Employment and Support Allowance

Employment and Support Allowance is a benefit that you may already be receiving if you can’t work as a result of illness or disability – it has replaced Incapacity Benefit, Income Support on disability grounds, and Severe Disablement Allowance.

If you need to make a new claim for benefits and can't work as a result of your illness or disability in most circumstances you would now need to claim Universal Credit instead of ESA.

However, you can claim income-related ESA if your circumstances change and you are in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium or received the Severe Disability Premium within the last month and you’re still eligible for it.

You can read detailed information on Employment and Support Allowance in relation to mental health if you’d like to find out more.