New Style Contributory Employment and Support (NSESA)

New style contributory based ESA is for people unable to work who have paid sufficient national insurance contributions to qualify. It is not affected by income, savings and capital.

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) based on national insurance contributions is not being replaced by Universal Credit, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), have renamed it ‘New style ESA’. Any new claims for contributory based sickness benefit will be for New style ESA – paid to you only, with or without a ‘top up’ of Universal Credit; any additional income is dependent on your household circumstances.

Who can claim?

You qualify if all of the following apply:

• You have ‘limited capability for work’.
• You are aged at least 16 and under state pension age.
• You are in Great Britain.
• You are not getting Jobseeker’s Allowance or Statutory Sick Pay.
• You satisfy certain national insurance contribution conditions, including having paid sufficient class 1 (as an employee) or class 2 (self-employed) contributions in one of the last two recent tax years before the year of your claim – so you must have been working at least at some point in those years.
• You are not working (although certain work is permitted)
  

How much do you get?

Employment and Support Allowance is paid to you only. There is a basic amount payable at the beginning of the claim during what is called the assessment phase (usually 13 weeks).

Under 25 -£59.20 a week (2021/22)
25 or over -£74.70 a week (2021/22)

After the assessment phase the basic amount is £74.70 a week in all cases. An additional ‘support component’ of £39.40 is then included if you are assessed as being so ill that you are not required to undertake any ‘work related activity’. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) calls this the ‘support group’.

Before 3rd of April 2017, claimants who were assessed as not being in the support group got an additional amount (a ‘work related activity component’) of £29.70 included. If you were entitled to this component, you can continue to get it. If you now claim New style ESA, and you are assessed as having ‘limited capability for work’ only, you will not have an additional component added to your basic amount. 

You must provide medical certificates (‘fit notes’) to establish your sickness when claiming ESA.

ESA is payable for at least 12 months – but can be longer if you are assessed as being too ill to work and received the support component.

New Style ESA is reduced by occupational/private pension income of more than £85 a week.

How do you claim?

You can claim New Style Employment and Support Allowance by contacting the Universal Credit helpline on – 0800 328 5644.

You can now claim New Style ESA online via – www.gov.uk/guidance/new-style-employment-and-support-allowance.