Liverpool City Council
Housing
Welfare
Rights
Service
OFFICE MANUAL
1. Purpose
This office manual sets out the organisational practices and procedures of the Housing Welfare Rights Service (HWRSE) The manual is intended to provide accessible information for staff members of HWRSE Team and document its practices and procedures.
The manual will be updated when organisational practices change or are modified. Amendments and updates will be recorded and dated at the front of the file.
The nouns in this manual are not gender specific and the usage of the words him/her or her/his will be interchanged accordingly.
For the sake of brevity the Housing Welfare Rights Service will be referred to throughout this manual as HWRSE.
2. Background
The HWRSE was established in 1993 as a joint venture between two City Council Directorates, namely The Housing and Consumer Services Directorate and The Central Policy Unit. Its primary function is to provide a welfare rights service to the City Council’s tenants. It is now a team established within the Housing and Social Services Directorate.
HWRSE provides a welfare benefit advice service from 8 neighbourhood centres throughout the city. The service delivery includes, drop in, appointment based and a home visiting service in recognition that the demographic profile of its client group means that many tenants find it difficult to access advice services. This can be for a variety of reasons the more common ones being - disability, illness, child care/caring commitments, coping difficulties and language difficulties. HWRSE brings its service to people’s homes.
3. OBJECTIVES:
HWRSE aims to offer a range of provision to tenants of the City Council that promotes Social Inclusion through the maximisation of income, maintenance of maximum income and development of an understanding of entitlement to income, through the complex legislation and administration of Social Security benefits.
In meeting these objectives the following principals will be maintained:
General Statement
The service has a generic role and as such its work will bring it into contact with a variety of clients groups, for example elderly people, disabled people, young people, lone parents and other disadvantaged groups. These clients are over-represented amongst people living in poverty. It is therefore particularly important that the service is underpinned by the following principles: -
Equal Opportunity
Users of the service will be treated impartially and without discrimination. Increasing benefit entitlement is one step towards tackling the inequality that exists for actual and potential clients within the benefit system.
Anti-Oppressive Practice
Increasing benefit to individual service users provides the opportunity for greater individual choice. The service will seek to promote the empowerment of service users providing the opportunity for individuals to decrease their dependence on other statutory services.
4. Independent Advice and Confidentiality
HWRSE is a member of the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). HWRSE will provide independent advice to all its clients. HWRSE will not allow any condition of funding to direct the policy and procedures of the service. We will not be pressurised into acting in anything other than our client’s best interests. As part of the staff induction process, each member of staff will be made aware of the guidance regarding conflict of interests. HWRSE will ensure that the appropriate action is taken promptly if any such conflict (or the real possibility of it) should arise.
Staff Responsibilities
The meeting of these objectives and principles is the responsibility of every member of staff, and involves individual commitment to, quality of work, skill, and ability to demonstrate to each user of the services that we care about him and his matter. From the moment someone first sets foot in the office or rings up, the impression formed by whoever he speaks to will probably be the image which that person adopts for HWRSE as a whole.
1. Confidentiality STATEMENT
HWRSE is committed to providing a confidential advice service to its users. We believe that principals of confidentiality must be integrated across all aspects of services and management. HWRSE believes its users deserve the right to confidentiality to protect their interests and safeguard HWRSE’s services.
2. PUBLICISING THE STATEMENT
The following will be displayed in the waiting areas/interview room and will be incorporated into HWRSE’s office procedures manual;
HWRSE OFFERS A CONFIDENTIAL ADVICE SERVICE. NOTHING YOU TELL US WILL BE SHARED WITH ANY ORGANISATION (SUCH AS THE DSS OR HOUSING BENEFIT OFFICE) OR INDIVIDUAL WITHOUT YOUR EXPRESS PERMISSION
3. DEFINITION FOR CONFIDENTIALITY
HWRSE understands confidentiality to mean that no information regarding a service user shall be given directly or indirectly to any third party which is external to the staff and manager of the service, without that service user’s expressed consent to disclose such information.
