Benefits Advice For The Sick & Disabled

Benefits for people who are sick or disabled

What help is available

If you are sick or disabled, there are a number of different benefits and tax credits you may be able to claim.

• If you have care needs or problems with getting around, you may be able to claim Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance

• If you are unable to work, you may be able to claim Statutory Sick Pay or Employment and Support Allowance

• If you work, you may be entitled to Working Tax Credit

• If you were injured at work or have an industrial disease caused by work, you may get benefits

• If you were injured serving in the Armed Forces, you may get benefits

• If you care for someone who is disabled, you may be able to claim Carer’s Allowance

Remember that you may be able to get other benefits as well, depending on your circumstances. You may be able to get benefits for being on a low income like Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, or benefits because you have children.

Even if you cannot claim any benefits, you may be able to get national insurance credits if you are unable to work or you are a carer.

If you are disabled, information about benefits and tax credits must be available in a way that is accessible to you. For example, information must be available in large print or in Braille.

Also, if you are disabled, you may be entitled to other help apart from benefits and tax credits. For example, you might get cheaper public transport, parking concessions and practical help with care from your local council. You also have the right not to be discriminated against at work or when you receive goods or services.

For more information about your rights if you’re disabled, you should get in touch with your local authority or consult an experienced adviser.

Working Tax Credit

You may be able to claim Working Tax Credit if you are disabled and work at least 16 hours a week. Working Tax Credit is paid by the HM Revenue and Customs, and depends on your income. It is paid in addition to benefits for the extra costs of disability such as Disability Living Allowance. However, Working Tax Credit may affect other income related benefits you get, for example, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

Benefits for people who cannot work

If you cannot work because you are sick or disabled, whether temporarily or permanently, you may be able to claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). Usually, SSP is paid for the first 28 weeks of sickness if you work for an employer. Otherwise, you should claim ESA. Some people get Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance, but you cannot usually make a new claim for these benefits. This is because they have been abolished for new claims unless the claim can be linked to an earlier period of entitlement.

In some cases, you can get Income Support on top of SSP, depending on your circumstances and income.

SSP and ESA are intended to provide an income in place of your earnings when you cannot work. If you are able to do some work, you will not usually be able to claim these benefits. However, you may be able to do some work if your earnings are not more than a set limit. You can also do voluntary work or approved work on an unpaid trial basis. You must get the agreement of the Department for Work and Pensions for any work you do when you are getting these benefits.

If you want to do any work while claiming benefit because you have limited capacity for work, you should consult an experienced adviser.

Statutory Sick Pay

Your employer pays Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for the first 28 weeks that you are off sick. It is treated like earnings for the purposes of income tax and forms part of your taxable income.

Who can get Statutory Sick Pay

To get Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), you must be unable to work because you are sick or disabled. You must earn at least £97 a week. If you don’t earn this amount, or if you’re self-employed, you cannot get SSP. You should claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). instead.

Part-time workers, workers on a fixed-term contract and agency workers all qualify for SSP.

If you were getting ESA within the last twelve weeks, you do not get SSP. Your employer should tell you if you are not entitled to SSP by giving you form SSP1, or their own version of it. You can then reclaim ESA instead.

If you are off sick and you are not sure whether you can get Statutory Sick Pay, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens’ Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.

How much is Statutory Sick Pay

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is paid at a fixed rate of £79.15 a week. If you get contractual sick pay you may get more sick pay than this but it will depend on what your contract of employment says.

Employment and Support Allowance

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is for people who:

• can’t work because of sickness or disability, and

• aren’t getting Statutory Sick Pay.

There are two types of ESA:

• contributory ESA, which you can get if you have paid enough national insurance contributions

• income-related ESA which is paid if your income and capital are low enough.

You may be able to get both contributory ESA and income-related ESA, depending on your circumstances. For both types of ESA, you will usually have to have various tests to confirm that you have limited capability for work.

