What is Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)?

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is a benefit for people who find it harder to get a job because of their disability or a long term health condition.

ESA is the replacement for what used to be called incapacity benefit, and also replaces the income support that used to be available to people with a disability.

Who can get Employment and Support Allowance?

You can apply for ESA if you:

• are over the age of 16 and under state pension age
• have a disability or health condition that affects how much you can work.

You cannot apply for ESA if you also get:

• Statutory sick pay
• Jobseekers allowance

Types of ESA

There are different types of ESA which we’ve explained below. You should check which type of ESA you’re entitled to before you apply.

New Style ESA

Most new claims are for ‘new style’ ESA.

‘New style’ ESA is linked to how much National Insurance you have paid (usually in the last 2 to 3 years) whilst you have been an employee or self-employed.

You can check your National Insurance record for gaps on the GOV.uk website.

You cannot get ‘new style’ ESA if you:

• get or are entitled to the severe disability premium
• got or were entitled to the severe disability premium in the last month (and you’re still eligible for it)
• are getting statutory sick pay from an employer (you can apply for ESA up to 3 months before your sick pay ends so you start getting ESA as soon as your sick pay ends).
•  

Income related and contribution based ESA

You can get income-related or contribution-based ESA if you:

• get or are entitled to the severe disability premium
• got or were entitled to the severe disability premium in the last month (and you’re still eligible for it).

You can apply for contribution-based ESA if you’ve been employed or self-employed and paid National Insurance contributions, usually in the last 2 to 3 years. (National Insurance credits can also count.)

If you have not paid enough National Insurance contributions in the last 2 to 3 years you may be able to get income-related ESA.

You cannot get income-related ESA if you have savings or investments worth more than £16,000.

How to claim employment and support allowance

There are different ways to apply depending on what type of ESA you’re applying for.

For ‘new style ESA’ you can apply online via the GOV.uk website.

If you can’t make an application online or you are an appointee for someone you can phone 0800 328 5644 (choose option 2).

For income-related and contribution-based ESA you can apply by phoning Jobcentre Plus on 0800 169 0350.

After you’ve made your claim, you’ll be told if you need to have something called a work capability assessment and what assessment group you’ll be put in.