Employment and Support Allowance 


Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) replaced Incapacity Benefit and Income Support paid because of an illness or disability from January 2011. It is one of several benefits being gradually replaced by Universal Credit (UC) (see Chapter 1).


You may get ESA if you have an illness or disability that affects your ability to work, and you are:



• under State Pension Age; 



• not getting Statutory Sick Pay or Statutory Maternity Pay and you haven’t gone back to work; 
and


• not getting Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA). 



There are two types of ESA. People receive contribution-based ESA if they have limited capability for work and have paid enough National Insurance Contributions (NICs), whereas income-related ESA is paid to people on low incomes.



In addition, you can apply for new style ESA if you are entitled to apply for UC, that is you are a single person anywhere in England, Wales and Scotland or a couple or family living in a UC area (see Chapter 1). You can get new style ESA on its own or at the same time as UC. If you get both at the same time the new style ESA payment is deducted from the UC payment and you are not guaranteed to get any extra money. It works in the same way as contribution-based ESA.


Any savings you have must be less than £16,000. If you have a partner, your benefit may be paid at the “couples rate”. If your partner is living with you and working, how much they earn could affect your income-related ESA. You will not be entitled to income-related ESA if your partner works more than 24 hours a week.