Illness and disability benefits

This content applies to England only.

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There are a number of benefits you may eligible for if you are prevented from being able to work through health problems or disability.

Statutory sick pay

If you have been working and paying national insurance contributions and can’t work because of illness, you may get statutory sick pay for up to 28 weeks. It’s usually paid by your employer.

For more information about statutory sick pay, see the Directgov website.

Employment and support allowance

If you have a disability or an illness that affects your ability to work and need to make a new claim for benefits, you may be entitled to employment and support allowance (ESA).

ESA replaced other benefits for people unable to work because of illness or disability on 27 October 2008. Most new claims will be for ESA. If you are already claiming incapacity benefit or income support because of sickness or disability, at some point in the future your claim will be reassessed under the new rules for ESA instead.

To qualify for ESA, you have to pass a test of ‘limited capability for work’. You must also be of working age (over 16 but below retirement age) and pass rules about whether you usually live in the UK. You can’t get ESA if you are claiming statutory sick pay, or if you or your partner are getting income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance or pension credit.

There are two main types of employment and support allowance: contribution-based ESA and income-based ESA:

you may get contribution-based ESA if you have paid enough national insurance contributions
for income-based ESA, your income and savings are taken into account – you won’t qualify if they are too high. If you qualify for contribution-based ESA, you may also get an extra payment of income based ESA as well.

For more information about employment and support allowance, or to make an online claim, see the Directgov website.

Incapacity benefit

You may be claiming incapacity benefit if you have been unable to work because of a sickness or disability which started before 27 October 2008. For any new claims starting after this date you will need to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

For more information about incapacity benefit or to make an online claim, see the Directgov website.

Disability living allowance

Disability living allowance is a benefit for people with disabilities and/or mental health problems.

You may be eligible for disability living allowance (DLA) if you need help with day-to-day living because:

you have a physical disability, a mental health problem, or both
your disability is severe enough for you to need help to care for yourself, or you have difficulty walking, or both
you have a learning disability.

You can get disability living allowance whether you are working or not, and the amount you get is not affected by any savings or other income you may have. There is a three month waiting period for this benefit.

There are two parts to the assessment for DLA – one looks at your need for day-to-day care and the other at your mobility needs. These are assessed separately and are referred to as the 'care component' and the 'mobility component' of DLA. The care component is paid at one of three rates – lowest, middle or highest, and the mobility component is paid at two rates – lower or higher.

You may also be entitled to DLA under special rules if you are terminally ill – there is no time limit for claiming.

You can claim DLA when you are aged 65 or under – an award of DLA continues beyond the age of 65. If you are 65 or over, you will have to claim attendance allowance instead.

For more information about disability living allowance or to make an online claim, see the Directgov website.

Attendance allowance

Attendance allowance is a benefit claimed by people who are 65 or over and need help with personal care as a result of physical or mental disability. Your other income and savings are not taken into account for entitlement to this benefit.

If you are under 65 you will need to claim disability living allowance instead.

For more information about attendance allowance or to make an online claim, see the Directgov website.

Carer’s allowance

You may get carer’s allowance if you spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone who is receiving attendance allowance, or at least the middle rate care component of disability living allowance. You must be aged 16 or over to claim.

You cannot get carer’s allowance if: