Disablement Benefit

Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Who does it help?

Disablement Benefit is for people who are disabled because of an accident at work, or who have certain diseases caused by their work. Only industrial diseases qualify, for example, diseases caused by chemicals you have worked with or hearing loss caused by your work. You can get a list of the diseases from your local benefits office.
You do not have to have paid national insurance contributions to get Disablement Benefit. You can get it even if you carry on working or go back to work. You cannot get it if you were self-employed.

Is it means-tested?

Disablement Benefit does not depend on your income or savings. However it might affect other means-tested benefits you are getting, for example, Income Support or Council Tax Benefit.

What help does the benefit provide?

Disablement Benefit is money paid directly into your bank, building society or Post Office card account. You can spend it as you want.

How much does it pay?

Depending on the extent of your disability, you can be paid Disablement Benefit:

for a fixed period, or
for life.

The amount depends on the extent of your disability and your age. For example, if you are assessed as 100% disabled and you are over 18, you would get £143.60 a week.

How to claim

There are different claim forms for Disablement Benefit, depending on whether the disability was caused by an accident or whether you are claiming because you have a particular industrial disease. You should ask at your local benefits office for the right form.

In England, Wales and Scotland, you can make a claim for Disablement Benefit by phoning your nearest Industrial Injuries Benefit Centre. You can find the telephone numbers of the centres on the Jobcentre Plus website (link opens in a new window).

In Northern Ireland, contact the Industrial Injuries Branch for a claim form. Phone: 028 9033 6000. You can also download a form from the website of the Department for Social Development (link opens in a new window).

Return the form to your Social Security or Jobs and Benefits Office or Industrial Injuries Branch as soon as possible.

There is no time limit for claiming Disablement Benefit. You can still claim if your accident happened or disease started some years ago.

You can ask for Disablement Benefit to be backdated for up to three months. You should ask for this on your claim form. You cannot ask for it to be backdated if you are claiming for loss of hearing.

A doctor or other medical professional will assess you after you make your claim. They will assess how your disability affects you. The extent of your disablement will be stated as a percentage and you must usually be assessed as having at least 14% disablement to get benefit, although there are exceptions to this.

Documents you need

When you claim Disablement Benefit, you have to provide your national insurance number and evidence to show it belongs to you.

Are these benefits taxable?

None of these benefits are taxable benefits.

Further help

As well as Disablement Benefit, some people might get:

Reduced Earnings Allowance is a benefit you can get if your earnings are reduced because of your accident or disease, or if you cannot work at all. However, you can only get Reduced Earnings Allowance for industrial accidents that happened, or diseases that started, before 1 October 1990.

Retirement Allowance is for people who have been getting Reduced Earnings Allowance and who stop working after they reach state pension age (60 for a woman and 65 for a man). You get Retirement Allowance at 25% of the rate of your Reduced Earnings Allowance when you stopped work. You do not have to make a claim for Retirement Allowance because you only get it if you have been getting Reduced Earnings Allowance.

Constant Attendance Allowance is paid with Disablement Benefit if you need care and attention because of your disability and you have a 100% disablement assessment. There are four rates of benefit. The amount you get depends on what care you have to have and how often you need it.

The benefits office will automatically assess you for Constant Attendance Allowance if you are assessed as having 100% disablement when you claim Disablement Benefit. If your disability gets worse after you have claimed Disablement Benefit, you can ask about claiming Constant Attendance Allowance then.

Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance is paid with Constant Attendance Allowance. You only get this if you are getting Constant Attendance Allowance at one of the two higher rates, and your care needs are likely to be permanent.

The Citizens Advice website (link opens in a new window) can give you more information about Disablement Benefit.

Directgov, the government website has more information about Disablement Benefits (link opens in a new window)

Find an adviser tool.

See Long-term illness and disability

Frequently asked questions relating to disability

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