nidirect : Apply For Employment & Support Allowance Northern Ireland

Organization : Nidirect
Type of Facility : Apply For Employment & Support Allowance
Country: Northern Ireland

Website : https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/

Apply For Employment & Support Allowance:

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) provides financial help to people who are unable to work because of illness or disability – claim by phone or complete an application form.

Related : Nidirect Apply For Maternity Allowance Northern Ireland : www.statusin.org/9228.html

Apply by telephone or textphone:
The easiest and quickest way to apply for ESA is by telephone or textphone. An adviser will go through the application with you and fill in the form. You will not have to fill in any forms yourself.
** telephone 0800 085 6318
** textphone 0800 328 3419

Lines are open Monday to Friday, from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm except Thursday when they are open from 10.00am to 5.00pm.

Complete an application form:
Download the application form from the link above. There are guidance notes which you need to read before filling in the claim form.

You will need to print this form and post it to Employment and Support Allowance.

Employment and Support Allowance:
James House
2 – 4 Cromac Avenue
Belfast
BT7 2JA

Employment And Support Allowance (People With Disabilities ):
You may be able to get Employment and Support Allowance if you have an illness or disability that affects your ability to work.

Eligibility:
You may be able to claim Employment and Support Allowance if any of the following apply to you:
** your Statutory Sick Pay has ended, or you cannot get it
** you are employed, self-employed, unemployed or a student on Disability Living Allowance
** you have been getting Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and have not gone back to work for your employer because you have an illness or disability which affects your ability to work
** you are under State Pension age
** you are not getting Jobseeker’s Allowance

You must also either:
** have had an illness or disability which affects your ability to work
** be unable to work for two or more days out of seven consecutive days
** be getting special medical treatment
** if you are aged 16, 17, 18 or 19 – or if you are aged 20, 21, 22, 23 or 24 – and you were in education or training during the last three months before your twentieth birthday, and you have been unable to work because of illness or disability for at least 28 weeks and you normally live in Northern Ireland, and have lived in Northern Ireland for 26 weeks in the year before you claim

Entitlement conditions:
There are two types of Employment and Support Allowance:
** contribution-based
** income-related

Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance:
You may be entitled to claim contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance if you have paid enough National Insurance Contributions.

Income-related Employment and Support Allowance:
You may be entitled to claim income-related Employment and Support Allowance if you do not have enough money coming in, or you have not paid enough National Insurance Contributions, and you satisfy the entitlement conditions. This means that you have savings of less than £16,000 and, if you have a partner or civil partner, they work for less than 24 hours a week on average.

If you’ve been living or working abroad:
Living or working abroad can affect your Employment and Support Allowance claim. You may be able to claim if you’ve either:
** paid enough UK National Insurance Contributions in the past (and the equivalent in certain other countries)
** worked abroad for an employer based in the UK and paid National Insurance Contributions for the first 52 weeks of that employment