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

You may be able to get New Style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) depending on your circumstances.

You can get New Style ESA if you:

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

You can check your national insurance record on GOV.UK, to see if you have enough NI contributions.

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

If you qualify for New Style Employment and Support Allowance, you can get it at the same time as Universal Credit. You will have to accept a 'claimant commitment' if you make a new claim.

Work Capability Assessment (WCA)

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 (WCA50)
• Medical Assessment

A questionnaire called an WCA50 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 Work Capability Assessment - The questionnaire 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 do 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 do 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.