More and more social security claimants are having to rely on appeal tribunals to get what they are entitled to. But it is not an easy process to cope with.
We have produced a Tribunal Guide to either help you do your own appeal, or to understand what to expect if you have instructed KDR.
Tribunals are increasingly taking a tough line on existing awards appeals, with several claimants coming to us having been warned that they would put their whole award at risk if they proceeded. That is another way of saying, "don't waste any more of our time", but tribunals are not infallible and it appears arguable that warnings may be over-used in an overloaded system.
Generally, it feels a lot more formal than it was, "back in the day", perhaps an inevitable result of bringing social security into the wider courts system. This change was coupled with calling tribunal chairs "judges", which makes no sense as the other two members of a three member panel have the same standing, but are not called judges.
All trends are towards making professional representation more and more important. We find ourselves increasingly having to ask for help from barristers. Fortunately we have excellent support from Landmark Chambers, who we find are the leading chambers for social security. Without them we would have been unable to cope with a recent Three Judge Upper Tribunal hearing regarding the correct approach to mobility activity 1 for mental health based claims, the outcome of which is expected next year. We will share that when available. It will help clarify the law for better or worse.