Disabled woman took on welfare system – and won
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A housebound disabled woman has scored a victory over welfare assessor Atos – using the power of the internet to force it to change its practices.
Anyone wanting to claim Employment Support Allowance (ESA) must have a disability assessment carried out by Atos, a private firm, on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
Jayne Linney, 50, wanted her assessments with the firm to be recorded after what she called "basic errors" were made by Atos staff in previous meetings, which could have affected her entitlement to benefits. Other disability claimants have also complained their payments were cut after Atos assessors misreported their answers to show they were capable of work.
After repeatedly being told all Atos' tape recorders were broken, Miss Linney, from Leicester, set up a petition on campaign website Change.org. The former community development worker also wrote a blog documenting her "saga" with Atos, and used Facebook and Twitter to gather support.
After she amassed 1,000 signatures on her petition, Atos finally backed down and agreed to record her assessment. Ms Linney, who suffers from fibromyalgia and Sjögren's syndrome, began to claim ESA after she was forced to leave her job in January 2010.
"I'm amazed at the response," she said. "It's the comments [on the blog] that keep you going. To know that people agree with me, it's amazing. Because I'm housebound an online campaign was the only option for me. "
Atos has apologised on its website for not providing the equipment to record the meetings quickly enough.
A spokesman said: "Atos Healthcare are happy for work capability assessments to be recorded where requested... However, under the terms of our contract with the department, we cannot postpone an assessment on the basis of audio-recording."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments