Disablement benefit is paid to people who have had an accident at work or who have developed a disease which is due to the job they are or were doing.

If you have an accident at work you can claim this benefit if you have a disablement. Disablement is usually described as your overall ability to perform the normal activities of life - the loss of health, strength and power to enjoy a normal life. It is assessed by comparing your condition with with that of a person of the same age and sex whose physical and mental condition is "normal".

If you have an accident you should wherever possible:

• report it - try to ensure the accident is recorded in the accident book
• seek medical attention either at your workplace, your GP or local hospital
• as soon as possible after the accident write down the details - the date, the time, what happened, the names of anyone who saw what happened and who you reported the accident to.

You can claim disablement benefit from your local Benefits Agency office - you should try to do this within three months of the accident - you may be able to claim after this time has expired. Contact us for advice.

Claims for disablement benefit are decided following a medical examination. You will be awarded a "percentage disablement" - percentages above 14% lead to a weekly cash payment, below 14% there is usually no payment - again seek our advice if in doubt.

Disablement can also be due to a disease. For example miners may develop pnemoconiosis following exposure to dust, workers may develop asthma due to working in a dusty environment. Sometimes a disease may not be due to your work or a disease such as arthritis which may be due to lifting heavy boxes or bales is not classed as a disease. The Benefits Agency produce a leaflet to tell you if you have a disease or not or call our ADVICE HOTLINE ON 01257 424000. Those diseases that are accepted as due to work are called "prescribed diseases". Just to further complicate matters - say you became unconscious due to exposure to chemicals. You may then develop a disease but the original exposure may be classed as an accident.

If you are claiming for hearing loss or asthma due to work there is a special rule. Put simply you must have spent at least 10 years working in the job which caused the disease and you must claim within 5 years of leaving the job.

If you have been given an assessment of disablement and are now worse due to the effects of the accident or disease you can ask for your assessment to be looked at again. This procedure is called a supersession. With this procedure your whole assessment will be looked at again. This means the percentage can be increased, left the same or reduced. If you are thinking of doing this PLEASE GET ADVICE BEFOREHAND.

Reduced Earnings Allowance

Finally, a brief mention of Reduced Earnings Allowance. This benefit is paid as a kind of compensation if your wages have dropped due to the effects of an industrial accident or disease. But you can only claim if the accident or date you first had the disease falls before October 1990.

If you claim Income Support, Housing or Council Tax Benefit the amount you receive will be affected by any Disablement Benefit or Reduced Earnings Allowance you receive. Consider this before you claim.

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