HWRSE recognises that all users should be able to access our services in confidence and that no other person should ever know they have used OUR services.
HWRSE recognises that information may be indirectly given out through staff informally discussing cases. All staff should ensure that no discussions relating to an individual user of HWRSE could take place outside of HWRSE’s premises. The management or other officers will not receive details of individual users or their case.
HWRSE recognises that users need to feel secure in using our services in a confidential manner. We will ensure all users are afforded confidential interviews. If a client requires an office interview, we will ensure blinds, and other mechanisms are used to ensure no breach of confidentiality can occur inadvertently.
4. STATISTICAL RECORDING
HWRSE is committed to effective statistical recording of service users to enable us to monitor take-up of service and to identify any policy issues arising from advice services.
It is the Welfare Rights Manager’s responsibility to ensure all statistical records given to third parties, such as to support funding applications, monitoring reports to the funding agents shall be produced in anonymous form, so individuals cannot be recognised.
5. Case records
It is the Welfare Rights Officers responsibility to ensure all case records are kept in locked filing cabinets. All case records must be locked away at the end of each working day. All information relating to service users will be left in locked drawers. This includes notebooks, copies of correspondence, calculation sheets and any other courses of information.
6. EXPRESSED consent TO give information
It is the responsibility of advice workers to ensure that where any action is agreed to be taken by HWRSE on behalf of a client, that the client must firstly sign an authorisation form. This should be placed on the client’s file.
HWRSE’s workers are responsible for checking with clients if it is acceptable to call them at home or work in relation to their case. all staff must ensure that if the client requires confidentiality that they make no reference to HWRSE when making telephone contact with clients. HWRSE’s Workers are responsible for checking with clients that it is acceptable to write to them at home in relation to their case. All details of expressed consent must be recorded on the case file.
7. Breaches of confidentiality
HWRSE recognises that occasions may arise where individual workers feel they need to breach confidentiality. HWRSE recognises, however, that any breach of confidentiality may damage the reputation of HWRSE’s services and therefore has to be treated seriously.
On the very rare occasions where a worker feels confidentiality should be breached the following steps must be taken:
The worker should raise the matter immediately with the Welfare Rights Manager
The worker must discuss with the Welfare Rights Manager the issues involved in the case and explain why s/he feels confidentiality should be breached and what would be achieved by breaching confidentiality. The Welfare Rights Manager should take a written note of this discussion.
The Welfare Rights Manager is responsible for discussing with the worker what options are available in each set of circumstances.
The Welfare Rights Manager is responsible for making a decision on whether confidentiality should be breached.
8. Legislative Frame work
HWRSE will monitor this policy to ensure it meets statutory and legal requirements including Data Protection Act, Children Act, Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and Prevention of Terrorism Act. Training on the policy will include these aspects.
5. Managment/Staff Structure:
HWRSE operates from Liverpool City Council Housing and Social Services Millennium House Victoria Street Liverpool L1 6JQ.
The day to day management of HWRSE caseworkers has been delegated by the Council to the Area Housing Office Manager, where the Welfare Rights Officer is based. The overall management of the scheme is the responsibility of the Welfare Rights Manager who is based at Millennium House. All staff (paid or unpaid) are accountable to the Welfare Rights Manager and ultimately the City Council
A Welfare Rights Manager has been appointed by the City Council with delegated overall control of HWRSE. The Welfare Rights Manager determines the policies of HWRSE and has the authority and responsibility to ensure the smooth and effective running of HWRSE.
HWRSE has the following paid staff: a Welfare Rights Manager; 5 Full Time Welfare Rights Officers. All of the work of the team is carried out in accordance with CLS Quality Mark standards. All Officers and future Officers will work to these standards. As such the CLS standards are integrated throughout the whole working process of the team.
At present all Officers have to meet at least 600 hours of CLS work. Officers will still be subject to this target.
6. TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT
A member of Staff’s formal relationship with HWRSE is governed by their contract of employment. The terms and conditions of employment will be listed in their offer letter. When members of staff start their employment they will also receive a ‘new starter pack’ that will provide details of the following:
HOURS OF WORK:, HOLIDAYS, PAY AND BENEFITS, STAFF TRAVEL, SICKNESS PROCEDURE, SICKNESS PAY, MATERNITY PROVISION, ANTI- NATAL CARE, MATERNITY LEAVE, RETURNING TO WORK FOLLOWING PREGNANCY, PATERNITY /PARTNERS LEAVE, COMPASSIONATE LEAVE, APPOINTMENTS - DOCTOR/DENTIST/HOSPITAL, TRADE UNION MEMBERSHIP AND DUTIES, TIME OFF FOR PUBLIC DUTIES, DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE, GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE.
Members of staff should keep this documentation safe as these documents form part of the terms and conditions of their employment with HWRSE.
7. OFFICE PROCEDURES
Referrals
1. When Referrals are made to HWRSE the individual who has taken the referral should complete a referral sheet. These sheets are found within the office and contain all the documentation HWRSE uses.
2. Once the referrals have been received, the Welfare Rights Officer will check them
3. In addition, because of the nature of our work and our client profile, we need to respond quickly and sensitively to requests for visits, so referrals cannot be banked. A referral will only be banked if there is a specific request from the tenant to be seen at a later date.
4. The Welfare Rights Officer will inform the tenant in writing, of the date of their appointment/visit.
5. All appointments will be put into the diary. Information will include name, address and telephone number.
6. If any appointment/visits are cancelled prior to the arranged time and date, the Officer should check if other referrals are outstanding which could be substituted. The original referral sheet should be put back into the system for a rescheduled appointment.
The First Appointment/ Visit
1. The Officer must introduce him/herself on arrival at the client’s home or at the appointment and show their identity card.
2. The Officer will deal with the following aspects of the case
Conflict Search
The Officer must ask the client about other parties acting on their behalf. The relevant box on the Client’s Details Form should be ticked to show that a conflict search has been carried out.
Completion of Client Details Form
This must be completed in full and legibly. If there are any details missing, the file should be returned to the Officer that opened the file for the omission to be rectified.
Advice
The Officer should diagnose the problem, give necessary advice and make an appropriate referral if the problem or part of the problem is outside of the remit of the HWRSE.
3. The initial letter regarding the advice given to the client should be sent to the client after the visit together with the client care letter.
Case Files
A separate file is opened for each matter and all the documents will be placed on the file in a chronological and orderly way.
The Case Recording Procedure should be followed from this stage onwards
8. HWRSE MANAGEMENT STANDARDS
HWRSE’s CLS work will be carried out in accordance with the CLS Quality Mark Standards for the General with Casework category. The Standards provide guidelines against which organisations (whatever their size or type of work) can measure the way they currently manage themselves, and a checklist for planning improvements and developments. Improving office and case management, by following the Standards, should lead to quality, for two reasons.
First, the organised and professional approach to management and administration advocated by the Standards will reduce the risk of mistakes and wasted effort, so ensuring the HWRSE’s resources are used more effectively.
Secondly, in an increasingly competitive climate, the Standards will help HWRSE provide services that meet clients’ requirements and expectations. Adherence to the Standards may assist the HWRSE in dealings with other Registered Social Landlords and public bodies (such as the CLS Board, which makes their adoption one of the criteria for the grant of a franchise). They provide a benchmark for use by the HWRSE itself. The Standards identify the key disciplines in which the HWRSE needs to establish procedures, and systems, suiting its needs and those of its clients, without prescribing them in detail.
9. STANDARDS
CLIENT COMMUNICATION:
Dealing with Correspondence coming into the Office
The Welfare Rights Officer does the opening of the post. The following guidelines are given to all the staff: -
Letters received by HWRSE are date stamped when received at the office.
Letters which require urgent action should be taken out of the system and dealt with right away or as soon as practicably possible