What to do when you get the tribunal's decision

The tribunal may decide to change the decision that you’ve appealed, substituting it with one it considers to be correct. It can allow your appeal in full or in part, or alternatively uphold the DWP’s original decision. In some circumstances, if you disagree with the tribunal’s decision you can ask for it to be set aside or appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
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The tribunal’s decision 

The tribunal considers the law, the facts of your case, and the evidence to reach its decision. It may decide to change the decision that you’ve appealed to:

  • the decision you’ve asked for (known as 'allowing your appeal in full') or
  • a decision that’s not exactly what you asked for (if this means you get a part of what you asked for, it’s called 'allowing your appeal in part').

Alternatively, the tribunal may decide not to change the DWP’s decision (known as ‘upholding’ the original decision).

Allowing an appeal in part: an example

The DWP refused Michael’s claim for PIP as it decided he didn’t score enough points to qualify. Michael appealed against the decision on the grounds that he should score sufficient points to qualify for the enhanced rate of the daily living component. He didn’t dispute the DWP’s decision on his entitlement to the mobility component. The tribunal decides to change the DWP’s decision and decides Michael is entitled to the standard rate of the daily living component. It allows Michael’s appeal in part.

The decision notice

The tribunal must provide written notice of its decision.

  • If you had an oral hearing of your appeal, the judge may have told you the tribunal’s decision at the end of the hearing, and given you a short, written 'decision notice'. If the tribunal didn’t tell you its decision on the day of the hearing, it sends the decision notice to you later.
  • If your appeal was decided without an oral hearing (decided on the papers alone), you’re always sent the decision notice.

Information accompanying the decision notice should tell you that you can request a statement of reasons for the decision and include the conditions for making a further appeal to the Upper Tribunal.1

If you win your appeal 

The DWP has to implement the tribunal’s decision, not the tribunal, but there’s no set time limit for it to do so. 

The DWP can look at the decision again if there are grounds for this. Usually, this happens if there’s been a relevant change in your circumstances since the date of the decision– for example, if your medical condition changed while you were waiting for your appeal to be heard. 

The DWP can’t supersede (change) the tribunal’s decision just because it thinks the decision is legally wrong. In that situation, it would need to try to appeal to the Upper Tribunal to get the decision changed. 

Payment

Winning your appeal may not always mean you’re entitled to payment of PIP. Sometimes, the DWP may need to make further decisions to determine your entitlement – for example, if the tribunal has decided that you satisfy the residence conditions for PIP, the DWP then still needs to assess whether you meet the disability conditions. 

But in many cases, if you win your appeal either in full or in part, you are likely to be entitled to arrears of PIP as well as ongoing payments.

If you’ve not received payment within a few weeks of the tribunal’s decision, contact the DWP and ask for payment as soon as possible. Consider complaining to the DWP if the delay is unreasonably long. 

More information 

See our Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers):

Complaints

Suspending payment

In some circumstances, the DWP can suspend payment. These include if:2 

  • the time limit for applying for permission to appeal or appealing against the First-tier Tribunal’s decision has not passed and either:
    • it’s considering whether to apply for a statement of reasons from the tribunal, or has applied for one and is waiting to receive it, or
    • it's received the statement of reasons and is considering whether to apply for permission to appeal or, if permission has been granted, whether to appeal to the Upper Tribunal, or
  • it's appealed to the Upper Tribunal and is waiting for the Upper Tribunal’s decision

If the DWP suspends payment, it must write to you to tell you it intends to request a written statement of reasons for the First-tier Tribunal's decision, apply for permission to appeal or to appeal, as soon as 'reasonably practicable'.3

More information

See our Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers):

Suspension while an appeal is pending

If you or the DWP are unhappy with the tribunal’s decision

If you’re unhappy with the tribunal’s decision, in some circumstances you can do the following: 

  • Ask the tribunal to correct its decision if there’s been a clerical error, or accidental slip or omission in it. (For example, if the tribunal’s decision records the date of the DWP’s decision incorrectly.)4
  • Ask for the decision to be ’set aside’ (cancelled so that your appeal is heard again). See Setting aside a decision
  • Apply for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal. You can only appeal to the Upper Tribunal on a 'point of law'. See Appealing to the Upper Tribunal

These options are available to the DWP too if it disagrees with the tribunal’s decision. In practice, the DWP usually only appeals to the Upper Tribunal if an important legal principle is at issue. If the DWP is considering applying for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal, it will often ask for a statement of reasons for the tribunal’s decision.

