This factsheet is a basic introduction to work for people who are sick or disabled. You can find out more detailed information in Disability Alliance's Disability Rights Handbook, available to buy at www.disabilityalliance.org/drh35.htm.
All our publications are available at www.disabilityalliance.org/shop.htm. You can also place an order by contacting Disability Alliance on 020 7247 8776 (this is not an advice line) or by fax on 020 7247 8765. All our factsheets are available at www.disabilityalliance.org/fact.htm.
Permitted work
If you are getting employment and support allowance (ESA) , incapacity benefit (IB), severe disablement allowance (SDA), national insurance credits or income support (IS) because of incapacity for work you are allowed to do some permitted work.
You do not need the permission of a doctor to do permitted work but you should tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) if you are working.
Permitted work for those on employment and support allowance, incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance or national insurance credits
You have a choice of permitted work options depending on your circumstances:
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- Permitted Work Lower Limit - under this option you can earn up to £20 a week for an unlimited period.
- Permitted Work Higher Limit - you can work for a 52 week period if the work is for less than 16 hours a week and your earnings do not exceed £95 a week after deductions. Once a period starts even weeks when you do no work count towards the 52 week limit. After you have done 52 weeks work there must be a gap of at least 52 weeks before you can work again, whereupon another 52 weeks work is permitted.
- Supported permitted work - if you choose this work option you must be supervised by someone who is employed by a public or local authority, a community interest organisation or voluntary organisation which provides or finds work for people with disabilities. You cannot earn more than £95 a week.
- Work done as part of a treatment programme done under medical supervision whilst someone is an in-patient or regularly attending as an out-patient of a hospital or similar institution. Again the limit is £95 per week.
- If you are exempt from the IB/IS personal capability assessment - you can work for an unlimited period, if the work is for less than 16 hours a week and your earnings do not exceed £95 a week after deductions. (If you receive IS, your earnings over £20 a week will count as income for IS.)
- You are on ESA and you have limited capability for work related activity (you are in the support group) - you can work for an unlimited period, if the work is for less than 16 hours a week and your earnings do not exceed £95 a week after deductions.
Supported permitted work
Guidance suggests that supported permitted work is work done by people who have a long term disability that has had "a significant impact on their ability to learn or sustain a traditional job which will always, or for a number of years, prevent them from working more than a few hours each week".
It should also be work that a person can do only with the support and supervision of someone other than their employer and be supervised by someone employed by a public or local authority or voluntary organisation which provides or finds work for people with disabilities.
The support worker must direct and oversee the performance of the worker regularly and the supervision must be more than the normal support provided in the workplace by employers.
Permitted work for those on income support and other means tested benefits
If you are on incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance and you are also on income support you can do permitted work but any earnings over £20 will be deducted from your income support.
If you are on employment and support allowance, incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance and are on housing benefit or council tax benefit you are allowed to keep all your permitted work earnings. These earnings will not affect your benefit.
Other allowed work
The following kinds of work are also allowed:
- care of a relative or domestic tasks carried out in your own home
- work done as a councillor. Any payments over £95 a week will be deducted from your contributory employment and support allowance, incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance.
- any activity in an emergency, to protect another person, or to prevent serious damage to property or livestock
- duties as a member of the DLA Advisory Board or as a ‘disability member’ of an appeal tribunal – one day a week is allowed (or two half days)
- an approved work trial arranged in writing with the employer by the DWP (or an organisation providing services to the DWP) for which you will receive no wages
- self-employed work done whilst you are 'test trading' for up to 26 weeks with help from a self-employment provider arranged by Jobcentre Plus.
What about the minimum wage?
Generally if you do permitted work you should be paid at least the minimum wage for any work you are allowed to do.
Disability Living Allowance
If you are on Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and are not claiming one of the other benefits mentioned in this factsheet there are no restrictions placed on the work you do providing you satisfy the DLA rules. You should inform the disability benefits unit if you start work.
Voluntary Work
If you get incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance you are allowed to do voluntary work for anyone other than a close relative (parent (or in-law or step-parent), son/daughter (in-law/step), brother, sister or the partner of any of these).
