WCA Activity 3: Reaching - Descriptors, Points and Evidence

Reaching is the third activity in the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), and it is the key activity for anyone with a shoulder, neck or upper-arm condition. It measures how high you can raise your arms, using three everyday movements as the test: putting something in a top pocket, putting on a hat, and reaching above your head. This guide explains exactly what the activity covers, the precise points attached to each descriptor, and how to describe your difficulties so that an assessor scores you fairly.

The WCA is the test that decides whether you have Limited Capability for Work. There are 17 activities in total - 10 physical and 7 mental, cognitive and intellectual. You need to reach 15 points across all of them to be found to have Limited Capability for Work. Reaching can deliver all 15 points on its own at the most severe level, but more often it combines with other upper-body activities.

The exact descriptors and points

These are the verbatim descriptors for Activity 3 from Schedule 2 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2013 - the same wording the assessor and the DWP decision maker use.

In plain English:

• 15 points if you cannot raise either arm even to chest height, as if slipping something into the top pocket of a coat. This is the most limited level, and 15 points alone establishes Limited Capability for Work.
• 9 points if you can reach a top pocket but cannot raise either arm to the top of your head, as if putting on a hat.
• 6 points if you can reach the top of your head but cannot raise either arm above head height, as if reaching for something on a high shelf.
• 0 points if none of those apply.

The three descriptors form a ladder of height. The lower the height you cannot reach, the more limited you are and the more points you score. The top-pocket movement (a) is the lowest and scores most; reaching above the head (c) is the highest and scores least.

What "reaching" really means

Reaching is about raising the arm to a height, not about grip, fine movement or carrying - those are covered by other activities such as manual dexterity and picking up. The three movements are deliberately chosen as familiar actions so an assessor can picture them. A few points are easy to miss:

• "As if to". You do not need an actual coat or hat. The test is whether you could make the movement to that height, not whether you have the object.
• "Either arm". The descriptors say "cannot raise either arm". In practice this is generally read as the limitation needing to apply such that you cannot make the movement on either side, because if one arm reaches the height the movement can still be done. If only one shoulder is affected, say so clearly and describe the impact, but understand how the test is framed.
• Height, then reliability. The descriptor sets the height, but the general reliability test still applies on top. A single painful lift on a good day is not the same as being able to reach repeatedly through a working day.

A worked example: how a real difficulty maps to points

Points only make sense once you see a real difficulty turn into a descriptor. Here is a composite example built from the kind of facts an assessor weighs. The figures are not invented - they are the descriptor points written into Schedule 2.

Imagine someone with a frozen shoulder on the right and early arthritis in the left shoulder. On the right, they cannot lift the arm past shoulder height at all. On the left, they can get the hand up towards the top of the head but only slowly and with pain, and they cannot hold it there or repeat it. Reaching a high shelf, hanging out washing, or putting on a coat have all become a daily struggle.

• Descriptor (b): because neither arm can reliably and repeatedly be raised to the top of the head as if to put on a hat - the right cannot get near it, the left only with pain and not repeatedly - they meet the 9 point descriptor.
• Descriptor (c): they would also meet the above-head descriptor, but because only the single highest descriptor in an activity counts, the 9 points from (b) is what is recorded. You cannot add 9 and 6 together within the same activity.

The key learning is to describe the movement you genuinely cannot make reliably and repeatedly, including the pain and the lack of repetition, not the one painful lift you managed once.

The reliability test applied to reaching

The single most important idea in the whole WCA is that you must be able to do an activity reliably, repeatedly, safely, in a reasonable time, and for the majority of the time. Apply each limb to reaching:

• Reliably. Can you raise your arm to the height most days, or only on a rare good day? Most days is your real picture.
• Repeatedly. A working day involves reaching over and over. If you can lift an arm once but pain or weakness stops you repeating it, you are failing the repeat.
• Safely. If reaching overhead triggers spasm, a risk of dropping something, or a fall through loss of balance, doing it safely is in doubt.
• In a reasonable time. If raising your arm takes slow, painful effort each time, you are not reaching in a reasonable time.
• The majority of the time. This is the "more than half the days" rule. If your bad days outnumber your good ones, you should be assessed as you are on the bad days.

When you write your form, attach this test to your difficulty. Do not just say "my shoulder is bad". Say "I cannot raise either arm to the top of my head without severe pain, I cannot do it repeatedly, and this is how I am most days."

Which conditions commonly score on reaching

Any condition that limits how high you can raise your arms, or how repeatedly, is relevant. The most common include:

• Shoulder conditions such as frozen shoulder and rotator cuff injuries, where range of movement and pain limit raising the arm.
• Joint conditions such as arthritis affecting the shoulders, where stiffness and pain restrict overhead movement.
• Neck and upper-limb conditions such as cervical spine problems and neuropathy, where pain or weakness travels into the arm.
• Neurological conditions such as stroke with arm weakness and multiple sclerosis, where weakness or fatigue limits raising the arm.
• Pain and fatigue conditions such as fibromyalgia, where pain and exhaustion limit repeated movement.

Evidence to gather

A short consultation may include a quick range-of-movement check, but it cannot see how you cope through a whole day, so written evidence does a lot of the work. Build it in layers:

• A letter or notes from your GP, physiotherapist or consultant describing your shoulder, neck or arm condition and your range of movement.
• Any scan, X-ray or physiotherapy assessment that records limited movement or a specific diagnosis such as frozen shoulder.
• Everyday task examples. Describe the real tasks you cannot manage - hanging out washing, reaching a kitchen shelf, putting on a coat or a seatbelt, washing your hair - and what happens when you try.
• A witness account from someone who sees you struggle with overhead or above-shoulder tasks.

Send copies, never originals, and keep a list of what you submit. A clear description of everyday tasks plus a supporting letter is already a strong foundation. Our ESA evidence checklist sets out what to gather across all activities, and our guide to filling in the WCA50 form shows how to phrase it.

Common mistakes

• Describing your best day. The form should reflect a typical day, including the bad ones.
• Ignoring pain. A movement that is technically possible but causes severe pain you could not repeat is still relevant - say so.
• Forgetting repetition. Reaching once on demand is not the same as reaching all day. Explain how quickly you have to stop.
• Underselling a one-sided problem. If only one arm is affected, describe it fully, but understand the descriptor looks at whether you can make the movement using either arm.
• Confusing reaching with lifting or grip. Reaching is about raising the arm to a height; carrying weight and fine hand movement are separate activities. Score them separately.

How reaching combines with other activities

Reaching 15 points is the goal, and points combine across the 17 activities. Both physical and mental descriptors are added together. Reaching often gives 6 or 9 points rather than 15, so the combination is where many claims are won. Upper-body activities tend to cluster: someone who scores on reaching often also scores on picking up and moving objects, or on manual dexterity. Add points from mobilising or standing and sitting, or from a mental health activity, and the 15-point threshold is reached.

Two rules govern this. First, only the single highest descriptor in each activity counts, so you cannot stack descriptor (b) and (c) within reaching. Second, the totals from every activity are added together. Our guide to how points add up and our descriptors overview walk through this in detail.

Reaching and the Support Group / LCWRA

The reaching activity is not listed in Schedule 3, so on its own it does not place you in the Support Group. To reach the Support Group on ESA (or the LCWRA group on Universal Credit), which pays more and has no work-related activity requirements, you normally need to meet a Schedule 3 descriptor on another activity, or to rely on the substantial-risk rule. The Support Group rate is £145.90 per week, compared with £95.55 per week for the Work-Related Activity Group. Our Support Group guide explains how to make that case.

A note on WCA reform

The Work Capability Assessment is under reform, with changes proposed from 2025 onwards that may alter how some activities and descriptors are scored in future. The descriptors above reflect the current Schedule 2 rules. Always check GOV.UK for the latest position before relying on any specific figure.

Official sources

This guide reflects the official Work Capability Assessment rules. For the source material, see:

• GOV.UK - Employment and Support Allowance
• GOV.UK - Health conditions, disability and Universal Credit
• The Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2013 (Schedule 2 - WCA descriptors)
• Citizens Advice - Employment and Support Allowance

Guidance only, not legal advice. Rules can change - always check GOV.UK for the latest.

Frequently Asked Questions