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Please contact the DWP Online helpdesk.
Phone: 0800 169 0154
Email: dwponline.helpdesk@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Opening hours
Monday to Friday: 8am - 6pm
Closed on weekends and all Public and Bank Holidays.
For help and advice on the information you need to put on the form or
about the benefit you want to claim, contact the office that deals with the
benefit.
Calls to 0800 numbers are free from landlines or mobiles.
New style
Employment and
Support Allowance
Before you start
This is a claim form for new style Employment and Support Allowance
(new style ESA).
We have many different ways we can communicate with you
Please tell us if you would like Braille, British Sign Language, a hearing
loop, translations, large print or something else. Contact us on: 0800
328 5644 or Textphone: 0800 328 1344.
Notes for you to keep
Please make sure you read these notes before you fill in your claim form.
They tell you the steps you will need to take to claim new style ESA. They
also contain useful information to help you understand what happens
during your claim, and telephone numbers that you may need to use in
the future.
How to claim new style ESA
Step 1 - Book a New Claim Appointment
To make your claim you need to take your completed form to a New
Claim Appointment at your local jobcentre. They will check your claim
form and look at the supporting information you have provided. They
will also talk to you about what help they can give you while you claim
new style ESA. Your appointment may last up to 1 hour and 20 minutes.
If you do not have details of an appointment yet, you should contact us
to arrange one.
If you are already getting Universal Credit you may not need to make
an appointment. Use your online Universal Credit account to contact us
for more information on what to do with this claim form and if you need to
make an appointment.
If you got this claim form online: book a New Claim Appointment
straight away by calling: 0800 328 5644 (press option 2 then option 6)
or Textphone: 0800 328 1344.
If you have already called us to get this claim form sent to you:
someone will get in touch with you through your preferred method of
contact (for example, phone, letter or email) to tell you about your New
Claim Appointment. You do not need to call us. If you have not heard
about your New Claim Appointment within 1 week of your initial phone
call, please get in touch with us on the telephone number above.
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If you collected this claim form from your local jobcentre: you should
have already had your New Claim Appointment booked for you when you
collected your form. You do not need to call us.
Your claim will not be looked at until you have been to your
appointment.
If you are unable to attend a New Claim Appointment at your local
jobcentre due to your illness, disability, injury or health condition let us
know. We may be able to offer you further help and support.
Calls to 0800 numbers are free from landlines and mobiles.
Step 2 - Complete the form
Please make sure you complete all parts of the form before attending your
New Claim Appointment. You may not be able to get new style ESA if you
do not answer all the questions on the form that apply to you. If you need
to provide more information you can do this in Part 10: More information.
If you need help completing the form, you can ask a friend, relative or an
organisation that you know and trust to help you. You can also get help by
contacting Jobcentre Plus.
If you are filling in this form on behalf of someone else, please make sure
you also complete Part 11 of the claim form.
Step 3 - Declaration
Read, sign and date the Part 12: Declaration.
If you got this claim form online make sure you print your completed claim
form before your appointment.
Remember, you will need to bring all parts of the claim form with you to
your New Claim Appointment, along with your supporting information we
have asked you to provide. You can find a list of what else you will need to
bring with you to your appointment in the ‘What happens next’ section of
this claim form.
More information about new style ESA
What is new style ESA?
If you have an illness, disability, injury or health condition, new style ESA
offers you:
financial support if you are unable to work
personalised help to help you get into work when you are able to, or
make steps towards going back to work
Who can get new style ESA?
You can get new style ESA if your health affects your ability to work and
you have paid enough National Insurance contributions in the last 2 to
3 years. To check your National Insurance record or read about National
Insurance credits and contributions, visit the HM Revenue & Customs
(HMRC) website at www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance
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You may get new style ESA if you have lived or worked abroad and paid
enough UK National Insurance or the equivalent in a European Economic
Area (EEA) country, or a country with which the UK has an agreement.
Any earnings you get from employment, pensions or other benefits might
affect how much new style ESA you are paid.
Other household income or savings will not affect your payment.
Supporting information you will need to provide
If you are getting Statutory Sick Pay, please bring your current Statement
of Fitness for Work with your claim form to your New Claim Appointment.
Statements of Fitness for Work are also known as fit notes, medical
certificates, doctor’s statements, or sick notes. If you cannot get Statutory
Sick Pay, you do not normally need to get a Statement of Fitness for work
for the first 7 days of your illness, disability, injury or health condition. We
will need to see either a letter from your doctor or an original Statement
of Fitness for Work from the eighth day you want to claim new style ESA
for. There is more information about what information you need to bring
to your New Claim Appointment in the ‘what happens next’ section at the
end of the claim form.
Work Capability Assessments
As part of your claim to new style ESA, following your New Claim
Appointment, you will be asked to take part in a Work Capability
Assessment. This will help us understand your current illness, disability,
injury or health condition.
We will ask you to read, fill in and return a Capability for Work
questionnaire about how your illness, disability, injury or health condition
affects your ability to work. You may then be asked to go to a face-to-face
assessment with a healthcare professional.
Please note: the face-to-face assessment is not a medical examination.
It is to help us understand how your illness, disability, injury or health
condition affects your ability to work.
This means we can give you the right support to help you work when
we can. This could include work you have not thought about before. Not
everyone is asked to go, but if you are given an appointment, it is important
you attend. If you do not fill in and send back the questionnaire, or go
to your Work Capability Assessment if you are asked to, you could lose
your new style ESA payments.
We understand you might be nervous about your assessment. If you would
like someone to go with you to the assessment, please take them with
you. The person you take should know and understand you and your needs
(for example, a relative, support worker, or friend. They must be 16 or over).
You can find out more about the Work Capability Assessment and see
a video of a face-to-face assessment by visiting the Health Assessment
Advisory Service website at www.chdauk.co.uk
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After your assessment, we will decide how much your illness, disability,
injury or health condition limits your ability to work. We will make our
decision using:
the report written by our healthcare professional
the answers from your questionnaire and,
any other medical evidence we get from your General Practitioner (GP) or
healthcare professional who knows about your illness, disability, injury or
health condition.
If we find you capable of work, we will stop paying you new style ESA.
If we find that your illness, disability, injury or health condition limits your
ability to work, you will be placed into one of two different groups. These
are called the work-related activity group and the Support Group.
We will pay you a new style ESA assessment rate until you have had your
Work Capability Assessment. The amount of benefit we pay you once you
have had your Work Capability Assessment could change depending on
which group you are placed in.
If you are placed in the Work-Related Activity Group or Support Group we
will backdate any arrears to week 14 of your claim.
Work-Related Activity Group
If you show you are able to start doing things to prepare for work in the
future, you will be put into the work-related activity group. If you are
placed in the work-related activity group, new style ESA can only be paid
for a maximum of 365 days.
Support Group
If your illness, disability, injury or health condition severely limits your
ability to work, you will be put into the support group. There is no time limit
on how long you can claim new style ESA if you are in the support group.
Waiting days
Normally, you will not get any new style ESA for the first 7 days from when
you want to claim. These are called waiting days. Not everyone has to
serve waiting days. For example, claimants who have been on new style
ESA at any time in the previous 12 weeks.
New style ESA and Universal Credit
Check if you are eligible for Universal Credit. If you are, you could get
Universal Credit at the same time as new style ESA. To find out more visit
www.gov.uk/Universal-credit
If you get both Universal Credit and new style ESA at the same time,
your new style ESA payment will be deducted from your Universal Credit
payment - you are not guaranteed to get any extra money.
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Part 1: Start your claim
What date do you want to
claim new style ESA from?
You will need to provide medical evidence, for example, a
Statement of Fitness for Work, to support your claim.
/ /
Part 2: About you
Surname
First name and any other
names
Any other surnames you have
been known by
Title
Date of birth
National Insurance (NI)
number
Address
Postcode
Are you happy for us to write to
you at this address?
If not, what is the address
where you would like us to write
to you?
Postcode
Email address, if you agree we
can contact you by email
Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms
Letters Numbers Letter
You can get this from payslips or from tax papers.
Or get in touch with Jobcentre Plus.
No
Yes
Mobile phone number
Are you happy for us to send No
you text messages about your
Yes
claim?
Daytime phone number if
different, including area code
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Please choose
Part 2: About you continued
Are you expecting a baby?
No
Yes
What date is the
baby due?
Part 3: About your illness, disability, injury or health condition
What date did your illness,
disability, injury or health
condition start?
Please give the name of your
illness, disability, injury or
health condition as noted on
your medical certificate
Otherwise known as Statement
for Fitness for Work
Name of your doctor or
medical practice
Address of the doctor who
signs your medical statements
Otherwise known as Statement
of Fitness for Work
Postcode
Phone number of the doctor
who signs your medical
statements including area code
Have you been in hospital as an
in-patient in the last 52 weeks?
Name of hospital
Address of hospital
Postcode
Date you went into hospital
Have you come out of hospital?
No
Yes
Please tell us about this below
No
Yes
Date you came out of hospital
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Part 4: Special Rules
Please read this note before answering the next two questions
We have ‘special rules’ for people who are terminally ill. This means people who are not
expected to live longer than another six months.
If you qualify for special rules, then you will get a faster decision and the higher rate of new style
ESA from the date your claim was made. Please ask us if you need help with applying under
special rules.
Do you think special rules
apply to you?
Have you already asked for, or
do you have a DS1500 Report
for a claim for Disability Living
Allowance (DLA), Personal
Independence Payment (PIP) or
Universal Credit (UC)?
No
Go to Part 5: About work
Yes
No
Ask your doctor or specialist for a DS1500 Report.
The DS1500 Report is a report about your medical
condition. You will not have to pay for it.
You can ask the doctor’s receptionist, or nurse, or a
social worker to arrange this for you. You do not have to
see the doctor. You should be given the DS1500 Report
straight away. Ask for the report in a sealed envelope if
you do not want anyone to see it.
If there is a delay in getting your DS1500 Report, still
come to your New Claims appointment to prevent a
delay in your claim being processed. Then send us your
DS1500 Report as soon as you can. You will be told
where to send this to at your appointment.
Yes You do not need to get another DS1500 Report. We
will get a copy of your DS1500 Report from these other
benefits.
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Part 5: About work
We need to know about any work you are doing now. We consider you to be working if you are
still employed or self-employed but are unable to work at the moment because of an illness,
disability, injury or health condition.
Please tell us about any work that is:
employed or self-employed
full-time or part-time
permanent or casual
paid or unpaid
work as a company director
time spent on work-based training
Are you working at the
moment?
Still tick Yes and answer the
questions below if you are
employed or self-employed but
unable to work at the moment
because of an illness, disability,
injury or health condition; if you
are getting Statutory Sick pay, or
if you do voluntary work.
If you usually work, but are not
working at the moment because
of your illness, disability, injury or
health condition, please tell us
the date you last worked?
If you worked a night shift,
please tell us the date your shift
ended.
How many hours a week do you
usually work?
How much do you usually get
paid?
How often are you paid this
amount?
No
Go to Part 6: About statutory payments
Yes
Answer the following questions.
If you have more than one employer, please tell us
about them in Part 10: More information. You will need
to answer all of the questions below for each additional
employer you have.
hours
£
Every week
Every month
Every 4 weeks
Every year
Other, please specify
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Part 5: About work continued
Employer’s name
Employer’s address
Postcode
Employer’s phone number
Your job title
Will your employer keep paying
you if you are off work because
of an illness, disability, injury or
health condition?
