1. Ill health

• Full-time students
• From the start of your ill health
• From three months
• From 28 weeks
• Once you have recovered
• Student support
• Part-time students
• From the start of your ill health
• From three months
• Once you have recovered

Full-time students

• From the start of your ill health
• From three months
• From 28 weeks
• Once you have recovered
• Student support

Which benefits you are eligible for depends on how long you have been ill, your age, whether you have paid any national insurance (NI) contributions, and whether you need personal care or have mobility difficulties. Once you have recovered, you may be able to get universal credit (UC) until you can return to your course.

You usually still count as a full-time student when taking time out of your course, unless you have completely abandoned or been dismissed from it (but see here for when this may not apply).1UC Reg 13(1)(a) UC Regs
ESA Reg 2(1), definition of ‘period of study’, ESA Regs
HB Reg 53(2) HB Regs

Note: if you have to take time out from your studies because you are ill, you cannot usually make a new claim for income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) or housing benefit (HB), as these benefits are in the process of being replaced by UC. However, an exception applies (for HB only) if you are in certain specified or temporary accommodation (see here). In addition, if you have an award of ‘old-style’ contributory ESA, you may be able to add income-related ESA to this (see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook (for subscribers) for more details).

 

1     UC Reg 13(1)(a) UC Regs
ESA Reg 2(1), definition of ‘period of study’, ESA Regs
HB Reg 53(2) HB Regs
 »

From the start of your ill health

If you have paid sufficient NI contributions in recent years, you are eligible for contributory ‘new-style’ ESA after seven ‘waiting days’ (see Chapter 4).

From three months

You can claim adult disability payment (ADP) if you need help getting around or with daily living activities because of a disability. You are eligible for this after 13 weeks if your disability is likely to last at least another 39 weeks.

You can claim UC if you get ADP/personal independence payment (PIP) or disability living allowance (DLA) and had ‘limited capability for work’ (LCW) or ‘limited capability for work-related activity’ (LCWRA) before you started ‘receiving education’ (see here). This means a determination that you have LCW/LCWRA for UC or ‘new-style’ ESA, or that you are treated as having LCW/LCWRA for UC. You can claim (new-style) contributory ESA in order to establish that you have LCW/LCWRA (although you do not have to get any ESA to qualify in this way). Once you are found to have LCW/LCWRA for ESA (and you also get ADP/PIP or DLA), you are then eligible for UC as long as you had or were treated as having LCW/LCWRA before you started receiving education. These rules mean that if you first become ill while on your course (while ‘receiving education’), then you cannot get UC on this basis while on that course.

From 28 weeks

Once you have had LCW for 28 weeks, you can claim HB to help with your rent (if you can make a new claim for this - see here).

The 28-week period runs from the day your LCW begins, not from the day you leave your course. See here for how LCW is assessed. You do not need to have been working to count as having LCW. Note: you can have LCW but still be able to study, so HB can continue when you return to college or university.

Example

Sean is ill and takes time out of his course. He is not eligible for ADP, and has not worked enough to qualify for contributory ESA. He gets no benefits until he has been ill for 28 weeks, when he can claim HB (he can make a new claim for HB because he lives in temporary accommodation, and he is eligible because he is an ill/disabled student). He makes a claim for ESA, supported by a backdated medical certificate, in order to establish his LCW, and also fills in a claim form for HB.

Once you have recovered

Once you have recovered, you may need to wait some time to be readmitted to your course. During this time you can claim UC (or HB if you can make a new claim – see here).1UC Reg 13(4) UC Regs
HB Reg 56(6) HB Regs

You can claim for up to one year from the day you recover until the day the college or university agrees you can return to your course. You are not eligible if you get a grant or loan during this time. Once the student support stops, you can claim benefit.

If you meet the qualifying conditions for ‘new-style’ jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), and are not eligible for a student loan or grant, you can claim this while waiting to return to your course (see here).

 

1     UC Reg 13(4) UC Regs
HB Reg 56(6) HB Regs
 »

Student support

Although payment of your student loan can be suspended after 60 days’ absence because of ill health, Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) has the discretion to continue to pay you until the end of the academic year.

Your college or university should tell SAAS the reason you have suspended your studies.

If you need to repeat a year for health reasons, discretionary repeat-year funding may be available. Alternatively, you may get funding for one extra year for whatever reason, although this depends on your previous study.

If you select the repeat-year funding box on your application, SAAS contacts you to tell you if it needs additional information.

If you take time out from your course because of ill health and are not paid a student loan during this time, the unpaid student loan does not count as ‘notional’ income when calculating your ESA.1Reg 137(4A) ESA Regs For UC and HB, the unpaid loan is arguably not counted as ‘notional’ income, because payment of it is discretionary.

 

1     Reg 137(4A) ESA Regs »

Part-time students

• From the start of your ill health
• From three months
• Once you have recovered

If you are a part-time student (and do not count as ‘receiving education’ for UC – see here), you can claim UC as soon as you are ill or disabled, whether or not you get ADP/PIP or DLA. You should submit a fit note when you claim.

From the start of your ill health

If you are already getting UC, you can submit a fit note if you become ill or disabled.

You can claim contributory ESA if you have paid sufficient NI contributions.

From three months

You can claim ADP if you need help getting around or with daily living activities because of a disability. You are eligible for this after 13 weeks if your disability is likely to last at least another 39 weeks.

Once you have recovered

You can claim UC (or, sometimes, contribution-based JSA - see here).