Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
For more information, visit the Parkinson’s UK website (last updated July 2025).
ESA is a benefit for people under State Pension age whose ability to work is limited because of ill health or a disability.
The benefit has 2 parts: new-style ESA and income-related ESA.
New-style ESA
If you’re of working age, have a disability or health condition that affects how much you can work, and have paid enough in National Insurance contributions, you may be eligible for new-style ESA.
Payment of new-style ESA is usually limited to 12 months. However, it can be paid for longer if you’re placed in the ‘support group’. People with Parkinson’s may qualify for this.
Income-related ESA
Income-related ESA is a means-tested benefit that’s now been replaced by Universal Credit. It’s no longer possible to make a new claim for income-related ESA.
Qualifying for ESA
To qualify for ESA, you must:
- not be working (apart from limited, permitted work – see ‘What work is permitted with ESA?’ section below)
- be aged 16 or over
- be under State Pension age
- live in Great Britain
- not be entitled to Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance or Statutory Sick Pay
- have a limited capability for work. This is tested under the Work Capability Assessment (see below)
- not receive Carer’s Allowance, Carer Support Payment, Retirement Pension or Maternity Allowance.
How to claim ESA
You can claim ESA online on the government website at the link below.
You can also claim by phone. If you’re claiming Universal Credit alongside ESA, the Department for Work and Pensions would prefer you to claim online.
To be accepted as not fit for work you’ll be expected to provide a medical certificate from your doctor (commonly known as a ‘fit note’ or ‘sick note’) until you’ve undergone the Work Capability Assessment.
Eligibility for ESA
If you apply for ESA you’ll normally go through an ‘assessment phase’. During this you’ll undergo a ‘Work Capability Assessment’.
The Work Capability Assessment has 2 aims:
- To assess whether you have a ‘limited capability for work’. If you do, you’re considered eligible for ESA
- To assess whether you have a ‘limited capability for work-related activity’. If you do, you’ll be placed in the ‘support group’. This means you’ll receive a higher rate of ESA, which can be paid indefinitely (with no end date), and you won’t need to take any action to improve your employment prospects
The assessment phase should last for 13 weeks, although it can be extended if there’s a delay in carrying out the assessment (delays are common). During the assessment phase, you’ll be paid just a basic allowance of ESA.
The ‘limited capability for work’ assessment
The first part of the Work Capability Assessment determines if you’re entitled to ESA at all. It looks at your physical, mental and cognitive health to decide whether you have a ‘limited capability for work’.
A points system is used to see how well you can carry out a range of activities, such as moving around, standing and sitting, reaching, communicating, manual dexterity (using your hands), behaving appropriately, socialising and keeping safe.
Some people are automatically treated as having a limited capability for work without this assessment. This includes people who are terminally ill, receiving cancer treatment (chemotherapy or radiotherapy), have an infectious disease, are in hospital, are pregnant, have a serious risk to their health, or receive dialysis.
The ‘limited capability for work-related activity’ assessment
The second part of the assessment determines what rate of ESA you’ll get, how long you’ll be entitled to ESA for, and whether you’ll need to take action to improve your employment prospects or not.
It looks at whether you have a ‘limited capability for work-related activity’. If you do, you’ll be placed in the ‘support group’. If you don’t, you’ll be placed in the ‘work-related activity group’.
Read more about the points system used to decide if you have a ‘limited capability for work’ and ‘limited capability for work-related activity’ at the link below.
The support group
If you’re put in the support group, it means the Department for Work and Pensions has decided that you’re unable to work and that it doesn’t expect you to do anything to improve your chances of finding work.
You’ll get a higher rate of ESA payment, and it can be paid indefinitely (which means it’s paid for as long as you continue to meet the conditions for it).
You’ll be placed in the support group if there’s a ‘substantial risk’ to your mental or physical health if you’re not found to have a limited capability for work-related activity.
If you’re in the support group, you won’t have to take part in work-related activities, but you can do paid work with strict limitations or voluntary work if you want to.
The work-related activity group
If you’re put in the work-related activity group, it means the Department for Work and Pensions has decided that your disability or health condition does limit your ability to work at the moment, but there are things you can do to improve this situation.
You’ll have to meet strict work-related conditions to continue receiving ESA in full. This involves attending a series of work-focused interviews. At these interviews, a work coach will discuss with you your work prospects, the steps you’re willing to take to move into work and the support available to you.
Your benefit can be reduced (or ‘sanctioned’) if you don’t meet the work-related conditions.
You’ll receive a basic ESA payment and it will be limited to 12 months. You can do paid work with strict limitations or voluntary work if you want to.
The work-related activity group is also known as the ‘limited capability for work group’.
The ESA application process
The capability for work questionnaire
As part of your application for ESA, you’ll be asked to complete a capability for work questionnaire (called ESA50 or UC50) unless you’re terminally ill.
This questionnaire asks about your ability to complete different tasks. The questions relate to the activities in the limited capability for work assessment.
Follow the link below for advice on filling out the form, and some example answers.
Advice on filling out the capability for work questionnaire
The assessment with a healthcare professional
Once you’ve sent in your capability for work questionnaire, you may be asked to attend an assessment carried out by a healthcare professional.
Most assessments are done on the phone or via video. If you think you’ll have problems getting to the venue for a face-to-face assessment, it’s important to explain this and ask for an alternative arrangement, such as a home visit or phone assessment.