Is the work you do voluntary?
Are you self-employed or a
sub-contractor?
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
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Part 6: About statutory payments
Please read this not before answering the next few questions.
We need to know about any statutory payments you are getting from your employer, or have
claimed in the past. We will tell you if they affect your claim for new style ESA.
For example, you must tell us about:
Statutory Adoption Pay
Statutory Maternity Pay
Statutory Paternity Pay
Statutory Sick Pay
Shared Parental Pay
These types of payments are required by law. They are paid by an employer to an employee if the
employee satisfies the qualifying conditions.
Are you currently getting any
statutory payments?
Name of statutory payment
Who do you get your statutory
payment from?
How much money do you get,
and how often?
What day is it paid?
No
Yes
Answer the following questions.
If you need to tell us about any other statutory
payments, tell us in Part 10: More information. You
will need to answer all of the questions below for each
additional statutory payment you get.
If you are getting Statutory Sick Pay, please bring
your SSP1 form with you to your New Claims
Appointment.
£
Every week
Every month
Every 4 weeks
Every year
Other, please specify
Have you ever had a statutory
payment in the past?
No
Yes
If yes, tell us about this statutory payment below
Name of statutory payment
Who did you get your statutory
payment from?
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Part 6: About statutory payments continued
How much money did you get,
£
and how often?
Every week
Every month
Every 4 weeks
Every year
Other, please specify
Date of the last payment or the
date you stopped being entitled
to get the statutory payment
Part 7: About pensions
Are you currently getting any
pensions?
By ‘pension’ we mean:
an occupational pension
a personal pension
a retirement annuity contract
a payment from the Armed
Forces Compensation Scheme
Tick Yes if you get:
regular pension payments
an annual compensation
payment from a previous job
lump sum payments from
an occupational or personal
pension, these could be paid
yearly
payments from the Pension
Protection Fund
Financial Assistance Scheme
payments
What type of pension are you
getting?
No
Go to Part 8: About permanent health insurance
Yes
Please tell us about them below.
If you have more than one pension, please tell us about
them in Part 10: More information. You will need to
answer all the questions below for each additional
pension you get.
Personal pension
Occupational, work or employee’s pension
Retirement annuity contract
Public service pension
Pension paid to you as a beneficiary
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Part 7: About pensions continued
Name of your pension or annuity
provider
Address of your pension or
annuity provider
Postcode
Phone number of your pension
or annuity provider, including
area code
How much is the pension before
any deductions? For example,
deductions like income tax.
And how often is it paid?
How much is the pension after
any deductions?
How much are the deductions
and what are they for?
£
Every week
Every month
Every 4 weeks
Every year
Other, please specify
£
Every week
Every month
Every 4 weeks
Every year
Other, please specify
£ for
£ for
£ for
When did the pension start
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Part 7: About pensions continued
Did you choose to take regular
income from the pensions
scheme instead of buying an
annuity?
No
Yes
Go to Part 8: About permanent health insurance
Was this the maximum income
you could take?
No
Yes
Did you inherit your pension?
No
Yes
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Part 8: About permanent health insurance
Do you currently get any
permanent health insurance
payments?
No
Yes
Go to Part 9: How we pay you
Please tell us about them below.
If you have more than one permanent health insurance
payment, please tell us about them in Part 10: More
information. You will need to answer all the questions
below for each additional permanent health insurance
payment you get.
Name of the employer or
company paying the permanent
health insurance premiums
Address of the employer or
company paying the permanent
health insurance premiums
Postcode
Phone number of the employer
or company paying the
permanent health insurance
premiums, including area code
Has your contract of
employment ended with this
employer?
No
Yes
When did it end?
Have you contributed more than
half of the premiums towards
any permanent health insurance
payment?
No
Yes
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Part 9: How we pay you
Please tell us your bank or building society account details below.
