Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Last updated: 06/04/2023
No new claims can be made for this benefit. If you are getting income-related Employment and Support Allowance at the moment you will continue to do so until your circumstances change or you are invited to claim Universal Credit instead.
Employment and Support Allowance is for people whose ability to work is limited due to a disability or ill-health. It pays for day to day living costs.
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance may be affected by other income you have and savings over £6000.
To get Employment and Support Allowance you will have been assessed and meet the following conditions:
- you have a ‘limited capability for work’, which is due to a physical or mental health condition; and
- you are at least 16 years old and have not reached pension age
You will have been assigned to one of two ‘groups’ depending on how your disability or illness affects you.
The support group
If you have an illness or disability that means you are unlikely to be able to work or prepare for work you will be in the support group. You can volunteer to take part in interviews to look at how you might start work but you do not need to. If you are in the support group you will receive an additional amount of Employment and Support Allowance.
Terminally ill people will automatically go into the support group.
Employment and Support Allowance rates:
Single parent aged 16 or 17: £67.20
Single parent aged 18 or over: £84.80
Additional support group component: £44.70
The work-related activity group
If you can take part in some preparation for work you will be in the work-related activity group. If you are in this group, you will have to complete a number of tasks and attend work focused interviews in order to continue to receive your full benefit.
If you do not attend a work focused interview you must give a good reason within five working days of the date you are informed you missed the interview. If you do not give a good reason your benefit could be reduced. A good reason could include not having transport or childcare but accepting you have a good reason for not attending is at the discretion of the advisor.
Employment and Support Allowance rates:
Single parent aged 16 or 17: £67.20
Single parent aged 18 or over: £84.80
Additional work-related activity component: £33.70 (You will only get this if you started getting your ESA before 3 April 2017.)
Premiums
You may qualify for additional amounts known as premiums. These include:
Enhanced disability premium: £19.55
Severe disability premium: £76.40 (you cannot get this premium if someone is getting Carer’s Allowance for you.)
Penalties for not completing your work-related activity
A sanction is a reduction of your benefit because you did not complete the tasks agreed in your Claimant Commitment such as attending a work-focused interview or completing a work-related activity.
If you are sanctioned you will lose the personal allowance of your Employment and Support Allowance but not any premiums. The sanction will continue until you attend the interview or complete the activity, plus a further week if this is the first failure, an additional two weeks if this is a second failure (within 52 weeks of the first) or an extra four weeks if this is a third or subsequent failure (within 52 weeks).
If you are in the support group, you cannot be sanctioned.
