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| Home | Overview | Disability | Employment | Services | Education | Benefits | Business | Advice | Links | More... |
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These pages do not apply outside Great Britain.
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This page does not apply outside Great Britain. (Northern Ireland has its own legislation but with many similarities.)
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Have I heard of anyone receiving benefits on the basis of a stammer?
Yes in relation to: I also know of someone who was awarded severe disablement allowance, but this is not now available for new claimants. |
I don't suggest that a person who stammers shouldn't go out and get a job if they can. However, some people who stammer have not been able to find work, or may be in low-paid jobs, in which case the benefit system is very important to them.
The first part of this page summarises the tests a stammer has to meet to increase your entitlement to benefits. The tests nearer the top are those I think are more likely to be useful. I then deal briefly with each relevant benefit in turn, listed in alphabetical order. I do not usually go into detail, but you can get further information from the sources listed at the bottom of the page. You can get an overview of the page from the page index at the top. See also the disclaimer. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has claimed allowances on the basis of stammering (atyrer2000@yahoo.co.uk).
| Proposals to use lie detector test for benefit claims. Voice analysis ('lie detector') technology for benefit claims announced in April 2007 could unfairly disadvantage people who stammer. More... |
An Access to Work grant may be available if a person has a 'disability'. This seems to be based on the DDA test (under which a stammer will very often qualify). At least up to early 2007, grants were sometimes given to buy an electronic aid to help the person speak more fluently. However, I understand grants for these devices have been suspended at the moment - see below for more.
More usefully, for students a Disabled Student Allowance may be available to fund an electronic aid for stammering. The DDA test does not necessarily apply. However, I slot it in here partly because it is another way of funding electronic aids, and partly because it may be relevant where the level of stammering is fairly 'normal'.
An important test is whether you are incapable for work. This can qualify you for income support, the disability premium and/or incapacity benefit. It is also a ground for being credited with National Insurance contributions.
Whether you are incapable for work is usually decided through the 'personal capability assessment', formerly known as the 'all-work' test. Under this, to qualify as incapable solely because of a stammer it needs to be so severe that you 'cannot speak', or your 'speech cannot be understood by family or friends', or your 'speech cannot be understood by strangers'.
So clearly your stammer needs to be quite severe. However, a stammer has in appropriate circumstances been accepted as meeting this test, on the basis that the speech could not be understood. You don't have to be incapable of being understood all the time. If you have any disability in addition to the stammer, a points system means that a lesser degree of stammering may be sufficient for you to meet the test.
The assessment generally involves you filling out a questionnaire and attending a medical examination.
If you have worked recently enough, then for the first 28 weeks your 'incapacity for work' (relevant for the benefits listed above) is decided not by the personal capability assessment but by the 'own occupation' test. You look at whether you can do your own type of work. In more detail, one looks at whether you are incapable by reason of some specific disease or bodily or mental disablement of doing work which you could reasonably be expected to do in the course of the occupation in which you were engaged. The test is based on certificates from your doctor.
Becoming incapable of a job you are employed to do, eg perhaps if you get a really severe patch of stammering, can also entitle you to statutory sick pay. The detailed test is different from the "own occupation" test.
There are other aspects to the incapacity for work test which I don't deal with here. In particular you are normally but not always treated as capable of work on any day when you actually work. There are also certain rules for linking interrupted periods of incapacity to form a single period.
The disability living allowance lower rate mobility component is aimed at people who can walk but cannot generally use this ability on unfamiliar routes without someone to guide or supervise them. I have heard of two people who stammer successfully claiming this.
More detail on requiring person to guide or supervise...
This is relevant for working tax credit disability element. To get this benefit you need to be working. As regards a stammer, you generally need to be able to say that 'people who know you well have difficulty in understanding what you say'.
Disability living allowance care component or, for those aged 65 or over, attendance allowance may be available if one requires attention in connection with bodily functions, which can include speech. (There are other ways to qualify for these allowances which are not relevant to stammering.)
I have not heard of anyone successfully using this ground on the basis of a stammer. However, it has been argued that some people who stammer may require someone to communicate for them. Also, in appropriate cases it may be possible to be argue that the difficulty of communicating with a person who has a severe stammer demands the necessary 'attention' from the other person in the conversation.
More detail on requiring attention in connection with bodily functions...
