Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is money for people who have limited capability for work because of their sickness or disability but do not get Statutory Sick Pay.

There are two types:

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• contributory/New Style Employment and Support Allowance

Income-related Employment and Support Allowance is being replaced by Universal Credit. Please go to the Can I get Employment and Support Allowance? page of this guide for information on who can still claim.

Applies to: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Age rules: You must be 16 or over and under State Pension age.

Type of benefit:

Income-related ESA is a means-tested benefit .

Contributory ESA is a non means-tested benefit .

Taxable:

• Income-related ESA is not taxable
• Contributory ESA is taxable

Administered by: Jobcentre Plus, Department for Work and Pensions

You may be able to get one or both types of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) depending on your circumstances.

Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

Income-related Employment and Support Allowance is being replaced by Universal Credit. You will only be able to make a new claim for income-related Employment and Support Allowance in the situations listed below.  If you or your partner are receiving a legacy benefit such as Child Tax Credit or Housing Benefit, you will lose these if you make a claim for Universal Credit. If you've received a notice letter telling you to claim Universal Credit, read our guide Universal Credit Migration Notice to find out about your next steps.

You can find out whether you can make a claim for Income-related ESA by using our Benefits Calculator or by seeking advice. You can find an advice agency in your area by using our Find an Adviser tool.  

You can still get income-related Employment and Support Allowance  in one of the following situations:

• You are on income-related ESA at present, unless you stop meeting the qualifying conditions or claim Universal Credit; or
• You (or your partner) are getting contribution-based ESA. If you claimed after 1 January 2019, you're on new style ESA. If you're not sure what system you're in, you can contact DWP and ask.

In addition:

• Your income is low enough, and
• Your savings and capital are below £16,000, and
• You have limited capability for work.

You can only get ESA whilst you are working if your work is "permitted work". You can read more about what counts as permitted work in our Permitted Work guide.

Contributory/New Style Employment and Support Allowance

You can get New Style ESA if you:

• have paid enough national insurance contributions
• have limited capability for work.

You can only get ESA whilst you are working if your work is "permitted work". You can read more about what counts as permitted work in our Permitted Work guide.

You can get income-related ESA on top if you're already on contribution-based ESA and you qualify for both. 

If you qualify for New-style Employment and Support Allowance, you can get it at the same time as Universal Credit. However, if you're getting new-style ESA, you cannot get income-related ESA. 

Work Capability Assessment

When you claim ESA, you will have to show that you have limited capability for work, The Work Capability Assessment is used to decide whether you have limited capability for work. 

The Work Capability Assessment is made up of two parts:

• Capability for Work Questionnaire (ESA50)
• Medical Assessment

A questionnaire called an ESA50 (PDF file size: 977kb) will be sent to you. You will need to complete and return the questionnaire for your claim to continue. You can find out more about completing the form on our Questionnaire (ESA50) page.

You will usually need to attend a medical assessment. You'll be told whether this will be in person, by video call or on the phone. A healthcare professional will be present in the assessment and then report their findings to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) . 

The DWP will then decide whether you have limited capability for work, based on your questionnaire and the report from the medical assessment. They will decide how many points you score in the Work Capability Assessment. If you score less than 15 points, you are fit for work and your ESA will stop. If you score 15 points or more, you have limited capability for work and your ESA will continue. 

If the DWP decide that you have limited capability for work, you will be placed in one of two groups:

• Work-related activity group
• Support group.

People in the Work-related activity group have to carry out activities to prepare for returning to work, such as attending work-focused interviews at the Jobcentre. People in the Support group do not have to carry out any activities.

Work Capability Assessment exceptions

If one of the following applies, you will be automatically placed in the Support Group from the start of your claim without having to be assessed if:

• you have a terminal illness and are reasonably expected to die within the next year, or
• you're receiving or likely to receive chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or recovering from treatment for cancer, or
• you're pregnant and there's a serious risk of damage to your health, or to the health of your unborn child. 

New style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

You can claim New Style Employment and Support Allowance online.

If you cannot claim online, you can make a claim over the phone.

England, Scotland and Wales

Telephone: 0800 055 6688

Textphone: 0800 328 1344

Relay UK: 18001 then 0800 055 6688. Use the video relay service to claim if you use British Sign Language (BSL).

Northern Ireland

Telephone: 0800 085 6318

Use the video relay service to claim if you use British Sign Language (BSL) or Irish Sign Language (ISL).

Income related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

It's no longer possible to make a new claim for Income related Employment and Support Allowance. If you're already claiming contribution-based ESA, you may be able to add Income related ESA to your claim.

You can call to make your claim. You will need to explain that you are already getting contribution-based ESA and that you started getting it before your local jobcentre started accepting Universal Credit full service claims.

England, Scotland and Wales

Telephone: 0800 055 6688
Textphone: 0800 328 1344

Northern Ireland

Telephone: 0800 587 1377
Textphone: 0800 328 3419

What documents will I need to claim Employment and Support Allowance?

You should give your national insurance number . If you do not have a national insurance number , send in the claim form anyway to save delays. You may also be asked for proof of your identity, such as a birth certificate, passport or driving licence.

When will my Employment and Support Allowance claim begin?

