Can you have both?
Yes
but they interact
IIDB at 100% disablement
£233.90
per week, 2026/27
Minimum disablement
14%
rounded up to 20%
Time limit
3 years
IIDB has no fixed limit
Personal Injury Solicitor at Claim Time Solicitors, Birmingham. Handling personal injury and child injury claims across England and Wales on a No Win No Fee basis.
Reviewed against the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997, DWP IIDB technical guidance, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and SRA standards. Benefit rates change each April. For general information only, not benefits or legal advice.
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, usually shortened to IIDB and shown as DWP IIB on bank statements, is a tax-free weekly payment from the Department for Work and Pensions for disablement caused by work. You do not have to prove that anyone was at fault. It pays £233.90 a week at 100 per cent assessed disablement, down to £46.78 at 20 per cent.
You can receive it and bring a personal injury claim at the same time, and one does not block the other. They are not simply added together. Under the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 the IIDB you have already received is recovered by the DWP and offset against the loss of earnings part of your compensation. Damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity are protected from that offset entirely.
This guide covers what IIDB pays, who qualifies, how disablement is assessed, when payments stop, what happens after a death, and how the benefit interacts with a claim. That last part is where most guides stop short, and it is the part that decides what you actually keep.
If you have been injured at work or diagnosed with a work-related condition, you will probably encounter two very different routes to financial support, and a great deal of writing online that treats them as interchangeable. They are not. IIDB and a personal injury claim are governed by separate legislation, decided by different bodies, assessed on different criteria, and paid in different forms.
The question that actually matters to most people is whether you can have both, and what happens to the money if you do. This guide answers that directly, including the benefit recovery rule that determines what you keep and which most comparisons of IIDB vs personal injury claim omit entirely.
Can you claim Industrial Injury Disablement Benefit and personal injury compensation?
Yes, and many injured workers do. Claiming IIDB does not prevent a personal injury claim, and bringing a personal injury claim does not disqualify you from IIDB. The two run on separate tracks. What you need to understand before settling is how the Compensation Recovery Unit treats the benefit you have already received.
The practical sequence is usually this. IIDB provides income while the personal injury claim is being investigated, which can take months and in serious or disease cases considerably longer. The personal injury claim then addresses what IIDB does not touch at all: damages for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by the injury, along with financial losses such as care costs, treatment, travel, equipment and future loss of earnings.
The complication is that IIDB is a recoverable benefit. When your personal injury claim settles, the compensator has to repay certain benefits to the DWP and is entitled to deduct those sums from specific parts of your damages. That is covered in full further down this page, because it is the single most consequential point in any IIDB vs personal injury claim comparison and the one most likely to catch people out.
What is Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit?
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit is a tax-free weekly payment administered by the Department for Work and Pensions under the Industrial Injuries Scheme. It compensates for disablement resulting from an accident at work or from one of more than 70 prescribed industrial diseases. It is not means-tested and does not depend on your National Insurance record.
The defining feature, and the reason IIDB matters so much to workers who cannot prove fault, is that it is a no-fault benefit. You do not have to show your employer was negligent. You have to show the disablement arose from your work.
Who can claim IIDB
- You were an employee, or on an approved employment training scheme or course, when the accident happened or the disease was contracted
- The accident or exposure occurred in the UK
- You are assessed at 14 per cent disablement or more, with assessments between 14 and 19 per cent rounded up to 20 per cent for payment purposes
- The condition is an industrial accident injury or one of the prescribed diseases listed by the DWP
Self-employed people cannot claim IIDB. That exclusion catches out a significant number of contractors, and it is one of the situations where a personal injury claim may be the only route available. Note also that IIDB is payable whether or not you are still working, because it compensates for the disablement itself rather than for lost earnings.
Conditions commonly covered
- Accident injuries such as loss of fingers or limbs, serious fractures, crush injuries and burns
- Occupational deafness from prolonged exposure to loud machinery in specified industries
- Asbestos-related conditions including asbestosis, diffuse mesothelioma and pleural thickening
- Occupational lung disease including pneumoconiosis, silicosis and occupational asthma
- Hand-arm vibration syndrome, including vibration white finger, and carpal tunnel syndrome from vibrating tools
- Occupational dermatitis from contact with prescribed substances
How IIDB sits alongside your other benefits
This is the question most claimants have next, and the answer is on GOV.UK in two plain lists.
