s award goes up on review, how much back pay should they get?
- What happens if a new decision is made without an assessment?
16 January 2026 - Non-PIP activities: driving, work, caring etc
They don’t appear on the list of 12 PIP activities, but we know from experience that decision-makers take them into account. In session two, we’ll look at best practice for advisers when a client:
- Is in paid work, volunteering or education
- Is a parent or has caring responsibilities
- Can drive a car
- Can cope with social media, online shopping and/or gaming
23 January 2026 - Spotlight on Activity 9 (engaging socially)
Scoring points for Activity 9 can be crucial for clients with mental health problems, learning disabilities, and other cognitive conditions. In this workshop we:
- Revisit the point-scoring descriptors and their legal definitions
- Consider recent case law about different types of social engagement
- Use examples to think about how we will apply the rules in practice
30 January 2026 - “How far, how long, how often”: being precise
These questions can be crucial for helping clients score the right points – from checking how many metres they can walk to confirming whether they can complete an activity ‘within a reasonable time period’ or ‘repeatedly’. The more specific we can be, the better. In this workshop we:
- Revisit the key concepts of ‘reliably’ and ‘on the majority of days’
- Talk about how to get straight answers from clients – from closed questions and Google Maps to stopwatches and diary entries.
- Look at some recurring problems, like inconsistent evidence
6 February 2026 - PIP for clients from overseas
In our final workshop, we’ll address a frequent topic on the CPAG advice line: which clients from overseas can get PIP? Breaking down what can be a complex subject, we will talk about how to advise clients including:
- EEA nationals and their family members
- Clients moving from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
- Refugees and asylum-seekers
Method of delivery and timings
This five-part series is delivered online via Zoom, with one-hour sessions held on five consecutive Fridays from 1pm to 2pm
It is a practical series delivered through a combination of trainer presentation, quizzes and interactive exercises. Participants will need a Wi-Fi connection and a suitable device to access the internet. It is not recommended to join via a mobile phone.
Who these sessions are for
The sessions are open to all advisers, but recommended for those with one year or more of PIP experience.
You may also be interested in our full-length PIP training courses: