Income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) is the means-tested element of ESA, the benefit paid to people whose ability to work is limited by either ill health or disability (see Chapter 11).

Income-related ESA is being replaced by universal credit. It is not normally possible to make a new claim for income-related ESA. An exception applies if you are a frontier worker (see Box E.1 in Chapter 14). If you are already getting income-related ESA, at some point you will be invited to claim universal credit instead (see Box E.1). See Chapters 14 to 19 for more on universal credit.

Income-related ESA provides for basic living expenses for you and your partner, if you have one. It can be paid on its own if you have no other income, or it can top up contributory ESA (see 5 below and Chapter 11(18)-(27)).