Other options if you didn’t get all you asked for

  • If the tribunal awarded you some benefit, but not everything you asked for, and your circumstances have changed since its decision, you can ask the DWP to look at the decision again and make a new decision on your entitlement (called a ’supersession’). If the supersession increases your benefit award, you are only paid the increase from the date you applied for the supersession. Seek advice about whether there is a risk to asking for a supersession, as it means the DWP will reconsider your entitlement to PIP.
  • If the tribunal decided you weren’t entitled to PIP, you can reapply, but the DWP is likely to consider whether there has been any change of circumstances which warrants them making a different decision on your entitlement. If you’re awarded PIP following your new claim, your entitlement only starts from the date of your new claim. 

Setting aside a decision

In very limited circumstances, the tribunal’s decision can be set aside. Broadly, for the tribunal’s decision to be set aside, the tribunal must consider it’s in the interests of justice to do so and there must have been some type of procedural irregularity. 

The First-tier Tribunal must receive your written request to set aside the decision within one month of the date you were sent the decision notice, although the tribunal can extend this time limit. You should explain why you think the decision should be set aside.5

More information

For further details of when a decision can be set aside, see Chapter 7 of our guide: What you need to know: Winning your Benefit Appeal (available in print) or our Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers):

Setting aside a decision on procedural grounds

Appealing to the Upper Tribunal

You can only appeal to the Upper Tribunal on a 'point of law'.6 In practice, this means that the tribunal must have made an 'error of law' for you to be able to appeal further. To find out whether there’s an error of law in the tribunal's decision, you usually need to request a statement of reasons for the tribunal's decision and it may be helpful to also request the record of proceedings. 

If you apply for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal and there’s a clear error of law, the First-tier Tribunal can review the decision before it’s reconsidered by the Upper Tribunal. Usually, this leads to the appeal being heard again.

If you want to appeal to the Upper Tribunal, you must first apply in writing to the First-tier Tribunal for permission to do so. You must identify the errors of law in the First-tier Tribunal’s decision and the decision you want.7 If you’re refused permission to appeal, you can apply directly to the Upper Tribunal. Your application to the First-tier Tribunal for permission to appeal must normally be received no later than one month after the latest of the following dates, the date you were sent:

  • the decision notice, or
  • the written reasons for the First-tier Tribunal’s decision

The one-month time limit may run from a later date if the First-tier Tribunal corrected or reviewed its decision, or if it refused an application for its decision to be set aside. The tribunal has discretion to extend the one-month time limit.

More information

For further information on appealing to the Upper Tribunal, including the time limits and procedure for doing so, see our Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers):

Appealing to the Upper Tribunal

Appeals to the Upper Tribunal: what you need to know

  • Both you and the DWP have the right to apply for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal against the First-tier Tribunal’s decision.8
  • You and the DWP can only appeal to the Upper Tribunal on a ‘point of law’ – which means you must show that the First-tier Tribunal has made an error of law (in other words, made a legal mistake).9 
  • You must apply for permission to appeal first. Your application must initially be made to the First-tier Tribunal, within the one-month time limit.10
  • If the First-tier Tribunal gives you permission to appeal, you must send the Upper Tribunal a ‘notice of appeal’. This must be received within one month of the date you were sent notice of the permission, although the Upper Tribunal may extend this time limit.11
  • If the First-tier Tribunal refuses you permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal, you can apply for permission to the Upper Tribunal. Your application must be received within one month of the date the First-tier Tribunal sent you notice of the refusal, although the Upper Tribunal can extend this time limit.12
  • If you’re considering appealing to the Upper Tribunal, it’s advisable to request the statement of reasons for the First-tier Tribunal’s decision. This will help you work out if there’s been an error of law. It may also be helpful to request a record of proceedings.
  • Upper Tribunal appeals are more legalistic and can seem more formal than the First-tier Tribunal. For example, at a hearing the decision maker is represented by a lawyer. However, they’re not supposed to be unnecessarily formal.
  • Decisions of the Upper Tribunal are binding on the DWP and the First-tier Tribunal. They affect all claimants, not just your individual case.
  • If you’re an adviser in England or Wales, you can contact CPAG’s Upper Tribunal Project for advice and assistance with appeals to the Upper Tribunal. We can’t advise claimants directly. If you’re a member of the public, you can find organisations offering free advice about benefits on Advicelocal. Your adviser can then contact us if they need to. 

Statement of reasons 

If the tribunal hasn’t given you a written statement of reasons for the decision, you can apply for one.13 It’s important to do so if you’re considering applying for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal. Without a statement of reasons, it’s difficult to establish whether the First-tier Tribunal made an error of law in its decision.

A statement of reasons is longer than the decision notice. It should:

  • include what the tribunal has decided are the facts of your case (known as the 'findings of fact') – for example, what the tribunal thinks are the relevant facts about your health condition and how this affects you
  • explain how it weighed the evidence – for example, what evidence the tribunal preferred (if any) and why it preferred it

‘The reasons must enable the reader to understand why the matter was decided as it was and what conclusions were reached on the main issues in dispute ….Providing adequate reasons does not usually require the First-tier Tribunal to identify all of the evidence relied upon in reaching its findings of fact, to elaborate at length its conclusions on any issue of law, or to express every step of its reasoning….Reasons need refer only to the main issues and evidence in dispute, and explain how those issues essential to the Tribunal’s conclusion have been resolved.’14

Applying for a statement of reasons

The tribunal must provide a written statement of reasons for its decision if:15 

  • one hasn’t already been provided, and
  • your written request for the statement of reasons is received within one month of the date when you were either given or sent the decision notice

If your request is received outside this one-month time limit, the tribunal can still provide a statement of reasons but doesn’t have to. If your request is late, explain why.

The tribunal should send you the statement of reasons within a month of the date it received your request 'or as soon as is reasonably practicable’ after that.16 If there’s a long delay, contact HM Courts and Tribunals Service and ask what the reason for the delay is, and for the statement of reasons to be sent as soon as possible.

Example letter requesting a statement of reasons and record of proceedings

[YOUR NAME]

[YOUR ADDRESS]

[ADDRESS OF HMCTS OFFICE DEALING WITH THE APPEAL (this is normally detailed on a cover sheet that is sent with tribunal paperwork]

[DATE]

To the First-tier Tribunal,

Re: Appeal of [YOUR NAME, ADDRESS] 

National insurance number: [YOUR NI No]

Appeal reference: [THE APPEAL REF No]

Hearing date and time: [THE DATE AND TIME OF YOUR APPEAL HEARING]

On [DATE ON THE TRIBUNAL DECISION NOTICE] [I was given/you sent me] the decision notice in respect of the above appeal.

Please send me the statement of reasons for your decision and the record of proceedings for the hearing. 

[IF REQUEST IS LATE]I am making this request more than one month after the date the decision notice was given/sent to me. I ask that you extend the normal deadline for making this request because  [ADD REASONS].

Signed:

Date:

Record of proceedings    

A record of proceedings at a tribunal hearing is made by the judge. It may consist of the recording of the hearing or the judge's written notes. It’s not a formal part of the tribunal’s decision. It is not usually sent to you as a matter of course, even if you request a statement of reasons.

‘The record must be sufficient to indicate any evidence taken and submissions made and any procedural applications.’17 

If you’re considering appealing, it’s a good idea to request a record of the proceedings at the same time as requesting a statement of reasons, as it can provide more background to the decision and help identify any errors of law.

The tribunal has to keep a record of proceedings for 18 months. The 18 months normally runs from the date of:

  • the decision made by the tribunal, or
  • the date when you’re sent any written reasons for the tribunal’s decision

It may run from a later date if the decision has been corrected or a request was made to set the decision aside or if you or the DWP have sought permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal.18

Applying for a record of proceedings

Your application for a record of the proceedings must be made to the tribunal in writing and must be received within the 18-month period.19 

If you apply outside the 18-month time limit, the record of proceedings may have been destroyed. If not, the tribunal may still supply one but it doesn’t have to.