Today, Thursday 30 April, the UK government has introduced new legislation aimed at removing one of the barriers people with muscle wasting and weakening conditions face when thinking about work – the fear of losing vital benefits.
New “Right to Try” legislation introduced: What it means for our community
30 April 2026
Today, the UK government has introduced new legislation aimed at removing one of the barriers people with muscle wasting and weakening conditions face when thinking about work – the fear of losing vital benefits.
We know from speaking to our community that people with long-term, fluctuating conditions want to explore work or volunteering when they’re able to but are worried about what might happen if their health changes or a role doesn’t work out. This new legislation is intended to address some of those concerns.
What has changed?
Under the new “right to try” legislation, starting work will no longer automatically trigger a benefit reassessment for people receiving:
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- New-style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- The health element of Universal Credit
This means that trying work, or doing some paid hours, should not immediately put your existing benefits at risk. The same protection will also apply to volunteering opportunities, which people often find an important and realistic first step towards paid employment.
Why this matters?
For years, disabled people have faced anxiety about losing vital income when they start looking for work because they must go through a reassessment for their benefits. MDUK has been raising concerns about this for some years. The main one being that the benefits system can feel punitive and risky for anyone considering work.
Government research has found that more than a third of disabled people and people with health conditions want to work more but feel held back by fear of losing financial support. We know from our community that this is a real problem for people with muscle wasting conditions. Rare, progressive, or fluctuating conditions are poorly understood, and things like energy levels, pain, fatigue or mobility can change day to day.
Our view
We welcome the new Right to Try legislation, and we hope that this will go some way to reducing fear and anxiety around looking for work or volunteering opportunities. No one should be penalised for wanting to contribute in a way that works for their health, and we’re pleased that the UK government has acted on this.
However, these changes won’t be able to fix some of the wider barriers to finding and staying in secure work that people with muscle wasting conditions often face. This includes inaccessible workplaces, inflexible job roles, delays to Access to Work support, and a lack of understanding from employers about rare and complex conditions.
We’ll be monitoring how this change is implemented and listening closely to what our community experiences in practice.
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