If you get employment and support allowance or income support, you are allowed to do voluntary work for anyone other than a relative.
You must not be paid for your work, other than expenses ‘reasonably incurred by [you] in connection with that work'. Permitted expenses could include travel, meals, childminding, the costs of caring for a dependant, equipment needed for work and use of a telephone. There is no limit on the number of hours you can volunteer.
If you get income support you can do voluntary work without your income support being affected. If you get income support on the basis of being incapable of work, the work must be for someone other than a family member, otherwise you will be regarded as capable of work. Care you provide for a relative will not count as voluntary work.
Finding full time work
If you stop claiming benefits to begin work but then stop working and reclaim you may be allowed to return to your previous benefit on the same rate or terms as before.
To do this you have to satisfy one of the linking rules. You can return to your previous benefit on the same rate or terms as before if you reclaim employment and support allowance:
- within 12 weeks.
- within 104 weeks and you are a ‘work or training beneficiary’. To be a work or training beneficiary you must have had a limited capability for work for more than 13 weeks in your previous ESA award. You must also start work within one month of your entitlement to benefit ceasing.
Note that new claims for incapacity benefit can not be made after 31 January 2011. This change has also meant the abolition of the rules which allowed you to return to incapacity benefit, or another of the incapacity-related benefits, on the same rate or terms as before if you stopped work due to your health. You can find out more about the linking rules in our disability rights handbook . You should also get advice before you consider full time work.
Housing benefit and council tax benefit extended payments
Your housing benefit and council tax benefit can continue at your old rate for four weeks if you find work and you were getting:
- employment and support allowance (ESA)
- incapacity benefit (IB)
- income support (IS)
- income-based jobseeker's allowance (JSA)
- severe disablement allowance (SDA)
To get housing benefit/council tax benefit extended payments you must have been on one of the above benefits for at least 26 weeks and your job must be expected to last at least 5 weeks. You do not need to make a claim to receive extended payments.
Where can I get more help or information?
You can get help and information about permitted work at your local advice centre, such as a Citizens Advice Bureau. You can get more information about this from Factsheet F15 - finding a local advice centre.
You can view the current minimum wage rates on the Direct Gov website at http://tinyurl.com/nagutf.
Jobcentre Plus has produced a guide called Volunteering while receiving benefits, which is available on the DirectGov website at http://tinyurl.com/5u3e78..
www.disabilityalliance.org - 31 January 2011
PDF version
Ministers call for end to long-term sickness absence as independent review is launched
The Government has today called for a major review of the sickness absence system in Great Britain in order to help combat the staggering £100 billion that working age ill health costs the economy every year.
The independent review, jointly chaired by David Frost, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce and Dame Carol Black, National Director for Health and Work, will explore radical new ways on how the current system can be changed to help more people stay in work and reduce costs.
Under the current system employers bear the costs of short term sickness with the State, and ultimately the taxpayer, absorbing the cost of longer-term ill-health, with over 300,000 people leaving work to claim sickness-related benefits each year - making up around half the total flow on to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
Once out of work these people face an even greater risk of their health deteriorating even further, and the potential of themselves and their families falling into poverty.
Ministers are determined to end this vicious cycle and are clear that in these difficult economic times, the country cannot afford to continue to bear these costs.
The review, which is jointly sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, will include a panel of experts from business, trade unions and health representatives and will be conducted in the context of the Growth Agenda.
It will also feed into the wider Employment Law Review, which is looking at measures to reduce red tape and remove the burdens on business, encourage growth and maximise flexibility for employers and employees.
Also announced today is an additional £12 million of funding for health and work programmes, including the Fit for Work Service and Occupational Health Advice lines. Both have already proved highly successful in providing support for both employers and individuals in the early stages of sickness absence.
Lord Freud, Minister for Welfare Reform said:
Employment Relations Minister Edward Davey said:
Dame Carol Black, National Director for Health and Work said:
David Frost, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce said:
Notes to Editors:
The review, which will report later this year, will:
The review will look at sickness absence trends and practices across the public and private sectors and across different segments of the private sector (such as firm size). It will examine differences between segments to establish causes and understand best practice.
Facts and Figures:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2011/feb-2011/dwp022-11.shtml