Study and benefits

If you start a part-time study course you will be able to carry on claiming income support.

If you start full-time study when you already get income support then you will be able to carry on claiming this benefit if you satisfy one of the following conditions:

• You have been receiving income support on the grounds of disability or incapacity since before 27.10.08 and have not yet been transferred to ESA
• You're a disabled student and you get a income support disability premium.
• You're a disabled student and you've been off work and getting incapacity-related benefit for 28 weeks.
• You're a lone parent whose youngest child is under the age of 16.

Income related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

If you study a part-time course you will be able to carry on claiming income-related ESA. However, if you are studying full time you cannot qualify for income-related ESA unless you are receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA).

Note any student loan, grant or bursary may be assessed as income and affect the amount of income-related ESA, income- related job seekers allowance (JSA), housing benefit and council tax benefit.

If you study a part-time course you will be able to carry on claiming Incapacity Benefit or Contributory ESA.

If you are studying full time then in most cases, you can get Incapacity Benefit or Contributory ESA in term-time and during your holidays.

However, you can't make a claim for this benefit if you are under 19 years old and in full-time education.

Also, you cannot be treated as capable of work simply because you are studying.

You might be eligible for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefits if you start to study part-time.

If you decide to study full-time then you'll only be able to carry on claiming this benefit if you satisfy one of the following conditions:

• You're a disabled student and you get the disability premium.
• You're a disabled student and you've been incapable of work for 28 weeks.
• You're a lone parent whose youngest child is under the age of 16.

If all the adult residents in your home are students you won't be liable to pay council tax.

Note any student loan, grant or bursary may be assessed as income and affect the amount of income-related ESA, income-related job seekers allowance JSA, housing benefit. and council tax benefit.

You can study part-time and get JSA if the training takes place outside the hours you are required to be available for work. The DWP needs to be satisfied that you are genuinely available for and actively seeking work, and you are:

1. able to rearrange the hours of the course or study to fit around a job
2. you are willing and able to give up the course should a job become available.

Students attending a full-time course are normally excluded from JSA until the end of the course. However, there are two exceptions: 

1. If you have a partner who is also a student and have a dependent child, then you can get JSA during the long holidays as long as you are available for work. 
2. People who are 25 years old and over, and have been claiming JSA for at least two years, can still claim JSA if they go on a full-time employment-related course of a year or less.

If you study part-time you can claim Carer's Allowance as long as you are available to care for at least 35 hours a week.

If you study full-time you will not be eligible for Carer’s Allowance.