Tribunal Hearings and Appeals

If you disagree with a decision, you can request the reasoning why and appeal against it.

 

Tribunal

Tribunals are independent and completely separate from the office which gave you the decision you are appealing against. The hearing will be local and fairly informal, it generally consists of a tribunal judge and two or three members. The judge is legally qualified whereas the others are not. The benefits officer will then explain how they came to their decision. You must complete the form within 14 days, failing to do this will give the impression that you no longer wish to proceed with the appeal.

 

The enquiry form

The form helps the Tribunals or Appeals Service to arrange your appeal hearing. You will be asked if you want your appeal dealt with either orally, or via written statements. You should provide as much new relevant information as possible.

 

The hearing

The tribunal will hear your appeal as soon as possible, if an oral hearing they will give you at least four weeks’ notice, if you can't go to the hearing on the arranged date, you should contact the tribunal office nearer the date, you will be informed of the start time. If a resolution is obtained with the benefit or tax credit office you can withdraw your appeal at any stage before the hearing date.

 

Oral hearing

When your case is heard you or your representative will be given a chance to explain in your own words why you think the decision is wrong and have the opportunity to answer any questions about your case. Unless additional information is needed you will normally be asked to leave the room for a moment while they determine their decision, then they will usually call you back in to inform you of their decision.

 

Paper hearing

The Tribunal judge will only consider the written evidence, you will not be informed when the hearing will occur and simply be sent the decision in writing, if you want more details about the reasons for the tribunal’s decision, you can ask for this within one month by writing to the Tribunals or Appeals Service.

 

How we can help

Your caseworker would arrange the best representation based on your specific instructions; however, claimants should understand that you can only appeal against the tribunal's decision if they are wrong on a point of law. 

 

Lestons can check your paperwork and possibly negotiate a solution with IIB / DWP staff to avoid a tribunal altogether, if this is rejected, we would be delighted to arrange representation for you at the appeal. To commission our assistance simply start a case by clicking on the link at the top of this page, you will then need to deposit a sum equal to one hour’s usage, upon receipt of these funds you will be assigned your personal caseworker who will telephone you to discuss the matter and make suggestions on how to proceed.

 

Please note your caseworker can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our legal team and to act as your point of contact, they will also issue you with your Password and PIN, these will be needed to log onto your client dashboard. From your dashboard you will be able to manage and view every aspect of your case, upload documents, images, files etc