IIDB does not affect contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance or your State Pension, and you can receive it alongside any of them.
It does affect income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Universal Credit where you or your partner claim them. It may also affect Council Tax Reduction, which your local council decides rather than the DWP.
What is DWP IIB on your bank statement?
DWP IIB is Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. IIB stands for Industrial Injuries Benefit, the scheme’s older name, which some bank statements still use.
If a payment into your account shows as DWP IIB, that is this benefit. DWP is the Department for Work and Pensions, and the reference has not caught up with the scheme’s current name.
If you were not expecting the payment, there are two usual explanations. The first is a new award backdated to the date you claimed. The second is a changed amount following a reassessment of your disablement percentage, which can move a payment up or down.
If you cannot account for it at all, the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit helpline listed on GOV.UK can confirm what the payment relates to. Seeing the reference does not mean anything has gone wrong. It is simply how the benefit is labelled.
IIDB weekly rates, 2026/27 tax year
| Assessed disablement | Weekly rate |
|---|---|
| 100 per cent | £233.90 |
| 90 per cent | £210.51 |
| 80 per cent | £187.12 |
| 70 per cent | £163.73 |
| 60 per cent | £140.34 |
| 50 per cent | £116.95 |
| 40 per cent | £93.56 |
| 30 per cent | £70.17 |
| 20 per cent | £46.78 |
| Below 14 per cent | No award in most cases |
Rates for 2026/27. The scale is proportionate, so intermediate bands are calculated from the 100 per cent rate. Benefit rates are reviewed every April, so confirm the current figure on GOV.UK before relying on it.
Assessments are grouped into bands of ten per cent rather than paid at the exact assessed figure, so there is no separate rate for an assessment of, say, 25 per cent. Each band is a straight proportion of the 100 per cent rate, which is why 50 per cent pays exactly half of £233.90.
The rounding is set by section 103(3) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, and it works in two parts. An assessment of at least 14 per cent but under 20 is treated as 20 per cent, which is why the table stops at 20 while the entitlement threshold is 14. Above that, an assessment that is not already a multiple of ten is rounded to the nearest one, except that a figure ending in five is rounded up. So 25 per cent is paid at the 30 per cent rate rather than the 20.
Where more than one industrial injury or disease is involved, the percentages are added together first and the rounding is then applied to the combined figure rather than to each part. That can lift a set of small assessments over the threshold when none of them would reach it alone.
IIDB rates and how disablement is assessed
A healthcare professional assesses your disablement on a scale from 1 to 100 per cent by comparing your condition with a person of the same age and sex who does not have the disability. The payment follows that percentage. Your income, age and National Insurance record make no difference.
Two additional payments sit alongside IIDB in more serious cases. Constant Attendance Allowance is available where disablement is assessed at 100 per cent and you need daily care and attention. Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance may follow where Constant Attendance Allowance is paid at one of the higher rates. Reduced Earnings Allowance exists for conditions that began before 1 October 1990 and is now closed to new cases arising after that date.
IIDB weekly rates, 2026/27 tax year
| Assessed disablement | Weekly rate |
|---|---|
| 100% | £233.90 |
| 90% | £210.51 |
| 80% | £187.12 |
| 70% | £163.73 |
| 60% | £140.34 |
| 50% | £116.95 |
| 40% | £93.56 |
| 30% | £70.17 |
| 20% | £46.78 |
| Below 14 per cent | No award in most cases |
Rates for 2026/27. The scale is proportionate, so intermediate bands are calculated from the 100 per cent rate. Benefit rates are reviewed every April, so confirm the current figure on GOV.UK before relying on it.
Assessments are grouped into bands of ten per cent rather than paid at the exact assessed figure, so there is no separate rate for an assessment of, say, 25 per cent. Each band is a straight proportion of the 100 per cent rate, which is why 50 per cent pays exactly half of £233.90.
The rounding is set by section 103(3) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, and it works in two parts. An assessment of at least 14 per cent but under 20 is treated as 20 per cent, which is why the table stops at 20 while the entitlement threshold is 14. Above that, an assessment that is not already a multiple of ten is rounded to the nearest one, except that a figure ending in five is rounded up. So 25 per cent is paid at the 30 per cent rate rather than the 20.
