Employment and Support Allowance: Eligibility, Rates, and Assessment

Employment and Support Allowance eligibility and rates for 2026/2027 come down to three things: you must be under State Pension age (66) with a health condition or disability that limits your ability to work, you must have paid enough National Insurance in roughly the last two to three tax years, and you must not already be receiving Universal Credit.¹ If you qualify, New Style ESA pays £92.05 a week if you’re 25 or over, £72.90 if you’re under 25, and up to £140.55 a week once you’re placed in the Support Group.²

Who Can Claim New Style ESA

New Style ESA is the contribution-based version of the benefit and it’s the one still open to new claims. To qualify you need to be under State Pension age, have a health condition or disability that affects how much you can work, and have paid enough National Insurance contributions in the last two to three tax years. National Insurance credits count towards that record, so periods spent claiming certain other benefits or caring for someone can fill the gaps.¹

You can apply whether you’re currently working or not. You don’t need to have left a job first. You do need to be living in England, Scotland, or Wales and legally entitled to work in the UK.³

One important limit: you can’t receive New Style ESA and Universal Credit at the same time. If you already claim Universal Credit, you’re not entitled to ESA.⁴ And if your National Insurance record isn’t strong enough for New Style ESA, the health-related element of Universal Credit may be the route open to you instead.

Payment Rates for 2026/2027

ESA is paid in two phases. The first 13 weeks are the assessment phase, during which you receive a basic rate while the DWP works out how much your condition limits you. After that comes the main phase, when you move onto the rate that matches the group you’ve been placed in.

Assessment Phase

The weekly rates during the first 13 weeks are:²

Under 25: £72.90
25 or over: £92.05

If your assessment isn’t finished by the end of week 13, any higher payment you’re eventually entitled to is backdated to the 92nd day of your claim.⁵

Main Phase: Work-Related Activity Group and Support Group

After the assessment, you’re placed in one of two groups.

In the Work-Related Activity Group (WRAG), you keep the basic rate — £92.05 a week if you’re 25 or over — and you’re expected to attend work-focused interviews with a personal adviser to prepare for a possible return to work. For claims made since April 2017, no separate work-related activity component is added on top.

In the Support Group, you get the basic rate plus a support component of £48.50 a week, bringing the total to £140.55 for claimants aged 25 or over.² There’s no requirement to attend interviews or do work-related activity, though you can if you want to.

How Long Payments Last

New Style ESA for people in the Work-Related Activity Group is limited to 365 days.⁶ Once that year is used up, you may need to claim Universal Credit instead. The Support Group is exempt from this time limit, so payments can continue for as long as you keep meeting the conditions.

The Work Capability Assessment

Which group you end up in is decided by the Work Capability Assessment. After your claim is accepted, the DWP sends you a WCA50 questionnaire (which replaced the older ESA50).⁷ It asks you to describe how your condition affects everyday tasks: walking, standing, reaching, and also concentration, social interaction, and coping with change. Answer based on your worst days, not your best.

A healthcare professional then carries out a formal assessment by phone, video call, or in person, scoring your limitations across activity categories. Fifteen points or more means you have a limited capability for work and are placed into either the WRAG or the Support Group. Below that, you’re considered fit for work and the claim ends, though you have the right to challenge that decision through mandatory reconsideration and, if needed, a tribunal appeal.⁸

Reassessments

There’s no fixed reassessment schedule. The DWP follows the recommendation of the healthcare professional who did your assessment, and the intervals they suggest range from three months to two years or longer.⁹ If your health changes significantly, a reassessment can be brought forward.

Since September 2017, claimants in the Support Group with severe, lifelong conditions who are unlikely ever to move into work can be exempted from future reassessments entirely.⁹ If you think this applies to you but you’re still being called back, raise it with your work coach or the DWP.

Terminal Illness Fast-Track

If you have a progressive illness and a medical professional has said you might have 12 months or less to live, you can claim under the special rules for end of life. Your claim is fast-tracked and you go straight into the Support Group without a Work Capability Assessment. Your GP, consultant, hospice doctor, or specialist nurse completes an SR1 form and usually submits it directly.¹⁰ One SR1 covers multiple benefit claims.

If You Also Claim Universal Credit

New Style ESA and Universal Credit can be paid alongside each other, but the ESA amount is deducted from your Universal Credit payment. So the two together won’t add up to more than UC alone would have paid, though ESA still counts as its own contribution-based entitlement.

Income-related ESA, the older means-tested version, is closed to new claims and is being replaced by Universal Credit. The DWP’s managed migration is scheduled to finish by the end of March 2026.¹¹ If you’re on income-related ESA you’ll get a migration notice telling you the deadline to claim Universal Credit. Transitional protection tops up your Universal Credit if it would otherwise pay less than your old benefit, but only if you claim by the deadline in the notice.¹² Miss it, or claim voluntarily beforehand, and the protection is lost. New Style ESA isn’t affected by this migration.

How to Apply

Apply online through GOV.UK. The system verifies your identity, then collects your personal details, health information, and work history. If you can’t apply online, or you’re an appointee applying for someone else, the Jobcentre Plus new claims helpline is 0800 055 6688.¹³ The DWP will get in touch within 10 working days to tell you what evidence to send.

Have your National Insurance number ready so the DWP can check your contribution record. You’ll also need contact details for your GP and any specialists treating your condition, and details of any income you already receive, including statutory sick pay or a private pension, because those can affect your ESA. The key piece of medical evidence is a fit note (formerly the Med 3) from your doctor confirming you’re not fit for work; make sure its dates line up with your application. If you’ve recently left a job, note the employer’s name and address and your start and end dates.

1
GOV.UK. Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) – Eligibility
2
GOV.UK. Benefit and Pension Rates 2026 to 2027
3
Legislation.gov.uk. Welfare Reform Act 2012 – Section 62
4
Legislation.gov.uk. Welfare Reform Act 2012 – Section 50
5
GOV.UK. Duration of the Assessment Phase for Employment and Support Allowance Claimants
6
Legislation.gov.uk. Welfare Reform Act 2012 – Section 51
7
GOV.UK. WCA50 Form – Capability for Work Questionnaire
8
GOV.UK. Appeal a Benefit Decision
9
UK Parliament. ESA and PIP Reassessments
10
GOV.UK. Get Benefits if You’re Nearing the End of Life
11
GOV.UK. Completing the Move to Universal Credit – Completing the Move for Households Previously on Employment and Support Allowance
12
GOV.UK. How the Transitional Element Is Calculated When You Move to Universal Credit
13
GOV.UK. Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) – How to Claim