Hospital Admission - Income Support/Jobseeker's Allowance (Income based)
How hospital admission affects you or your family.
Customer
Single
Immediately:
As the customer is sick and is not available for work they cannot claim for Jobseeker's Allowance and need to claim Employment and Support Allowance.
This will not apply if the customer is able to take advantage of the provisions which apply to short periods of sickness whilst on Jobseeker's Allowance.
A person may continue to receive Jobseeker's Allowance for two periods of sickness of not more than 2 weeks duration in a jobseeking period, or in a 12 month period where the jobseeking period exceeds 12 months.
In these cases payment could continue for not more than 2 weeks whilst the customer is in hospital.
After four weeks:
Severe Disability Premium is withdrawn as there is no longer any title to Attendance Allowance / Disability Living Allowance care component.
Read more on:
- Severe Disability Premium (people with disabilities section)
- Attendance Allowance (people with disabilities section)
- Disability Living Allowance (people with disabilities section)
52 weeks:
Entitlement to other premiums ceases.
- Read more on Premiums
Partnered
Immediately:
As the customer is sick and is not available for work they cannot claim for Jobseeker's Allowance and need to claim Employment and Support Allowance.
This will not apply if the customer is able to take advantage of the provisions which apply to short periods of sickness whilst on Jobseeker's Allowance.
A person may continue to receive Jobseeker's Allowance for two periods of sickness of not more than two weeks duration in a jobseeking period, or in a 12 month period where the jobseeking period exceeds 12 months.
In these cases payment could continue for not more than two weeks whilst the customer is in hospital.
Read more on:
After four weeks:
Severe Disability Premium is withdrawn, or reduced.
After 52 weeks:
If a member of a couple has been in hospital for 52 weeks and the hospitalisation is deemed permanent the customer and partner must claim separately as they are no longer treated as members of the same household. The member of the couple in hospital is awarded the full personal allowance rate. If the hospitalisation is deemed temporary the couple's benefit remains in payment at the full rate.
Lone Parent
Immediately:
As the customer is sick and is not available for work they cannot claim for Jobseeker's Allowance and need to claim Income Support (if their dependant child or children are under seven) or Employment and Support Allowance.
Read more on:
After four weeks:
Severe Disability Premium is withdrawn as there is no longer any entitlement to Attendance Allowance / Disability Living Allowance care component.
Read more on:
- Severe Disability Premium (people with disabilities section)
- Attendance Allowance (people with disabilities section)
- Disability Living Allowance (people with disabilities section)
After 52 weeks:
Benefits for dependent children and the Family Premium may continue for as long as the patient is treated as a lone parent.Housing costs are met if the dependent children still live at home.
Any new claim to Income Support awarded from the 6th April 2004 will not include child-related elements because support for children will be provided by Child Tax Credit (CTC). Families already on Income Support in April 2004 who have not already claimed CTC will be moved across to CTC at a future date.

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