You can’t get ESA if you or your partner are getting Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or Pension Credit. You have to be ordinarily resident in the UK. For income-related ESA, you must not have any immigration controls on your stay here that would stop you getting the benefit.

For most new claims, ESA replaces Incapacity Benefit and also Income Support for people getting it because they can’t work due to sickness or disability. If you are already getting Incapacity Benefit or Income Support because of sickness or disability, you can carry on getting it and you do not have to claim ESA.

ESA is paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and, in Northern Ireland, by the Social Security Agency.

Incapacity Benefit

You can’t normally make a new claim for Incapacity Benefit after 27 October 2008. You will normally have to claim Employment and Support Allowance instead. However, in some unusual circumstances you might still be able to make a new claim for Incapacity Benefit after 27 October 2008. The normal conditions for claiming Incapacity Benefit would still apply. One example of where you might be able to make a claim for Incapacity Benefit after 27 October 2008 is if your new claim can be linked to an earlier period of eligibility for Incapacity Benefit. Another example is:

• you are now getting Income Support because, for example, you are incapable of work, and

• you did not meet the national insurance contribution conditions for Incapacity Benefit, and

• it turns out that you did have enough contributions for Incapacity Benefit after all.

If you have limited capability for work and you would previously have claimed Incapacity Benefit, you may now be able to claim Employment and Support Allowance instead.

Incapacity Benefit is paid at different rates, depending on how long someone has been getting it. Lower rate short-term Incapacity Benefit is paid for the first 196 days off sick and is not taxable. Higher rate short-term Incapacity Benefit is paid for the next six months and long-term Incapacity Benefit is paid after a year. You can get extra money if you have dependants.

You may get less than the full rate of Incapacity Benefit if you are getting an occupational or personal pension or money from an insurance policy for physical or mental illness. If you carry on getting Incapacity Benefit once you reach state pension age, the rate you get may also be reduced.

Both higher rate short-term Incapacity Benefit and long-term Incapacity Benefit are taxable.

Getting Incapacity Benefit backdated

If you were entitled to Incapacity Benefit before you made your claim, you may be able to get benefit for an earlier period. This is called backdating. Incapacity Benefit can be backdated for up to three months before the date of your claim, and you do not have to give a reason. You should explain on the claim form that you want to claim backdated benefit and give the date you became entitled to Incapacity Benefit. You can make a backdated claim for Incapacity Benefit as long as you meet the other conditions.

How is Incapacity Benefit paid

Incapacity Benefit is usually paid directly into a bank or building society account. If you cannot open an account or you have difficulties with this method of payment you should let the office know. It is possible to pay the benefit by cheque in some circumstances.

Incapacity Benefit, change of circumstances and fraud

You may commit a benefit fraud if you give incorrect or misleading information, or fail to report a change of circumstances, that could affect your Incapacity Benefit. Even if you are not committing fraud, you can cause an overpayment, that will have to be repaid. Your circumstances can be checked at any time while you are claiming. Benefit fraud is a criminal offence and you can be prosecuted or asked to pay a penalty. If you are being investigated for benefit fraud, your benefit will be suspended. If you are convicted of benefit fraud more than once, your benefit can be reduced or stopped in the future.

If you are worried about whether you might be suspected of fraud, you are under investigation or you have been convicted, or if you have been asked to repay an overpayment of benefit, you should consult an experienced adviser.

Discrimination

It’s against the law for you to be treated unfairly because of your race, sex, disability, sexuality or religion when the Jobcentre or benefits office deals with your claim for Incapacity Benefit. Also the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which pays Incapacity Benefit, has a policy which says they will not discriminate against you for other reasons. For example, it says they will not discriminate against you if have caring responsibilities. If you feel that you’ve been discriminated against, you can make a complaint.

Severe Disablement Allowance

You cannot get Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) if you are making a new claim because this benefit was abolished in April 2001. If you are already getting Severe Disablement Allowance, you can carry on getting it.