You may be entitled to income support if you are working but your earnings are reduced to 75% or less of what someone without your disability would reasonably be expected to earn if they worked the same number of hours in your type of job, or in a comparable job in the area. I haven't heard of a case of a person who stammers where the test was relevant.
A similar rules applies where hours worked are at least 75% less than would be expected for someone without a disability doing that type of job.
This is not really a social security benefit. It is a grant towards extra employment costs that result from a person's disability. Grants have been given towards the cost of electronic fluency devices which may help a person who stammers be more fluent - see BSA website: Access to Work.
The availability of the grant is a relevant factor towards an employer being required to provide a device as a reasonable adjustment.
Electronic fluency devices (using DAF, FAF and/or masking) may help a person speak more fluently. Examples marketed in the UK are SpeechEasy and VoiceAmp, or Casafutura sell devices from the US. See BSA website: Electronic fluency devices on these devices and their effectiveness, and possible suppliers.
The BSA website: Access to Work has information specifically on current arrangements for Access to Work grants on electronic fluency devices, but general information on Access to Work is at www.direct.gov.uk, and Access to Work on Jobcentre Plus website.
So far as relevant to stammering, you may be entitled to AA if you are 65 or over and so severely disabled physically or mentally that you require from another person frequent 'attention in connection with your bodily functions' throughout the day.
May be available if you are responsible for a child or young person.
It includes a 'disabled child element' if the child or young person is receiving DLA at any rate, for example the DLA lower rate mobility component.
DLA may be payable if you require help from another person. You need to first claim before the age of 65. It is available even for a child under 16 if an additional test is met.
Like attendance allowance, an advantage of DLA is that it is not normally deducted from your income support or similar income-related benefits. It is payable even if you are working. It can also entitle you to other benefits, including the disability premium and sometimes a severe disability premium.
So far as relevant to stammering, there are two routes under which one might be able to claim DLA:
You may qualify for DLA lower rate mobility component if you are able to walk but are
"so severely disabled physically or mentally that, disregarding any ability [you] may have to use routes which are familiar to [you] on [your] own, [you] cannot take advantage of the faculty out of doors without guidance or supervision from another person most of the time."
I have heard of two people who stammer successfully claiming for this. The lower rate mobility component is £16.50 pw for 2006/7. More on mobility component and stammering...
You may be entitled to DLA if you are so severely disabled physically or mentally that you 'require' from another person 'attention in connection with your bodily functions'.
More on care compoment and stammering...
This isn't a benefit in its own right but increases the 'applicable amount' to which your income is topped up by way of income support or income-based Jobseekers allowance. It can also entitle you to the £20 earnings disregard, and increase your housing and council tax benefit. The premium for 2006/7 is £24.50 pw (or £34.95 for a couple).
You generally get the disability premium if you meet the 'incapacity for work' test and have been incapable for 52 weeks. Certain breaks in this period are allowed. You or your partner could also get the premium if you are on certain other benefits such as SDA , DLA, long-term IB or WTC disability element.
Those aged 60 or over get a pensioner premium instead of the disability premium, and may still be entitled to the £20 earnings disregard.
These are non-means tested allowances, so they are not dependent on your income. For people who stammer, their main interest is that they could pay for an electronic fluency device. VoiceAmp and SpeechEasy are fluency devices marketed in the UK and others are available by mail order - see BSA website: Electronic fluency devices. An allowance has actually been granted to fund a VoiceAmp device ('Student allowance granted for fluency device' on BSA website). Allowances could also cover a computer to calibrate the device, and premiums to insure the equipment.
(Disabled students' allowances might also perhaps be available for text to speech (TTS) technology if the student needs it, though people will probably prefer an electronic fluency device if it works for them.)
For more information on Disabled Students' Allowances:
There is a 'Skill' information booklet at www.skill.org.uk/uploads/he_dsa.doc. Also the disability officer at your university should be able to help, and perhaps the supplier of the device. Official guidance and forms depends on where you normally live:
England: www.studentfinancedirect.co.uk - select either 'I am planning to go into further education' or 'I am a continuing student', then link to 'Forms and Guides' and scroll down to the heading 'Disabled Students Allowance'. That includes the 'Bridging The Gap' guide, as well as an application form and guidance notes.
