New Style ESA Calculator

The short answer

• For the first 13 weeks you get £95.55 a week at 25 or over, or £75.65 under 25.
• After the assessment, the work-related activity group gets £95.55 a week for up to 365 days.
• The support group gets £145.90 a week with no time limit.
• You qualify through Class 1 National Insurance in the two tax years before the year you claim.
• Half of any private or workplace pension over £85 a week is taken off.

What New Style ESA is

ESA used to come in two forms. Income-related ESA is being replaced by Universal Credit; the contributory form is now called New Style ESA. You can get it if you:

• have an illness or disability that affects how much you can work;
• are under State Pension age;
• are not getting Statutory Sick Pay (you can claim New Style ESA when it ends, or if you cannot get it);
• have paid enough Class 1 National Insurance as an employee, or have enough credits.

You can be employed or self-employed when you claim, and you can have savings or a working partner. You need a fit note from your doctor for the first weeks.

How much you get

The main phase rate is £95.55 at any age. The support group adds a support component of £50.35. Claims made before 3 April 2017 in the work-related activity group keep a work-related activity component of £37.95; newer claims do not get it.

The assessment phase and the two groups

1. Days 1 to 7Waiting days

   No ESA is paid for these, unless you move from certain other benefits.

2. Weeks 1 to 13Assessment phase

   Basic rate while the DWP assesses you. You send a questionnaire (ESA50) and may have an assessment.

3. After the assessmentMain phase

   You are placed in the work-related activity group or the support group, and the higher rate is backdated to week 14.

If the assessment finds you fit for work, ESA stops. You can ask for a mandatory reconsideration and then appeal, and may be able to claim New Style JSA or Universal Credit meanwhile.

The National Insurance conditions

The conditions match New Style JSA:

1. Class 1 National Insurance paid on earnings of at least 26 times the Lower Earnings Limit in one of the two tax years that count (£3,198 for 2023/24 or 2024/25).
2. Contributions paid or credited on earnings of at least 50 times the Lower Earnings Limit in both years (£6,150 each for 2023/24 and 2024/25).

For a claim made between 4 January 2026 and 2 January 2027, the years that count are 2023/24 and 2024/25. National Insurance credits, for example from Statutory Sick Pay, Universal Credit or caring, count for the second condition. The calculator works out the years from your claim date.

Worked examples

Pensions and permitted work

Pensions. Private, workplace and personal pensions over £85 a week reduce ESA by half of the excess. Pensions from ill-health retirement count the same way. The State Pension is not relevant, as ESA stops at State Pension age.

Permitted work. You can work while on ESA without it affecting your benefit if you work under 16 hours a week and earn no more than £203.50 a week. You can also earn up to £20 a week at any hours, or work under supervision as part of a treatment programme. Earn more than this and ESA stops, so tell the DWP before you start work.

Not counted: savings, a partner’s earnings, PIP and Child Benefit.

New Style ESA and Universal Credit

You can claim both. Universal Credit counts New Style ESA as income, monthly (weekly × 52 ÷ 12). For a single person renting at £700 a month, in the support group and with the health element for new claims (£217.26 a month), Universal Credit before ESA would be £1,342.16 a month. With ESA of £632.23 a month, UC falls to £709.93: together they still come to £1,342.16.

The Work Capability Assessment

The assessment looks at what you can and cannot do: walking, standing and sitting, using your hands, communicating, staying conscious, continence, learning tasks, coping with change and getting about. You score points for each activity; 15 points places you in the work-related activity group. The support group is for people who meet at least one of a list of more serious descriptors, or where work-related activity would be a substantial risk to their health.

Fill in the questionnaire carefully, with examples of bad days and how long tasks take, and send medical evidence. Many decisions are changed on reconsideration or appeal.

The 365-day limit

In the assessment phase and the work-related activity group, New Style ESA is paid for up to 365 days. Time in the assessment phase counts. In the support group there is no limit. If you reach the limit and later your condition worsens enough for the support group, you can ask for ESA to restart.

The government has proposed replacing New Style ESA and JSA with a single time-limited unemployment insurance benefit, and is reviewing the Work Capability Assessment. Until changes become law, the rules here apply.

How to claim

• Claim online on GOV.UK, or by phone if you cannot use the online service.
• Have your National Insurance number, bank details, your doctor’s details and your fit note.
• If you get Statutory Sick Pay, you can claim up to 3 months before it ends so payments follow on.
• ESA is paid every two weeks into your bank account.

Other help if you are ill or disabled

Check PIP and Universal Credit, and the benefits checker for everything at once.

Fit notes and evidence

For the first 7 days of sickness you can self-certify. After that you need a fit note (a statement of fitness for work) from a GP, hospital doctor, nurse, pharmacist, physiotherapist or occupational therapist. Keep sending fit notes until the Work Capability Assessment decides your claim, or ESA may stop.

For the assessment, the most useful evidence describes how your condition affects what you can do, not just the diagnosis: letters from specialists, care plans, prescriptions and a diary of a typical week. Ask your GP or support workers early, as letters can take weeks.

Challenging a decision

1. Mandatory reconsideration. Ask the DWP to look at the decision again within one month of the date on the letter. Explain which descriptors you think apply and send any new evidence.
2. Appeal. If the decision does not change, appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal within one month of the reconsideration notice. A judge and a doctor hear the case, independent of the DWP.

While you appeal a fit-for-work decision, you can usually get ESA paid at the assessment rate if you keep sending fit notes. A large share of appeals succeed, so it is worth asking a welfare rights adviser for help.

Moving from Statutory Sick Pay

Statutory Sick Pay lasts up to 28 weeks. You cannot get New Style ESA for the same days, but you can claim it up to 3 months before your sick pay ends so there is no gap. Weeks on Statutory Sick Pay also give you National Insurance credits, which help with the second contribution condition. See the Statutory Sick Pay calculator.

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