Skip to main content
N I Direct government services

Main navigation

  • Home
  • News
  • Contacts
  • Help
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • RSS

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Benefits and money
  3. Benefits and financial support
  4. Support if you're employed or looking for work
  5. Universal Credit

Universal Credit if you have a health condition or disability

Universal Credit can support you if you have a health condition, disability or terminal illness which stops you from working or limits the amount of work you can do.

If you have a health condition or disability

As part of your claim for this benefit, or a review of an existing claim, you may need to go to a face-to-face health assessment. Read how to safely go to a face-to-face health assessment. You will not need to do this if you have a terminal illness

If you are ill or have a disability, you must tell Universal Credit as soon as you make your claim or as soon as the illness or disability occurs. This will help Universal Credit to provide you with the help and support you need.

If your illness or disability limits the work you can do, or stops you from working, you may be able to get an extra monthly amount as well as your monthly standard allowance.

You will still need to need to agree a claimant commitment so it is important to report an illness or disability to allow your work coach to consider the effect it may have on your claimant commitment. For example, if your illness or disability stops you from working your work coach may be able to adjust or pause your claimant commitment until you are fit for work.

If you need help with your claim, you can contact Universal Credit through your Universal Credit online account, speak with your work coach in your local Jobs and Benefits office or phone the Universal Credit Service Centre.

You may have to go to a Work Capability Assessment to find out if you:

  • are fit for work
  • have limited capability for work (meaning that you cannot work now, but you can prepare for work sometime in the future)
  • have limited capability for work and work related activity (meaning that you are unable to work and do not have to look for or prepare for work)

Your Work Capability Assessment will check what you can and can’t do on a day to day basis.  You can also tell Universal Credit if your condition changes over time, and how it changes.  The Work Capability Assessment will help you and your Work Coach to discuss and agree the things you have to do to get Universal Credit.

If you move from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) to Universal Credit and have already had a Work Capability Assessment. This will last until a new Work Capability Assessment decision is made following a review.

If you have limited capability for work, you can earn a certain amount before your Universal Credit payment is reduced. This is called a Work Allowance. You will keep 45p from every £1 you earn over your Work Allowance until your earnings are too high to get Universal Credit.

If your Work Capability Assessment finds you fit for work and you stay ill or have a disability which continues to limit the work you can do, you should continue to supply medical evidence and request that you are referred for another Work Capability Assessment.

If you are already claiming Universal Credit and your health condition changes, you can stay on Universal Credit but you must report your new circumstances and supply medical evidence.

Medical evidence

If you have a health condition or disability which limits your capability for work, when you make you claim or while you are claiming you need to immediately complete a self-certification for up to the first seven days.  

This is a declaration you complete to say you have a health condition or disability which limits your capability for work.

You can report the self–certification using your online account, over the phone or at your local Jobs and Benefits office.

From the eighth day that you are unfit for work, after the period of self-certification expires, you must provide acceptable medical evidence. This will normally be a Statement of Fitness for Work (SoFFW). This is called a fit note, sick note, medical certificate or doctor’s note and it may be an electronic or hand written copy.

It can be provided by any doctor or authorised registered Health Care Professionals (HCPs) which are Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Pharmacists and Physiotherapists.

Acceptable medical evidence includes a:

  • statement of Fitness for Work
  • doctor's letter
  • terminally ill form - DS1500 (or the new SR1 form)
  • hospital inpatient form - Med10
  • psychiatric hospital admission form
  • hospital discharge letter
  • private medical certificates
  • other evidence

Medical evidence is not required if you have moved from ESA to Universal Credit, and ESA advised that you no longer need to supply fit notes.

For further information on when you need to send medical evidence for a health condition or disability, speak to your Work Coach.

For further information see Financial support for people with disabilities.

Universal Credit if you have a terminal illness

If you have a progressive disease or health condition and due to that condition you are not expected to live more than 12 months, you may get benefits at a higher rate, get extra money or get payments quicker than usual.  

If you have a terminal illness you must tell Universal Credit as soon as you make your claim or as soon as the illness occurs. This will help Universal Credit to make sure you receive the help and support you need to make or maintain your claim. You can report a terminal illness when you are making a claim for Universal Credit or at any point during your claim. 

You can report a terminal illness during your claim using your online journal, by phone or at an appointment in your local Jobs and  Benefits office.

You will need to ask your medical professional to complete a DS1500 or SR1 form.  They will have copies of the form. This could be your:

  • GP
  • hospital or hospice doctors
  • registered nurses (for example, Macmillan nurses or specialist nurses)

The DS1500 or SR1 form confirms your diagnosis along with your current and proposed treatment plan, and it should be sent to the Department for Communities (DfC) at the following address:  

Freepost,
Universal Credit NI 

or to the nearest Jobs and Benefit office by you or by your medical professional. 

