Reporting a change while you're on new style ESA
This advice applies to England. See advice for See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Scotland, See advice for Wales
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While you’re on new style Employment Support Allowance (ESA), it's important to tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) if there are changes to your:
health condition
work
money
family life
Any changes might affect how much ESA you should get or which group you’re placed in.
When you reach State Pension age, the DWP should stop your ESA automatically. If they don't stop your ESA, contact them and make sure they know you've reached State Pension age.
You can check your State Pension age on GOV.UK.
Telling the DWP about a change
Tell the DWP about any changes by calling Jobcentre Plus.
When you get in touch, they’ll ask for your:
full name
date of birth
National Insurance number
Jobcentre Plus
Telephone: 0800 169 0310
Textphone: 0800 169 0314
Welsh language: 0800 328 1744
Relay UK - if you can't hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say: 18001 then 0800 169 0310
You can use Relay UK with an app or a textphone. There’s no extra charge to use it. Find out how to use Relay UK on the Relay UK website.
Video relay - if you use British Sign Language (BSL).
You can find out how to use video relay on YouTube.
Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm
Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.
If you can’t call the Jobcentre Plus, write to the address on the letters the DWP sent you.
Tell the DWP within 1 month
You should tell the DWP about a change within 1 month of it happening, unless you have a good reason - for example if you:
are in hospital
are coping with a bereavement
have a family emergency
If you have a good reason to tell the DWP late, you have up to 13 months to tell them.
If your ESA payments go up
If a change means your ESA payments will go up, you’ll receive a backdated payment to when the change happened. This will only happen if you tell the DWP on time or have a good reason to tell them late. If you tell them late without a good reason, your payment will change from the date you told them.
If you think your ESA payments will go down
You should still tell the DWP even if you think a change might make your ESA payments go down. You won't save money by reporting it later.
The DWP will backdate the payments to when the change happened, not when you tell them about it. If you tell the DWP late you’ll be paid too much ESA and have to pay it back. This is called an ‘overpayment’. You might also have to pay a penalty. Find out how the DWP deals with overpayments.
Changes you need to report
If you’re not sure whether the DWP needs to know something, it’s best to tell them anyway.
There are some changes you should always tell the DWP about.
If your health condition changes
The DWP needs to know about changes to do with your condition. For example, if it:
gets better
gets worse
changes to another condition
This might affect whether you should be in the support group or the work-related activity group.
If you change jobs or start working
Tell the DWP if you:
change your job
start working after being unemployed
You must tell the DWP even if you haven’t been assessed yet. This means the DWP hasn’t assessed whether you should be put into the work-related activity group or support group, or that you’re ‘fit for work’.
If you work too many hours or earn too much, your ESA might stop. Check what work you can do while you’re getting ESA.
If you’re in the work-related activity group or the support group
The DWP might decide to reassess you. This depends on the type of work you’ve started doing and the reason they put you in the work-related activity group or the support group.
They should not reassess you just because you got a job.
If where you're staying changes
The DWP needs to know about any changes to your living arrangements. For example, if you:
move house
go into or leave hospital, prison or legal custody
If you go abroad
If you’re going abroad for less than 4 weeks, it won’t affect your ESA - but you should still tell the DWP.
If you’re going abroad for 4 weeks or more then you must tell the DWP. If you don’t, your ESA payments could be stopped unless you’re:
receiving medical treatment for yourself or your child
living with a member of the armed forces
If you’re going abroad for medical treatment, the DWP will tell you how long you can continue to claim ESA for. It could be up to 26 weeks or in some cases there’s no limit to the amount of time you can keep claiming.
If your income changes
You must tell the DWP about any changes to the money coming into your household. This includes money from:
pensions
councillors’ allowances
permanent health insurance
work
Check what work you can do while you’re getting ESA.
If you don’t report a change
If you don't tell the DWP about a change even though you know you should, it could be fraud.
If the DWP says you've committed fraud, you should get legal advice.
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Page last reviewed on 06 April 2020