Set out any risk to your health if you were to try to go to their venue. It may be necessary to get a letter from a healthcare professional to back this up.
Tips for your assessment with a healthcare professional
Asking for a reconsideration
If you’re refused ESA or Universal Credit after the assessment, and you disagree with the decision, you can ask the Department for Work and Pensions for a ‘mandatory reconsideration’ of the decision.
Or for ESA you can go straight to an appeal. This fast-track appeal option only applies for new claims – it‘s not available if you have previously claimed ESA.
You can also request a mandatory reconsideration or appeal if you’re put into the work-related activity group and you think you should be in the support group (and therefore would not have ESA limited to 12 months).
You must ask for the mandatory reconsideration or appeal within 1 month of the date on the decision letter.
You can download and use CRMR1 mandatory reconsideration form from the government website at the link below, but don’t have to.
In any letter you send, include your National Insurance number, the date of the disputed decision (on your letter from the Department for Work and Pensions) and why you believe it’s wrong.
Appealing the decision
If your mandatory reconsideration request is unsuccessful, you can decide to appeal ESA and Universal Credit decisions to an independent tribunal.
You should ask for the appeal within 1 month of the date on the decision letter, but if you have a good reason for being late, you have a maximum of 13 months to request the appeal.
England Wales or Scotland:
Northern Ireland:
When you’re told about the mandatory reconsideration decision you’ll be sent 2 copies of the mandatory reconsideration notice. This is the Department for Work and Pensions’ decision.
When you complete the appeal form attach the mandatory reconsideration decision and list all the descriptors you think apply to you. The form will also ask if you want to attend an appeal hearing. You stand a better chance of winning your case if you do.
Appeal papers will then be sent to you. These will contain the report from the assessment with the health professional that was used in making the decision. This will show you where you need to dispute the decision or identify where misunderstandings have occurred.
Try to get medical evidence to back up your case. For example, you could get a letter from your Parkinson’s nurse confirming which descriptors they think apply to you. Send a copy of this evidence to the tribunal before your appeal hearing.
You might want to contact an advice centre, such as Citizens Advice or local advice services, to see if they can give you advice and perhaps represent you at the tribunal.
A tribunal can only look at how your condition was at the time of the decision that you’re appealing. If your condition has got significantly worse since then, you could consider making a new claim for ESA.
This is a complex area and it’s best to get advice first. Contact the Parkinson’s UK helpline, or get in touch with Citizens Advice or another local advice centre.
What work is permitted with ESA?
The general rule is that, if you do any work, you’re not entitled to ESA. You are, however, allowed to do ‘permitted work’.
The rules allow you to:
- work for under 16 hours a week and earn up to £195.50 a week, or
- earn up to £195.50 a week if you’re doing ‘supported permitted work’
‘Supported permitted work’ is work that’s supervised by an employee of a public or voluntary body, whose job it is to arrange job opportunities for disabled people. It can also be work carried out as part of your treatment programme under medical supervision while you’re a patient in hospital or a regular outpatient.
Earnings from permitted work will not affect your ESA amount.
You must inform the Department for Work and Pensions that you’re due to start permitted work.
If you live in Northern Ireland, contact the Employment and Support Allowance Centre.
Will ESA affect other benefits?
You can get ESA at the same time as other benefits like Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit.
You can’t usually get ESA at the same time as Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or Income Support.
If you’re employed but you can’t work, you’ll usually get Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from your employer for 28 weeks. You can’t get SSP and ESA at the same time.
Receiving income-related ESA (or Universal Credit, if you’ve been moved over) can provide access to:
- Sure Start Maternity Grants and Funeral Payments to help with costs for a loved one’s funeral
- Support for Mortgage Interest Loans, which provide help through repayable loans towards the costs of the interest on your mortgage
- Help with NHS charges such as prescriptions, vouchers for glasses and help with hospital travel fares.
If you only get new-style ESA, you can apply for help with NHS charges under the Low Income Scheme, but this will be means-tested.
You’ll be exempt from the benefit cap if you (or anyone in your household) are getting ESA with the support component or Universal Credit with ‘limited capability for work-related activity’. You’re also exempt if you get paid any of the disability-focused benefits.
Find out more about the benefit cap on the UK government website at the link below.
What can I do if ESA is time-limited?
If your ESA is terminated after the 12-month payment period, you have several options.
In all the following situations, you’ll need to show you still have a limited capability for work. You’ll probably need to complete a new capability for work questionnaire and take part in a new Work Capability Assessment.
1. Reclaim ESA
At the end of the first 12 months, you can reclaim ESA after a gap of 12 weeks if you can use a different tax year for your new second claim.
2. If your condition gets worse in the future
You may be able to claim ESA again in the future if your condition gets worse – as long as the Department for Work and Pensions considers that you have continuously had a limited capability for work since your previous ESA stopped being paid.
To make sure this happens, you should ask the Department for Work and Pensions to continue to assess you as having limited capability for work once your ESA ends. Then, if your condition does get worse, you can make a new claim.
You’ll probably be referred for a Work Capability Assessment. If it’s accepted at this assessment that you have limited capability for work-related activity (and so can be moved into the support group) you can be awarded ESA again. It will last as long as you fit the criteria for the support group.