Where more than one industrial injury or disease is involved, the percentages are added together first and the rounding is then applied to the combined figure rather than to each part. That can lift a set of small assessments over the threshold when none of them would reach it alone.
What a personal injury claim covers
A personal injury claim is a civil claim against a party whose negligence caused your injury. In a workplace context that is usually the employer, but it can also be a contractor, an occupier of premises, or a manufacturer whose defective equipment caused the harm. Unlike IIDB, you must prove that a duty of care was owed, that it was breached, and that the breach caused your injury.
Employers owe extensive duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and associated regulations covering risk assessment, training, supervision, safe systems of work and personal protective equipment. A failure in any of those areas can found a claim.
What a personal injury claim can include
| Head of damage | What it covers |
|---|---|
| General damages | Pain, suffering and loss of amenity, assessed against the Judicial College Guidelines, 18th edition |
| Past loss of earnings | Net income lost from the date of injury to settlement |
| Future loss of earnings | Reduced earning capacity, including where you cannot return to the same trade |
| Care and assistance | Professional care, and the value of care provided by family members |
| Treatment and rehabilitation | Physiotherapy, counselling, private treatment, prescriptions |
| Aids, equipment and adaptations | Mobility equipment, home or vehicle adaptations |
| Travel and incidental costs | Journeys to medical appointments and other out-of-pocket expenses |
There is no fixed ceiling on a personal injury award. The value follows the severity of the injury and the scale of the financial consequences, which is why the two routes are not really alternatives of equal weight for someone with a serious injury and a provable case.
When does Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit stop?
Some awards are time-limited and some are permanent. Reaching State Pension age ends neither, and going back to work ends neither.
An IIDB award is not automatically open-ended. Depending on how settled the disablement is, it can be paid for a fixed period or for life. Where an award runs for a fixed period, the DWP reassesses before it ends, and the award can then be renewed at the same percentage, changed, or stopped.
It does not stop at State Pension age. GOV.UK lists State Pension among the things you can receive at the same time as IIDB, because the benefit compensates for the disablement itself rather than for lost earnings.
It can stop or change if your circumstances change, and you must tell the office that deals with your payments straight away if:
- The condition you receive it for improves, gets worse, or you were misdiagnosed
- You leave the country or intend to
- You go into prison or are held in custody
- You change your name, address, telephone number or bank details
- Your condition was caused by service in the UK armed forces and you receive government compensation for it
Not reporting a change straight away, or giving wrong information, can mean repaying the money, and can lead to a penalty or court action.
Statutory Sick Pay does appear in Schedule 2 to the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997, listed against compensation for earnings lost during the relevant period. But Note 2 to that Schedule includes only 80 per cent of payments made between 6 April 1991 and 5 April 1994, and does not include payments made on or after 6 April 1994 at all.
So Statutory Sick Pay paid to you today is not recovered from your compensation. IIDB is. If you have been receiving both, only the IIDB figure appears on the certificate of recoverable benefits.
IIDB and sick pay: how they work together
They are different things from different payers and they can run at the same time. On a compensation claim, sick pay paid today is not recovered from your damages. IIDB is.
IIDB is not sick pay and does not replace it. Sick pay comes from your employer. IIDB comes from the DWP and compensates for the disablement itself, which is why it is paid whether or not you are still working and whether or not you are being paid.
The two can run together. Statutory Sick Pay is paid by your employer for a limited period while you are off work. IIDB is paid for as long as your assessed disablement lasts, which may be a fixed period or for life, and your earnings make no difference to the amount.
Statutory Sick Pay does appear in Schedule 2 to the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997, listed against compensation for earnings lost during the relevant period. But Note 2 to that Schedule includes only 80 per cent of payments made between 6 April 1991 and 5 April 1994, and does not include payments made on or after 6 April 1994 at all.
So Statutory Sick Pay paid to you today is not recovered from your compensation. IIDB is. If you have been receiving both, only the IIDB figure appears on the certificate of recoverable benefits.
What happens to IIDB after death, and the lump sum a claim can cost you
IIDB itself ends on death. For dust-related diseases a separate lump sum may be available to the family, but bringing or settling a damages claim removes entitlement to it.
IIDB is paid to the disabled person, so payment ends on death. What may still be available to the family depends on the disease, and on one condition that catches people out.
