Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit - Can I get Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit?

People who are disabled because of:

• an accident at work, or

• in the course of their work, or

• who have certain diseases caused by their work.

Only industrial diseases qualify, for example, diseases caused by chemicals you have worked with, or hearing loss caused by your work. The Department for Work and Pensions website has a list of the industrial diseases and the jobs linked to them.

You do not have to have paid national insurance contributions to get IIDB. You can get it even if you carry on working or go back to work. It does not matter how much savings, capital or other income you have.

You cannot get IIDB if you were self-employed.

Making a claim for IIDB and any extra allowances can be complicated. It’s a good idea to get advice from a specialist adviser before you apply. They can help you understand if you’re eligible and how much you might receive, as this will depend on your personal situation.

You can use the Turn2us Find and Adviser tool to find advice services in your area.

How is it assessed?

A doctor will assess how your disability affects you. The extent of your disablement will be stated as a percentage. This percentage will only reflect the disability caused by the accident or disease you are claiming for. If you have an unrelated or pre-existing condition, the doctor will not include the effects of that in your percentage disablement. 

Depending on the extent of your disability, this assessment will last:

• For a fixed period

• For life.

You can be reassessed if the level of disability caused by your accident or disease worsens or when a fixed period assessment comes to an end.