1. What is employment and support allowance
Employment and support allowance (ESA) is for people who have limited capability for work because of illness or disability.1Reg 1 ESA Regs There is a contributory and an income-related ESA.
Contributory ESA is for people who have paid national insurance (NI) contributions (the DWP may refer to this as ‘new-style’ ESA). It can also be claimed in order to get NI credits for limited capability for work.
Income-related ESA is means tested and is for people whose income and capital are low enough. It is possible to receive one or both types of ESA.
Note: you cannot make a new claim for income-related ESA as it is in the process of being replaced by universal credit (UC). However, some people can add an award of income-related ESA to ‘old’ awards of contributory ESA (see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook (for subscribers) for more details). If you already get income-related ESA, the government plans to notify you to transfer to UC by the end of 2025.