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Employment and Support Allowance - how to claim

There are several ways you can claim Employment and Support Allowance. The easiest and quickest is by telephone or textphone.

Claiming by telephone or textphone

You can claim Employment and Support Allowance by telephone or textphone. An adviser at the contact centre will go though the application with you and fill in the form. You will not have to fill in any forms yourself.

Lines are open Monday to Friday, from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm.

Contact centre numbers:

Telephone 0800 055 6688

Textphone 0800 023 4888

Call charges

Calls to 0800 numbers are free from BT landlines, but you may have to pay if you:

  • use another phone company
  • use a mobile phone
  • are calling from abroad

Calls from mobile phones can cost up to 40p a minute, so check the cost of the calls with your service provider.

Textphones

Textphones are for people who find it hard to speak or hear clearly. Textphone numbers can only receive calls made from another textphone. If you do not have a textphone of your own but need to use one, try your local library or an advice centre like the Citizens Advice Bureau, who may have one.

Claiming online

You can claim online via the Department for Work and Pensions' Benefits online service.

Downloading a claim form

If you would like to fill in the claim form by yourself, you can download it. You will have to print this form and post it to Jobcentre Plus.

There are guidance notes which you need to read before filling in the claim form.

There are two versions of the form. One version must be printed and filled in with a pen. The other version can be filled in using the computer.

You can save this interactive form as you fill it in. This means that you do not have to complete the form in one go. The 'save' feature only works in Adobe Reader 7.0 and above.

After you have completed the form on screen, you will have to print and sign it.

Please note that these forms do not apply in Northern Ireland.

What to do if your circumstances change

It is important to contact the Jobcentre Plus office dealing with your claim if your circumstances change. You can do this by telephone - the number will be on letters they have sent to you. For example if:

  • you do any work, including voluntary work
  • you start training and get a training allowance
  • you change your address
  • you have been in hospital for 52 weeks and part of your benefit is paid for someone else
  • you go abroad

How to appeal

If you are refused Employment and Support Allowance or if you have questions about your payment, you can ask the office that dealt with your claim to look again at their decision. If you are still unhappy with the outcome, you can appeal.

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