Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) - Can I get Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)?

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.