RIBBLE VALLEY BOROUGH COUNCIL

RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

JOB DESCRIPTION

1. JOB TITLE: Benefits Assistant (Ref: RES29)

2. SALARY SCALE: SCP14-17 £14,787 - £15,825 per annum (subject to Job Evaluation)

3. RESPONSIBLE TO: Benefits Manager

4. JOB PURPOSE: To assess claims for council tax and housing benefits and to assist the Fraud/Control Officer as and when required.

5. MAIN DUTIES

5.1  To be responsible for the efficient, accurate verification, assessment and decisions of claims for housing and council tax benefit, in line with legislation.

5.2  To obtain and verify information to enable correct assessments of entitlement to benefits, including liaison with the Department for Work and Pensions and the pension service.

5.3  To determine and assess overpayments and excess benefits and process them for recovery through the iWorld benefits system or sundry debtors.

5.4  To request information and evidence from customers in relation to benefit claims by telephone and in writing in a clear and concise manner in accordance with legislation and Council procedures.

5.5  To access the internet to obtain information relevant to benefits administration and calculation tools.

5.6  To deal with enquiries from the public, customers, landlords and other external agencies, both by telephone, electronically and face to face at the benefits enquiry counter, in line with relevant legislation, the Data protection Act, Human Rights Act and the Council’s procedures.

5.7  To be aware of potential fraud and refer to the Fraud/Control Officer where appropriate and in line with legislation requirements and Council procedures.

5.8  To liaise with the revenues section in connection with identifying council tax liability, exemptions, discounts and disregards.

5.9  To process all data through the iWorld benefits system and Radius fraud system.

5.10  To adhere to the Council’s policies, including equal opportunities and health and safety.

5.11  To visit, help investigate/interview in cases where there is potential fraud referred by the Fraud/Control Officer.

5.12  Issue sundry debtors for the recovery of housing benefit and assist in the recovery of overpayments.

5.13  Assist the Fraud/Control Officer in reconciling the benefits system with other computer systems through interfaces.

5.14  To assist the Fraud/Control Officer in the collecting of statistical information.

5.15 Such other duties of a similar responsibility level as may be allocated to the post from time to time.

Signed (Post Holder)

Date

Signed (Line Manager)

Date