What work am I permitted to do on ESA?
You can do some work while you claim and still get the same amount of ESA! This is called permitted work. Any work you do will be permitted work if you earn less than £20 a week. You can also work up to 16 hours a week and earn up to £143 a week and this is still classed as permitted work.
There used to be a 52-week rule for people in the work-related activity group (WRAG). This rule said that you could only do permitted work in the WRAG for no more than 52 weeks. This rule no longer exists. From 17th April 2017 all ESA claimants can do permitted work for as long as they want.
Supported Permitted Work
Supported permitted work is work that is part of your treatment, or is supervised by someone who arranges work for disabled people.
This might be someone from the local authority or a voluntary organisation and as long as you don’t earn more than £143 a week, it offers the opportunity for you to carry out supported permitted work without affecting your ESA.
It’s important to note that you need to tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) if you do any supported permitted work. If they think your ability to work has changed, they may ask you to do another work capability assessment.
