Studying part time
Part-time students can get IS under the usual rules without restriction. You must satisfy all the basic rules (see
here) and you must be in one of the groups of people who are eligible for IS. In brief, these are:
•lone parents under age 18 (regardless of the child’s age) or lone parents with a child under five;
•some young people up to age 25 on youth training schemes;
•carers who get carer’s allowance or care for someone who gets attendance allowance, the middle or highest rate of the disability living allowance care component, or the daily living component of personal independence payment;
•pregnant women from 11 weeks before to 15 weeks after the birth (or earlier if they are incapable of work because of pregnancy);
•single foster parents of children under 16 or with a child placed for adoption, or people looking after a child while their partner is abroad or if the parents are temporarily ill, or away temporarily;
•some people on unpaid paternity or parental leave;
•people caring for a family member who is temporarily ill;
•refugees on English courses in their first year in Britain;
•people entitled to statutory sick pay;
•people appealing against a decision that they are not incapable of work;
•people who are incapable of work, but only if they already get incapacity benefit (IB);
1Regs 1(4) and 2(1) ESA(TP) Regs •people who are registered or certified as blind, but only if they already get IB.
For more details of all the groups of people who are eligible for IS, see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook.