Helping Someone with Their PIP Appeal: A Guide for Family and Friends
By the RightfulUK team • • 5 min read • Reviewed for accuracy
Someone you care about is going through PIP hell. You want to help, but you're not sure how.
This guide is for you, the partners, parents, children, and friends who see the struggle up close.
Why Your Help Matters
The PIP system is exhausting by design. Forms are long. Language is confusing. Assessments are stressful.
People with disabilities often: - Minimise their struggles (years of "pushing through") - Forget important details during assessments - Give up because it's too overwhelming
You can be the memory, the advocate, the steady hand.
How to Help With the Form
Don't fill it in FOR them. Help them fill it in.
- Ask questions: "What happens when you try to cook?" - Write down what THEY say, in THEIR words - Prompt their memory: "Remember last Tuesday when..." - Focus on BAD days, not good days - Ask about what they've STOPPED doing
Your role: Scribe and memory-jogger, not author.
Write a Witness Statement
Your observations are evidence. Write about:
- What you've seen them struggle with - What tasks you do for them - How their condition has changed - Specific examples with dates
Example: "I visit my mum three times a week to help with washing and cooking. On 15th January, I found she hadn't eaten in two days because she forgot."
Sign it, date it, and include your relationship to them.
Be There for the Assessment
You CAN attend assessments (with their permission). Your role:
- Take notes - Remind them of things they forget to mention - Provide examples: "Like last week when..." - Keep them calm - Ask for breaks if needed
You can speak, but let them lead. It's their claim.
Help Without Taking Over
The most helpful thing you can do:
- Ask: "What would help right now?" - Listen: Sometimes they need to vent, not be fixed - Pace: Don't push them to do it all at once - Validate: "This system is unfair. Your struggle is real." - Celebrate small wins: Posting the form is an achievement
This process is traumatic. Your support matters more than you know.
Look After Yourself Too
Supporting someone through PIP is emotionally draining. You might feel:
- Angry at the system - Frustrated by the bureaucracy - Helpless when you can't fix it
It's okay to take breaks. You can't pour from an empty cup.
Related Articles
- PIP Help UK: Free Help With Your PIP Claim, Appeal & Tribunal (2026) — 6 min read
- Carer's Allowance and PIP: How They Work Together (2026) — 4 min read
- PIP Denied? Here's Exactly What to Do Next (2026 Guide) — 4 min read
- PIP Backpay: How Much Could You Get? (Calculator + Guide) — 3 min read
Related Tools & Guides
- Free PIP Eligibility Checker — estimate your likely points
- Mandatory Reconsideration Letter Builder — challenge the DWP decision
- Tribunal Preparation Tool — practice panel questions
- PIP Condition Guides — descriptors for your condition