If you are receiving any of the following benefits below then here are some guidance notes:

For individual cases, contact your local advisor

Benefits:

• Incapacity Benefit
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• National Insurance Credits due to incapacity
• Income Support due to incapacity

How will permitted work affect my benefit entitlement ?

As a General Rule- It Will Not Affect:

• Incapacity Benefit
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• National Insurance Credits
• Disability Living Allowance

It Will Affect:

• Income Support
• Housing Benefit
• Council Tax Benefit

Working while claiming Incapacity Benefit - 'Permitted Work'

You cannot usually work while you are getting Incapacity Benefit because of illness or disability, however you may be able to do some types of work - within limits. This is called 'Permitted Work' and it allows you to test your own capacity for doing some work and perhaps gain new skills.

You should check with your local Jobcentre or Jobcentre Plus office before you start.

Permitted Work

Permitted Work is a benefit arrangement - employers do not offer 'permitted work'. You do not need approval from your doctor or have to have a medical test just because you are doing permitted work. However, if a medical test is due as part of your ongoing benefits-related review, it will go ahead as planned.

You can work:

• For earnings of up to and including £20.00 a week for an unlimited period, or for less than 16 hours a week, on average, with earnings up to and including £86.00 a week for a 52 week period
  
• For less than 16 hours a week, on average, and earn up to and including £86.00 a week for as long as your illness or disability is considered sufficiently severe that you are treated as meeting the threshold of incapacity without undergoing a medical assessment.

If you start non permitted work but then have to stop because of an illness or disability, you may be able to reclaim your previous rate of benefit under one of these linking rules.

8 Week Linking

If your claim ends and you make a new claim within 8 weeks, you may be able to get the same amount of benefit as you were getting before.

52 Week Linking

You would have to satisfy certain conditions to qualify for this rule. You must have been ill for 28 weeks (including Statutory Sick Pay), you must have taken up work or training within 7 days of leaving benefit and must notify the office that pays your benefit that you have done this. Also, your claim must not have ended because you did not meet the threshold of incapacity when assessed for the Personal Capability Assessment.

2 Year Linking

If you are getting the short term higher or long term rate of Incapacity Benefit and you leave Incapacity Benefit to go to work and claim the disabled element of Working Tax Credit, then reclaim Incapacity Benefit within 2 years, you may be able to get the same amount of Incapacity Benefit you were getting before. This may also apply if you go on a training course.