Scotland: www.saas.gov.uk/student_support/special_circumstances/disabled_students_allowance.htm
Wales: www.studentfinancewales.co.uk
Northern Ireland: www.studentfinanceni.co.uk
You may be automatically entitled to housing benefit - which helps people pay their rent - and main council tax benefit (CTB) on the basis that you are entitled to income support, income-based Jobseekers allowance, or the guarantee credit of pension credit. (Where a 'second adult' in the house is entitled to one of these benefits, 'second adult rebate' may be available if it is more beneficial than main CTB.)
Where you are not entitled on that basis, one looks at whether and how far your income exceeds the 'applicable amount', which is a figure representing your weekly living needs. This 'applicable amount' can be increased by the disability premium where that applies. Depending on the figures, the disability premium can increase your entitlement to housing benefit and main council tax benefit, or give you an entitlement where you wouldn't otherwise have one.
Similarly, the applicable amount can be increased by a 'disabled child premium' if a child living with you gets DLA, for example the DLA lower rate mobility component.
In the context of these two benefits, disability can also be relevant in claiming the £20 earnings disregard, the childcare costs earnings disregard, and the 16-hours earnings disregard - and in claiming the benefits at all if you are a full-time student.
Available broadly if you meet the 'incapacity for work' test and either you have made sufficient national insurance contributions in the right years or your period of incapacity for work starts before age 20 (age 25 for certain students and trainees) and you claim in time. Various breaks are allowed in a period of incapacity.
Short-term incapacity benefit is payable in the first 52 weeks of a period of incapacity, though the first 28 weeks may be replaced by SSP. Long-term incapacity benefit is payable after that, often with an age addition. You do not normally get the benefit above state pension age. Incapacity benefit has the advantage over income support of not being means-tested. Incapacity benefit is deducted from any income support you might be claiming.
Since stammering is often ongoing, it is important to remember the possibility of those under 20 (25 for certain students and trainees) claiming incapacity benefit without paying national insurance contributions. This is known as a claim for 'incapacity benefit in youth'. To qualify, you need 196 days (28 weeks) of continuous incapacity. People as young as 16 can claim, but those under 19 may be excluded if in full-time education. You need to start your claim not later than the day of incapacity immediately following the 28 week qualifying period which started on the day before your 20th (or 25th) birthday. However, you may be able to backdate a claim up to 3 months after the end of that period. Having served the qualifying period and made the claim in due time, it is possible to remain on incapacity benefit right up to pension age if one stays in the same period of incapacity. If you do not claim in time for IB in youth, you need to have sufficient NI contributions.
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Work-focused interviews
If you claim income support or incapacity benefit, you are required to attend an interview to discuss your work prospects with a 'personal advisor'. You normally have to attend and take part in the interview unless you have 'good cause'. (You generally only have 5 working days to tell the personal advisor why you failed to take part.) Otherwise the benefit claim will lapse or be reduced. You should go even if any chance of work seems remote. The personal advisor can waive or defer attendance if he considers the interview would not be of assistance to you or appropriate in the circumstances. For claims in respect of a disability, you will probably need to help the personal advisor complete an 'action plan', listing steps you are willing to take to enhance your job prospects. Whether the claimant actually takes these steps is up to him (though of course it may help you get a job if you take these steps). There is a more intensive regime of interviews in areas of the country where 'Pathways to Work' is being piloted. Furthermore, in these areas a doctor doing a medical examination to assess 'incapacity for work' will also do a 'capability report'. This is not relevant to benefit entitlement but goes to the personal advisor. |
Income support (IS) tops up low or zero incomes to a basic minimum, called your 'applicable amount'. It is for people who are not required to sign on as available for work, namely people who fall into one of various qualifying categories such as 'incapacity for work' or being a lone parent. Entitlement to income support can bring other benefits and advantages, such as free prescriptions and dental treatment. For people aged 60 or over, IS has been replaced by pension credit.
One way you may qualify for IS is by meeting the 'incapacity for work' test. Your income and capital also need to be low enough.
If you are entitled to IS, you may also be entitled to the disability premium, which increases the 'applicable amount' to which your income is topped up. If you are entitled to the disability premium, you also benefit from the £20 earnings disregard - if you have earnings.
Although a young person who is under 20 and still in education is often excluded from IS, there are exceptions which may enable you to claim anyway if you are entitled to the disability premium or have been incapable of work for a certain period - provided you are 16 or over.
