Disability benefits assessor sacked for vile Facebook posts saying she wanted to ‘catapult claimant back to s***hole he came from’
HORRIFIED Sarah Goldstein, 24, complained after finding the posts when her claim for personal independence payments was turned down
A DISABILITY benefits assessor has been sacked after posting mocking and abusive comments about claimants on Facebook.
Sarah Goldstein, 24, complained after finding the posts when her claim for personal independence payments (PIPs) was turned down.
Sarah, of Derbyshire, claims the posts she discovered included one saying the assessor wanted to "catapult" a claimant "back to whatever s**thole he came from" and another saying "why do our taxes have to keep them".
Capita, who assess claimants for the government, confirmed to The Sun Online that the employee had been dismissed.
Mum-of-one Sarah suffers from fibromyalgia, Raynaud's phenomenon, chronic anxiety, migraines and depression.
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She first applied for PIPs in October 2014 but was turned down and reapplied at the end of 2015.
In March this year the assessor, a nurse working for Capita on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions, visited her at home.
Sarah was again turned down, but she claims the report contained a number of "falsehoods".
She said these include claims she gave birth to her 13-month-old daughter AJ naturally. Sarah actually had a c-section, something she claims she was not asked about during the assessment.
The report also said Sarah was "calm, relaxed and her mood appeared stable", but her husband Jay, 25, said his wife was "clearly anxious" and did not make eye contact with the assessor.
After receiving the report Sarah decided to look up the assessor on social media and discovered the posts, which date back to 2014.
The horrified couple complained to Capita, who suspended the assessor and arranged a new appointment for Sarah.
Sarah said: "I didn't go out looking for dirt, but I was shocked and horrified nonetheless.
"We want people to understand the struggle people go through with this new benefits system - people need to see that people like this is what we're up against.
"Disabled people are human beings and we deserve a good quality of life - we don't deserve to be treated like this.
"This whole saga has made me seriously unwell - I've not been eating or sleeping properly, I've been stressed out and having panic attacks - I don't even want to leave the house anymore.
"Clearly someone who can write posts like this doesn't have the compassion needed for the job."
Her husband Jay told the BBC he was glad "the right thing" had been done.
"We are glad that Capita has done the right thing and sacked the nurse. We feel a tiny but of justice has been done."
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