If you are found to be eligible for the Special Rules for Terminal Illnesses, you will be treated as having Limited Capability for Work and Work related Activity (LCWRA), and will be eligible for an additional amount of money from the first day of the assessment period in which you reported it.

If it is decided that you have LCWRA, you will not be expected to look for work. You will not need to provide a fit note or have to go to a Work Capability Assessment.

If you are terminally ill, you will no longer need to agree a Claimant Commitment or be required to go to or be in contact with your Job and Benefit Centre.

Further information is available about claiming benefits if you have a terminal illness

Universal Credit if you get a Severe Disability Premium 

From February 2021 if you are receiving Severe Disability Premium and you have a change in your circumstances, you may move onto Universal Credit.

You will be eligible for transitional payments to make sure you don’t lose money when you move. This is known as Transitional Protection.

Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment

You can claim Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) at the same time

Help with the cost of some health services and travel

If you are claiming Universal Credit you may be entitled to free dental treatment, free eye sight tests, vouchers towards the cost of glasses or contact lens or help with the costs of travel for treatment on referral by a doctor or dentist. 

People claiming Universal Credit need to make a separate application for help with health service or travel costs using a Help with Health Costs (HC1) form

More useful links

  • Cost of Living Payments
  • Contacting 08 and 03 numbers
Share this page Share on Facebook (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share on Twitter (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share by email (external link opens in a new window / tab)

Universal Credit

  • Agree your Universal Credit Commitment
  • Changes that may affect your Universal Credit
  • Changes you need to tell Universal Credit about
  • Contact Universal Credit for help with your claim
  • Extra help to make or maintain your Universal Credit claim
  • Find out who to contact about money taken off your Universal Credit payment
  • Frontier and cross border workers claiming Universal Credit
  • Help to find work on Universal Credit
  • Help while waiting for a Universal Credit payment
  • How much can be taken from your Universal Credit payments
  • How much Universal Credit you get and how you're paid
  • How you make a claim for Universal Credit
  • Money taken from your Universal Credit payments
  • More financial help if you get Universal Credit
  • Unable to manage your Universal Credit claim by yourself
  • Universal Credit - Sharing your information with others
  • Universal Credit if you have a health condition or disability
  • Universal Credit if you're claiming other benefits or tax credits
  • Universal Credit if you're employed
  • Universal Credit if you're self-employed
  • Universal Credit if you're unemployed
  • Universal Credit payments for children and childcare
  • Universal Credit payments for housing
  • Universal Credit reclaims
  • Universal Credit: advance payments
  • Universal Credit: two child limit
  • What to do after you have claimed Universal Credit
  • What will affect your Universal Credit payments
  • Who can claim Universal Credit
  • Who to contact if you disagree with Universal Credit's decision
  • Who to talk to about deductions from your Universal Credit
  • You want to claim Universal Credit again

Translation help

How to translate this page

Help improve this page - send your feedback

What do you want to do?
Report a problem
Which problem did you find on this page? (Tick all that apply)

Messages

You will not receive a reply. We will consider your feedback to help improve the site.

Don't include any personal or financial information, for example National Insurance, credit card numbers, or phone numbers.

What is your question about?

What to do next

Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk 

If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit.  Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

Carer's Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912
Email 
dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Discretionary support / Short-term benefit advance

Call 0800 587 2750 
Email 
customerservice.unit@communities-ni.gov.uk

Disability Living Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912 
Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Employment and Support Allowance

Call 0800 587 1377

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

Personal Independence Payment

Call 0800 587 0932

If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

For queries or advice about careers, contact the Careers Service.

For queries or advice about Child Maintenance, contact the Child Maintenance Service.

For queries or advice about claiming compensation due to a road problem, contact DFI Roads claim unit.

If you can’t find the information you’re looking for in the Coronavirus (COVID-19) section, then for queries about:

  • Restrictions or regulations — contact the Department of Health
  • Travel advice (including self-isolation) — contact the Department of Health
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations — contact the Department of Health or Public Health Agency

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk and for queries about your certificate, email covidcertni@hscni.net.

For queries or advice about criminal record checks, email ani@accessni.gov.uk

Application and payment queries can be emailed to ema_ni@slc.co.uk

For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

For queries about the High Street Spend Local Scheme,  email HSSS.mail@economy-ni.gov.uk.

For queries about:

  • Car tax, vehicle registration and SORN
    contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Swansea
     
  • Driver licensing and tests, MOT and vehicle testing
    contact the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), Northern Ireland

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk.

 

For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

For queries or advice about rates, email LPSCustomerTeam@lpsni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about  60+ and Senior Citizen SmartPasses (which can be used to get concessionary travel on public transport), contact Smartpass - Translink.

If you have a question about a government service or policy, you should contact the relevant government organisation directly.  We don't have access to information about you.

Related sites

  • gov.uk
  • nibusinessinfo.co.uk

Links to supporting information

  • Accessibility statement
  • Crown copyright
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • RSS