Employment and Support Allowance can be backdated for up to three months before the date of claim if you would have been entitled to it earlier. For example, if you had a health condition that meant you were unable to work. You will be asked to provide a medical certificate to show this. It does not matter why your claim is late. Request backdating when you make your claim.

Income related Employment and Support Allowance

The amount of income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) you can get depends on lots of things, such as:

• How old you are
• Whether you live alone or with a partner
• Whether you are caring for someone
• How much income you (and your partner) have
• How much your (and your partner's) savings are over £6,000
• Whether you have a mortgage
• Whether you have had the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) yet
• If you have had the Work Capability Assessment, whether you are in the work-related activity group or the support group
• When your claim started.

You can use our Benefits Calculator to check how much income-related Employment and Support Allowance you may be entitled to.

Contributory Employment and Support Allowance

The amount of contributory Employment and Support Allowance you can get depends on:

• How old you are
• Whether you have had the Work Capability Assessment yet
• If you have had the Work Capability Assessment, whether you are in the work-related activity group or the support group
• When your claim started.

Before the Work Capability Assessment, the amount you get is a personal allowance based on your age:

• Under 25: £71.70 per week
• 25 and over: £90.50 per week

After the Work Capability Assessment, the amount you get depends on when your claim started and which group you are in:

• Work-related activity group and claim started before 3 April 2017: up to £126.45 per week
• Work-related activity group and claim started on or after 3 April 2017: up to £90.50 per week
• Support group, whenever your claim started: up to £138.20 per week

The amount you get may be reduced if you are receiving pension payments (over £85 per week), councillor's allowance (over £183.50 per week) or an overlapping benefit.

If you are in the work-related activity group, your contributory ESA will stop after one year. You can read about the time limit on our Employment and Support Allowance time limit page.

If your contribution-based ESA continues after the Work Capability Assessment, you also qualify for a £10 Christmas Bonus each year. You do not need to make a claim for the bonus. It is paid automatically. It does not affect any other benefits you might get.

Benefit Cap

Employment and Support Allowance is included in the Benefit Cap which limits the total amount in some benefits that working-age people can receive.

However, if you or your partner is in the support group, you will be exempt from the Benefit Cap.

See our Benefit Cap information for more details.

How will I be paid Employment and Support Allowance?

Employment and Support Allowance will be paid directly into your bank or building society account or through the Payment Exception Service if you are unable to open or manage one of these or a similar account.

Employment and Support Allowance is usually paid every two weeks

If you have a terminal illness, there are special rules. You can get Employment and Support Allowance from the first day of sickness.

Sanctions (for people in the Work-Related Activity Group)

If you are in work-related activity group, you will have to comply with conditions for your ESA to keep being paid. If you do not comply with the conditions, you could be sanctioned. 

Employment and Support Allowance and other benefits

You may get Contributory and Income-related Employment and Support Allowance at the same time. In this situation, the income-related ESA is like a top-up to the contributory ESA. If you are getting both Contributory and Income-related ESA, they do not count as income for other benefits and tax credits.

Contributory Employment and Support Allowance is taken into account as income when calculating other benefits and tax credits.

Income-related Employment and Support Allowance is not taken into account as income when calculating other benefits and tax credits.

Housing Benefit

If you get income-related Employment and Support Allowance and are eligible for Housing Benefit, you are automatically entitled to get the maximum Housing Benefit for your circumstances.

Cold Weather Payment

If you get income-related Employment and Support Allowance, you may also qualify for a Cold Weather Payment. You do not need to make a claim as the payment will be made automatically for each qualifying period of cold weather. See our Cold Weather Payment guide for further details.

If you live in Scotland, you may qualify for a Winter Heating Payment instead.

You will not usually be able to claim for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) again if you are found to be capable of work after your Work Capability Assessment (WCA).

There are some exceptions when a new ESA claim will be allowed. The main situations are where:

• your current condition has got a lot worse

• you’re claiming for a new condition.

There are other exceptions that may apply in certain circumstances.

If you're found fit for work and you want to reclaim ESA, you need to find out whether you fall into any of the exceptions groups which will entitle you to reclaim. It is important to get advice before making a new claim. You can use our Find an Adviser tool to find details of local advice agencies in your area.

Getting ESA whilst appealing

If you are appealing against a decision because you are found fit for work after Work Capability Assessment, then depending on the facts, you can still be treated as having limited capability for work while waiting for your appeal outcome. This applies in the following situations:

• If you're found fit for work for the first time (or the first since previous decision that you passed the Work Capability Assessment), or
• If you're found fit for work and you're appealing against 'fit for work' decision for the second or subsequent time and your condition has got significantly worse or you have a new health condition. 

You should seek advice from an experienced adviser if you intend to appeal against an ESA decision. You can use our Find an Adviser tool to find details of local advice agencies in your area.

The Decision Maker’s decision letter should contain a summary of the findings of the Health Care Professional, and a summary of the points you scored in the Work Capability Assessment.

If you believe the decision is wrong, for example due to incorrect information being used, you can challenge the decision.

The time limits are strict, you will usually be given one month to dispute a decision, so it is important to seek advice and act quickly.

Further information:

• Challenging an ESA decision in England, Scotland or Wales
• Challenging an ESA decision in Northern Ireland