It is very important you fill in all the boxes correctly, including the building society roll or
reference number, if you have one. If you tell us the wrong account details your payment may
be delayed or you may lose money.
You can find the account details on your chequebook, bank card or bank statements. If you do not
know the account details, ask the bank or building society.
you can use an account in your name, or a joint account
you can use someone else’s account if:
- The terms and conditions of their account allow this, and
- They agree to let you use their account, and
- You are sure they will use your money in the way you tell them
you can use a credit union account. You must tell us the credit union’s account details. Your
credit union will be able to help you with this.
if you are an appointee or a legal representative acting on behalf of the claimant, the account
should be in your name only
We pay money directly into your bank account.
Many banks and building societies will let you collect your money at the Post Office.
We will tell you when we make the first payment and how much it will be for. We will tell you
if the amount we pay into the account is going to change.
Finding out how much we have paid into the account.
You can check your payments on account statements. The statements may show your
National Insurance (NI) number next to any payments we have made. If you think a payment
is wrong, get in touch with the office that pays you straight away.
Name of the account holder
Please write the name of the
account holder exactly as it is
shown on the chequebook or
statement
Full name of the bank or
building society
Sort code
Please tell us all 6 numbers, for
example: 12-23-56
Account number
Most account numbers are 8
numbers long
Building society roll or
reference number
If you are using a building society account, you may need
to tell us a roll or reference number. This may be made up
of letters and numbers, and may be up to 18 characters
long. If you are not sure if the account has a roll or
reference number, ask the building society.
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Part 10: More information
If you:
have more than one employer
get more than one statutory payment
have more than one pension
get more than one permanent health insurance payment
then you can tell us about them here. If there is not enough space, please use a separate
sheet of paper. Make sure that you:
write your full name and National Insurance number on each sheet of paper
sign and date each sheet that you use
Do not tell us about your disability, illness or health condition here. We will send you a
questionnaire about this later.
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Part 11: Filling in this form for someone else
Are you filling in this form for
someone else?
Surname
Other names
Any other surnames you have
been known by
Title
Date of birth
National Insurance (NI) number
Address, including postcode
Postcode
Mobile phone number
Daytime phone number,
if different
Are you signing this form for
someone else?
Go to Part 12: Declaration
No
Please tell us about yourself below.
Yes
Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms
Letters Numbers Letter
Go to Part 12: Declaration
No
Even though you can fill in this form for another adult,
they must still sign it themselves unless one or more of
the following reasons shown on the next page.
Yes
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Are you filling in this form for
someone else?
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Please choose
Part 11: Filling in this form for someone else continued
I am signing this form for
someone else because
If the person does not know you
are signing this form for them,
please tell us why.
I have Power of Attorney for them
Remember to sign the Declaration in Part 12
I am a receiver or deputy for them under a Court of
Protection Order, or in Scotland a tutor, curator or
guardian appointed in terms of the law.
Remember to sign the Declaration in Part 12
The Department for Work and Pensions has already
appointed me to get their benefits and to deal with letters
about their benefits.
We will send all letters about this claim directly to you.
They cannot manage their own affairs because of a
disability, illness or health condition.
We will get in touch with you about this. The Department for
Work and Pensions may appoint you to get their benefits and
to deal with letters about their benefits.
They cannot sign for themselves because of their
disability, illness or health condition.
We will get in touch with you about this.
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Part 12: Declaration
By submitting this claim you agree that the information you have given is complete and
correct. While you are receiving new style Employment and Support Allowance, you will
report changes to your circumstances straight away.
If you give wrong or incomplete information, or you do not report changes, you may:
• be prosecuted
• need to pay a financial penalty
• have your new style Employment and Support Allowance reduced or stopped
• be paid too much new style Employment and Support Allowance and have to pay the
money back
If we pay you less than we should, we may pay you the money that we owe you.
I agree that:
the Department for Work and Pensions
any approved health care professional advising the Department
any organisation with which DWP has a contract for the provision of assessment services may ask
any of the people or organisations mentioned on this form for any information which is needed to
deal with:
- this claim for benefit
- any request for this claim to be looked at again and that the information may be given to that
approved health care professional or organisation to the Department.
I agree to my doctor, or any doctor treating me, being informed about the Secretary of State’s
determination on:
limited capability for work
limited capability for work related activity, or
both
This is my claim to new style Employment and Support Allowance
Signature
Date
Please tick this box if someone
filled in this claim form for you.
Our service standards
At Jobcentre Plus we aim to provide a high standard of customer service at all times.
Details of the standard service you can expect from us can be found at www.gov.uk
You can access our website from many libraries. For more information, please contact
Jobcentre Plus.
Equality and diversity
We are committed to treating people fairly, regardless of their disability, ethnicity, gender,
sexual orientation, transgender status, marital or civil partnership status, age, religion or
beliefs. Please contact us if you have any concerns.
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How we collect and use information
When we collect information about you we may use it for any of our purposes. These include:
social security benefits and allowances
child maintenance
employment and training
investigating and prosecuting tax credits offences
private pensions policy and
retirement planning
We may get information about you from other parties for any of our purposes as the law allows to
check the information you provide and improve our services. We may give information about you to
other organisations as the law allows, for example to protect against crime.
To find out more about our purposes, how we use personal information for those purposes and
your information rights, including how to request a copy of your information, please see
www.gov.uk/dwp/personal-information-charter
What happens next
If you need to book a New Claim Appointment, do this straight away to continue your claim to
new style ESA. Information about if you have to do this and how to do it can be found at the start
of this claim form.
You will need to provide the following at your New Claim Appointment:
this claim form
your medical statements (otherwise known as a Statement of Fitness for Work or ‘fit note’)
it is important that you provide proof of your identity at your appointment. Please look at
page 21 ‘Confirming your identity’ for a full list of what you should provide
You should also provide (if applicable):
DS1500 Report
SSP1 form
proof of any pensions
proof of payments from a permanent health insurance policy
We will not be able to deal with your claim or there may be a delay in processing your claim if:
you have not answered all the questions on this form that apply to you
you do not arrange a New Claim Appointment with your work coach if you need to
you do not bring the information we have asked for to your New Claim Appointment
After your New Claim Appointment, we will write and tell you when the Work Capability
questionnaire is being sent to you. This questionnaire will be about your disability, illness or health
condition. Please look out for this in the post.
If we can pay you new style ESA we will write to you to tell you how your benefit has been worked
out and how you will be paid. We will pay you into the account you have told us about.
If we cannot pay you new style ESA we will write to you to tell you why and what to do if you
disagree with the decision.
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Confirming your identity
It is important that we can be sure of your identity when you claim new style ESA. We will need to
see official documents that help prove your identity. A National Insurance number is not proof of
identity.
Please take a look at the list below to see what you will need to provide at your New Claim
appointment. You will need to have:
one document from the List 1,
and two documents from List 2.
List 1, provide one of the following current documents:
UK passport
EEA passport
UK photo driving licence (both
parts)
If you do not have any of the
above, you can provide
National identity card
Residence permit or card
Immigration status document
Registration or naturalisation
certificate
List 2, provide two of the following original documents:
Birth certificate
Recent bank or building society
statement
Council tax statement
NHS medical card
If you do not have any of the
above, you can provide
Debit or charge card
Expired passport
Expired full or provisional UK
driving licence
Local authority rent card
Marriage or civil partnership
certificate
Registration or naturalisation
certificate
Tenancy agreement
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Official use only
Has the claimant ID been verified?
Has the Claimant Commitment been
accepted?
Is this a dual or new style only claim?
Do special rules apply?
Interviewing officers signature
No
No
Dual
No
Yes
Yes
New style only
Yes
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Date