For a group of dust-related diseases, a separate lump sum is payable under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979. A person disabled by one of those diseases can claim it during life, and a dependant of someone who has died can claim it after a death. The conditions are specific, and two of them decide the whole route.
If you are claiming during your lifetime
Section 2(1) sets four conditions. Disablement benefit has to be payable to you for the disease, or would be but for your disablement coming to less than the required percentage. Every relevant employer of yours has to have ceased to carry on business. No application can have been made for a payment under the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme for that disease. And you must not have brought any action, or compromised any claim, for damages in respect of the disablement.
If a dependant is claiming after a death
Section 2(1) sets four conditions. Disablement benefit has to be payable to you for the disease, or would be but for your disablement coming to less than the required percentage. Every relevant employer of yours has to have ceased to carry on business. No application can have been made for a payment under the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme for that disease. And you must not have brought any action, or compromised any claim, for damages in respect of the disablement.
There is no fixed ceiling on a personal injury award. The value follows the severity of the injury and the scale of the financial consequences, which is why the two routes are not really alternatives of equal weight for someone with a serious injury and a provable case.
The general rule, that you can pursue IIDB and a personal injury claim together, holds for almost everyone. Where it does not hold is the dust-disease case in which the former employers have all ceased trading.
There, the 1979 Act lump sum and a damages claim are alternatives rather than a sequence. Bringing or settling a claim for damages removes entitlement to the lump sum, for you and for your dependants. Choosing one closes the other, and the choice is not reversible. Take advice before starting either.
IIDB vs personal injury claim compared
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit vs personal injury claim
| Point of comparison | IIDB | Personal injury claim |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | No-fault benefit based on work-related disablement | Negligence claim; breach of duty and causation must be proved |
| Who is eligible | Employees and approved trainees only | Employees, self-employed, contractors, visitors, members of the public |
| Form of payment | Weekly payment, tax free | Lump sum, or periodical payments in the largest cases |
| How value is set | Disablement percentage against a fixed scale | Injury severity plus proven financial losses |
| Upper limit | Capped at the 100 per cent rate | No fixed limit |
| Covers pain and suffering | No | Yes, as general damages |
| Time limit | No fixed limit, but backdating is restricted | Three years from injury or date of knowledge |
| Decided by | DWP decision maker, appealable to tribunal | Negotiation between solicitors and insurers, or the court |
Benefit recovery: the part most guides leave out
IIDB and personal injury compensation are not simply added together. Under the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997, the DWP’s Compensation Recovery Unit issues a certificate of recoverable benefits, the compensator repays those benefits to the state, and the same sums are deducted from specific parts of your damages.
The purpose of the scheme is to prevent double recovery. If the state has already paid you for a consequence of the injury, and the compensator then pays you again for the same consequence, you would be compensated twice for one loss. The 1997 Act removes that overlap.
The mechanism matters as much as the principle. Schedule 2 of the Act sets out which benefits can be offset against which heads of damage, and the pairings are specific rather than general.
How benefit recovery works under Schedule 2
| Head of damage | Can it be reduced by benefits? |
|---|---|
| Pain, suffering and loss of amenity | No. Not a head of compensation in Schedule 2 at all, so it is protected from benefit recovery entirely |
| Earnings lost during the relevant period | Yes. Schedule 2 lists “disablement pension payable under section 103 of the 1992 Act” against this head, which is IIDB under its legislative name. Statutory Sick Pay is also listed, but only for payments made before 6 April 1994 |
| Cost of care during the relevant period | Yes, against care-related benefits: Attendance Allowance, Constant Attendance Allowance, the care component of Disability Living Allowance, and the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment |
| Loss of mobility during the relevant period | Yes, against mobility-related benefits: Mobility Allowance, and the mobility component of both Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment |
The relevant period. Benefits are only recovered if they were paid during this window. Under section 3 of the 1997 Act it runs for five years, starting on the day of the accident or injury, or for a disease, on the date you first claimed a listed benefit because of it. It ends early if a compensation payment is made in final discharge of the claim before the five years are up.
Two consequences follow, and they cut in opposite directions.
The first is reassuring. Your general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity cannot be touched by benefit recovery. That protection is the reason a personal injury claim retains real value even for someone who has been receiving IIDB for years, because general damages are a head of loss the benefits system does not address at all.