Apart from 'incapacity for work', a possible alternative route to qualify for IS is if you get substantially less pay (or hours) because of the stammer.
See the box on work-focused interviews.
If you are not entitled to IS, you generally need to sign on and claim Jobseekers allowance.
JSA is generally available where you are available for work and actively seeking work. Where you have paid enough national insurance contributions, a flat-rate JSA is payable for six months. Otherwise, or after that, or to top it up, a means-tested 'income-based JSA' may be payable, similar to income support. If you are entitled to certain other benefits, the amount to which your income is topped up by income-based JSA is increased by the disability premium. JSA would generally not be appropriate where you are incapable for work , though it can be possible to move on to JSA even though you have previously been assessed as incapable.
You will need to agree and sign a 'jobseekers agremment'. There are rules allowing you to place restrictions on your availability for work which are reasonable given your disability. You can do this without having to show you still have reasonable employment prospects, unless you impose non-disability related restrictions as well.
The issue has arisen of a person who stammers not being able to face a job interview because of the stammer, and being threatened with having their JSA stopped because of this. There may be scope to argue here that one has 'good cause' for not attending an interview. On the other hand, even it that succeeds, if you regularly don't go to interviews because of this, you may not be 'available for work' or 'actively seeking work'. A letter from a speech and language therapist explaining the situation to the Jobcentre Plus may be helpful.
There are various schemes designed to help people get work. Where required, there are specialist services to help disabled people into work. In particular, if your stammer is causing additional problems in getting a job you can be referred to a Disability Employment Advisor (DEA). A DEA can be contacted through your local Jobcentre Plus. Some people who stammer are interested in job opportunities particularly focused on disabled people (eg Remploy), as to which see under 'Further information' below.
Incapacity for work (or claiming Jobseekers Allowance or certain other benefits) can entitle you to be credited with National Insurance contributions. This does not give the same rights as actually paying National Insurance contributions but can help to a certain extent with claiming contributory benefits.
This is a means-tested benefit for those aged 60 and over. There are two elements. The guarantee credit makes up the difference if your income is below a certain level, and a savings credit may be payable for those aged 65 or over.
Unlike income support, stammering alone is unlikely to affect the level of pension credit. A possible exception is the severe disability premium if (very unusually) you have been able to claim DLA middle rate care component or AA.
SDA was abolished with effect from 6th April, 2001, and is therefore no longer open to first-time claimants. People already receiving SDA can continue on SDA subject to the normal rules, and may re-claim in some cases. Those aged under 20 at 5/4/01 were moved onto long-term incapacity benefit from April 2002.
A key test for entitlement to SDA was 80% disablement. Though new claims cannot now be made, the test may be relevant for existing or repeat claims. See more on 80% disablement. A tribunal decision on a stammer held a particular person who stammers to have 90% disablement.
This can be payable for up to 28 weeks of absence from work where you are incapable of doing the job you are employed to do because of sickness or disability for at least 4 days in a row. This is not normally thought of in connection with stammering, but it seems it could apply where the stammer goes through a really severe patch or generally deteriorates. Incapacity benefit may be payable after the 28 weeks - the personal capability assessment rather than the 'own occupation test' then applies.
Working tax credit may be available on various grounds if you or your partner works at least 16 hours per week.
One ground for claiming WTC - and enabling you to get the WTC disability element - is if you have a disability which puts you at a disadvantage in getting a job. You also need to have been receiving some form of disability benefit.
On the face of it, a stammer will often put you at a disadvantage in getting a job. However, the test is rather misleading because to meet it you actually have to fall within one of certain categories. As regards a stammer, you generally need to be able to say that 'people who know you well have difficulty in understanding what you say'.
There are further conditions you have to satisfy to get working tax credit on the basis of disability, for example as to level of income and what other disability-related benefit you were or are on.
Remember there are other possible grounds for claiming WTC not related to disability, eg if you have a dependent child or work at least 30 hours a week.
Working tax credit is adminstered by HM Revenue & Customs - www.taxcredits.inlandrevenue.gov.uk.
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© Allan Tyrer 2000-2006
Last updated 23rd July, 2006 (and 20th Dec 2007 on Access to Work)
Personal capability
DLA - mobility
DLA - attention
SDA (old)
