Employment and Support Allowance: capability, personalization and disabled people in the UK

In 2008 the Employment and Support Allowance was introduced in the UK as the income replacement benefit for disabled people. In this paper we focus upon the reasons for its introduction, the notions of disability and the two main ideas – capability and personalization – that provide the framework for its operation. The paper engages with the arguments put forward by the UK's government that the Employment and Support Allowance will enable disabled people to access paid work in greater numbers. The paper argues that Employment and Support Allowance will become part of a disabling employment architecture because it does little to improve the human capital of disabled people and is concerned with getting them into entry-level employment that is part of the ‘low pay, no pay’ cycle.