The second is a warning. Where a claim is largely or entirely a loss of earnings claim, and substantial IIDB has been paid over a long period, recovery can consume a significant portion of that head. In long-tail industrial disease cases the certified figure can be very large. This is precisely why the offset should be modelled before you accept any offer, not discovered afterwards.
There is a third point that catches people out, and it is about the order things happen in. Personal Independence Payment is not means tested, and most people assume that puts it out of reach of recovery. It does not. Both components appear in Schedule 2, each against its own head, so someone who has been receiving PIP alongside IIDB and is settling a claim with a care or mobility element will see both benefits on the certificate.
Ask your solicitor for the CRU certificate figure and a breakdown showing what is deducted from which head of damage, so you can see the net position rather than the headline settlement figure. A certificate must be in force at the point of settlement, and it can be reviewed or appealed if benefits have been certified as paid in respect of the injury when they were in fact paid for an unrelated condition.
Review and appeal are not the same thing and they are not available at the same time. A certificate can be reviewed while the claim is still running. An appeal cannot be brought until two things have happened: the claim must have been finally disposed of, and the compensator’s liability to repay the certified benefits must have been discharged. So if the figure looks wrong, raise the review early. The appeal route only opens once everything else is finished.
Which route fits your situation?
For most injured workers this is not a choice between IIDB and a personal injury claim. It is a question of which to prioritise and whether the second is available at all.
IIDB is likely to be the main route where
- Fault cannot realistically be proved, for example a long-latency disease where the employer no longer exists and no records survive
- The condition is a dust-related disease, every former employer has ceased trading, and a lump sum under the 1979 Act is available, which a damages claim would forfeit
- Your condition is a prescribed industrial disease with a clear occupational cause, such as occupational deafness or vibration white finger
- The three-year limitation period for a personal injury claim has expired and no extension applies
- You need regular income now while a longer legal process runs
A personal injury claim is likely to add substantial value where
- Your employer breached identifiable safety duties, for example no risk assessment, no training, or no protective equipment
- Your injury caused significant pain and loss of amenity, which IIDB does not compensate at all
- You have lost or will lose earnings well beyond the IIDB rate
- You face ongoing care, treatment, equipment or adaptation costs
- You were self-employed and therefore cannot claim IIDB, but another party was negligent
Where a claim does add substantial value, our industrial injury claims page sets out how one works and what it involves.
Where a personal injury claim was partly your own fault, that does not end it. Contributory negligence reduces damages by a percentage rather than removing the claim, which our guide on claiming when the accident was partly your fault explains in more detail. IIDB is unaffected by fault either way.
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How to start each claim
Starting an IIDB claim
- Get a medical diagnosis confirming the condition, which is essential for prescribed disease claims
- Obtain the correct claim form from GOV.UK, as different forms apply to accidents and to specific diseases
- Provide employment history covering the relevant employer, dates, job role and exposure
- Attend the DWP assessment with a healthcare professional, who reports on the extent and likely duration of disablement
- Await the decision, and request a mandatory reconsideration if you disagree with the assessed percentage
Starting a personal injury claim
- Seek medical attention and ensure the cause is recorded in your clinical notes
- Report the accident to your employer and check the accident book entry is accurate before you sign anything
- Preserve evidence, including photographs, witness names, risk assessments, training records and any RIDDOR report
- Speak to a solicitor early, because the three-year limitation period is strict and evidence degrades quickly
- Tell your solicitor about any benefits you receive, so the recovery position can be modelled from the outset
Reportable workplace injuries and prescribed diseases must be notified by the employer under RIDDOR, and that report can be useful evidence. Our guide to RIDDOR and workplace injury reporting explains what has to be reported and by whom.
Claiming against your employer
Employers are required by the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 to hold insurance covering employee injury claims. The claim is met by that insurer rather than by the business directly.
Employers are required by the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 to hold insurance covering employee injury claims. The claim is met by that insurer rather than by the business directly.
Two separate protections sit in the Employment Rights Act 1996 and they cover different things. Section 100 makes a dismissal automatically unfair where the principal reason is a health and safety one, which includes bringing a concern about a danger to your employer’s attention. Section 104 covers the different case of asserting a statutory right, whether you have brought proceedings to enforce one or simply alleged that your employer has infringed one.
Section 104 is wider than people expect in one respect and narrower in another. It does not matter whether you turned out to be right about the right, or whether it had in fact been infringed, and you do not have to name the provision so long as you made it reasonably clear what you were claiming. What it does require is that the claim was made in good faith.
The point that matters most here is the one about service. An ordinary unfair dismissal claim needs two years of continuous employment before you can bring it at all. Both of these sections are carved out of that requirement, so they apply from your first day. Whether a particular dismissal falls inside either one turns on its own facts, and that is an employment law question rather than a personal injury one.
If you experience reduced hours, exclusion, or pressure to drop a claim after raising it, record what happened with dates and tell your solicitor promptly so you can be directed to appropriate employment law advice.
Summary
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit is a no-fault weekly payment from the DWP for disablement caused by an accident at work or a prescribed industrial disease. It is available to employees only, requires an assessment of 14 per cent disablement or more, and for 2026/27 pays £233.90 a week at 100 per cent disablement down to £46.78 at 20 per cent.
A personal injury claim is a legal claim against a negligent party. It requires proof of breach of duty and causation, but it covers pain, suffering and loss of amenity, full loss of earnings, care, treatment and future losses, with no fixed ceiling. It is open to the self-employed as well as employees.
You can pursue both. What most comparisons omit is that they interact. Under the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997, IIDB is a recoverable benefit offset against the loss of earnings element of compensation, while general damages for pain and suffering are protected. Understanding that offset before settlement is the difference between an informed decision and an unwelcome surprise.
Key takeaways
- You can claim IIDB and personal injury compensation, and one does not block the other.
- They are not simply added together. IIDB is recovered by the DWP and offset against the loss of earnings head of your damages.
- General damages are protected. Compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity cannot be reduced by benefit recovery.
- IIDB requires no proof of fault, only that the disablement arose from your work.
- IIDB is for employees only. Self-employed workers are excluded, which makes a personal injury claim the only route for many contractors.
- 2026/27 rates: £233.90 a week at 100 per cent disablement, £46.78 at 20 per cent. Reviewed every April.
- Minimum 14 per cent disablement, with 14 to 19 per cent rounded up to 20 per cent for payment.
- The personal injury deadline is three years from the accident or date of knowledge. IIDB has no equivalent fixed limit.
- Ask for the CRU certificate figure before settling, along with a breakdown of what is deducted from which head of damage.
- Employers must carry liability insurance under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, so the claim is met by an insure
Sources & References
- Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 — legislation governing the recovery of certain social security benefits from compensation payments following a successful personal injury claim.
- Department for Work and Pensions — Recovery of benefits — guidance on the recovery of benefits from compensation payments and the Compensation Recovery Scheme.
- GOV.UK — Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit — information on eligibility, disablement assessments and IIDB payments.
- Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997, Schedule 2 — sets out the rules for calculating the amount of compensation that can be affected by recoverable benefits.
- Compensation Recovery Scheme — DWP information on how benefit recovery operates when compensation is awarded.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I claim IIDB and personal injury compensation at the same time?
Yes. The two are separate and one does not block the other. They are not simply added together though. Under the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997, IIDB already paid is recovered by the DWP and offset against the loss of earnings part of your compensation. Damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity are protected from that offset.
What is Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit?
How much is IIDB?
Does receiving IIDB reduce my compensation?
It can reduce part of it. Under Schedule 2 of the 1997 Act, IIDB is offset against compensation for earnings lost during the relevant period. Your general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity cannot be reduced by benefit recovery. Ask your solicitor for the CRU certificate figure before settling.
Can I claim IIDB if I am self-employed?
There is no fixed limitation period as there is for a personal injury claim, although delay restricts how far payments can be backdated. The personal injury deadline is three years from the accident or from the date you first knew the injury was work-related, and that deadline is strict.
Is there a time limit for claiming IIDB?
No. IIDB is limited to employees and approved trainees. A personal injury claim has no such restriction, so a self-employed contractor injured through another party’s negligence may still have a viable claim even though IIDB is unavailable.
Glossary of Key Terms
Disclaimer: The information on this page is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Compensation outcomes vary by individual case and depend on the specific facts and evidence. Claim Time Solicitors is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (ID No. 444171) and accredited by The Law Society . No Win No Fee refers to a Conditional Fee Agreement; the solicitor’s success fee is capped at 25% of compensation recovered. Terms apply.