If you are incapable of work and you would previously have claimed SDA, you may be able to get Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

SDA is not taxable. You can get it as long as you are incapable of work and if you go into hospital.

If you are aged 18 or over and under 60, and you are making a repeat claim for SDA, you will become part of the Pathways to Work scheme and will have to attend monthly interviews aimed at helping you get back to work. You may be entitled to Return to Work Credit.

If you’re currently getting SDA, you can volunteer to take part in the Pathways to Work scheme.

If you receive SDA or used to receive it and need information or help, you should consult an experienced adviser.

Benefits for the extra costs of disability

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA) are benefits to help you pay for personal care and the costs of getting around. However, it does not matter what you use the money for. DLA is for people who claim it before the age of 65 and AA is for people who claim it at the age of 65 or over.

You can get DLA and AA whether or not you are working, and they are not affected by any work you do. The benefits do not reduce any income-related benefits you get and may even increase the amount you can claim.

Remember that you may also be able to claim benefits because you cannot work – see under Benefits for people who cannot work, and means-tested benefits if you are on a low income. If you work, you may be able to claim Working Tax Credit.

What is Disability Living Allowance

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a benefit for disabled people under 65. To get DLA, you must have personal care needs or difficulty with walking (also called mobility) because of either a physical or mental disability. DLA has two parts, the care component and the mobility component. The care component is paid at three rates depending on how often and how much you need care. The mobility component is paid at two rates, depending on how much difficulty you have with walking. Depending on your needs, you may get one component of DLA, or both together.

Who can get Disability Living Allowance

You can get Disability Living Allowance (DLA) if:

• you claim before you are 65, and

• you have had care needs or mobility needs for at least three months, and

• you are likely to have these needs for at least another six months.

If you are already getting DLA when you reach 65, you can continue to get it as long as you still have care or mobility needs.

If you are terminally ill and not expected to live for more than another six months, there are special rules for claiming DLA.

There are also special rules for children under the age of 16.

You will not be able to get DLA if you are living permanently in a hospital or in a care home and your local council is helping you with your fees.

To get DLA, you must have lived in the UK for six months in the last year. However, this rule doesn’t apply to people who are terminally ill. You must be living in the UK when you make a claim for DLA and the UK must be your normal place of residence. You must not have any immigration controls on your stay here that would stop you getting the benefit.

It may be possible to carrying on getting the care component of DLA if you move to another EEA country or Switzerland. You may also be able to claim for the first time if you’re living in one of these countries.

You can get DLA whether or not you work. It isn’t usually affected by any savings or income you may have.

If you are terminally ill

If you have a progressive disease and are not reasonably expected to live for more than another six months, there are special rules about claiming DLA.

If you are applying for either the care component or the mobility component, you don’t have to wait until you have needed help for three months. You will always be entitled to the highest rate of each component.

You don’t have to wait until you have lived in the UK for six months before you can make a claim.

You can get the care component for a child of any age – you don’t have to wait until they are three months old.

Care needs

You have care needs if:

• you need help with things like eating, washing, getting dressed, going to the toilet or communicating your needs

• you need someone to supervise you to stop you being a danger to yourself or others

• you need someone with you when you are on dialysis. You must need to have dialysis at least twice a week. If you’re an out-patient, you will only get DLA if no member of the hospital staff helps you with or supervises the treatment

• you need someone with you to help you lead a normal social life.
You do not actually have to be getting help for your care needs to qualify for DLA. As long as you have a care need, it does not matter whether you are actually getting care.

The care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is paid at three different rates. You get the lower rate if you need help with cooking a main meal or care for a significant part of the day. You get the middle rate if you need frequent care throughout the day or night, or continual supervision throughout the day or night. You can also get the middle rate if you need someone with you while you’re on dialysis. You get the higher rate if you need frequent care or supervision throughout the day and night, or if you are terminally ill.