2 March 2015

What: The Centre for Health and Disability Assessments, a subsidiary of US outsourcing giant Maximus, takes over provision of WCAs from Atos, sparking more than 30 protests across England, Scotland and Wales. After it had emerged the previous year that Maximus was in the running to take over the contract, significant concerns had been raised by UK activist-researchers about the company’s lengthy record of discrimination, incompetence and alleged fraud in the US.

Significance: Atos was closely associated with many of the deaths of claimants linked to the WCA, and although it was no longer providing WCAs, it continued to provide similar assessments for personal independence payment.