Direct Payments Support Service

‘Go Direct’ Direct Payments Support Service – 1st April 2006 to 31st March 2008

DIRECT PAYMENTS SUPPORT SERVICE

SERVICE SPECIFICATION

PART A - Personnel Services

In providing a Personnel Service the Service Provider will:

a.) Assist the Service User to write a Job Description. To assist the Service Provider a copy of the Service User’s Care Plan will be made available.

b.) Assist the Service User to write an advertisement. It will be the Service User’s responsibility to place and meet the costs of the advertisement from the ‘Start Up’ costs he/she will receive from the Council.

c.) Provide practical advice and support where a Service User requires to send out application forms; this to include acting as a P.O. Box recipient, receiving requests for application forms and handling their return, where appropriate.

d.) Assist the Service User to carry out a Health and Safety Risk Assessment in relation to the duties their Personal Assistant will be carrying out. To assist the Service Provider a copy of the Service User’s Care Plan will be made available.

e.) Make interview facilities available, accessible by all Service User Groups, where a Service User wishes to interview potential Personal Assistants away from their home environment.

f.) Provide practical advice and support where a Service User requires to take up references; this to include acting as a P.O. Box recipient and handling the return of the references, where appropriate.

g.) Provide practical support at interviews – it will not be the responsibility to recommend whom to appoint that will be for the Service User to do. Any interview expenses incurred by the applicants will be met by the Service User from the ‘Start Up’ costs he/she receives from the Council.

h.) Provide advice on the hourly rate the Service User should pay their Personal Assistant. To assist the Service Provider a copy of the Service User’s Care Plan will be made available. In setting the hourly rate, it should not exceed the hourly rate paid by the Council to the Service User unless it has been agreed by the Council that the individual is to ‘top up’ the difference themselves. In setting the hourly rate the law and legislation around tax and national insurance should be observed.

i.) Ensure that the Personal Assistant to be employed by the Service User is legally eligible to work in the UK in accordance with the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 and any other pieces of legislation in force at any time.

j.) Assist the Service User to draw up a Contract of Employment in relation to their Personal Assistant.

k.) Provide advice if approached by a Service User on the types of Insurance Policies to have in place where a Personal Assistant is to be employed. It is for the Service User to determine which Insurance Broker to use, although the Service Provider should be able to signpost that person to such Brokers. It will be the Service User’s responsibility to meet the costs of the Insurance Policies from the ‘Start Up’ costs he/she will receive from the Council. It is the Council’s responsibility to ensure that the Service User renews their Insurance Policy on an annual basis. The Service Provider is expected to receive a photocopy of the Insurance Policies from Service Users. This should be held on the Service User’s case file.

l.) Provide advice and support to the Service User to ensure the Personal Assistant(s) to be employed are ‘fit to work’. It will be the Service User’s responsibility to meet the costs incurred, for example G.P. fee, from the ‘Start Up’ costs he/she will receive from the Council.

m.) Assist and support the Service User to identify the training needs of the Personal Assistant and thereafter assist the Service User to arrange the required training. Validate qualifications of the Personal Assistant. The Service Provider will be required to record details of all training delivered to Personal Assistants on the appropriate Service User case file. It will be the Service User’s responsibility to meet the costs of their Personal Assistant’s training from the ‘Start Up’ costs he/she will receive from the Council. Should there be insufficient funds available within the ‘Start Up’ costs to meet all of the Personal Assistant(s) training needs the Service Provider must notify the Council’s Direct Payments Manager.

n.) Provide ‘How to be a Good Employer’ awareness sessions to Service Users. The awareness sessions should be in a format and frequency to meet the individual needs of each Service User. The delivery of the sessions should include the option of one-to-one sessions, group sessions, and distance learning. The Service Provider will be required to record details of all training delivered to Service Users on their individual case files.

o.) Develop, establish and maintain a pool of Personal Assistants that Service User can access. It is expected this will be facilitated through making available to direct payments recipients an application form or a comprehensive curriculum vitae. It will be for the Service User to determine whom they interview and subsequently appoint.

p.) Create and upkeep individual case files in respect of those Service Users it provides ongoing support to. The case files should hold information on the Service User, such as their name, address, contact and emergency telephone numbers, social worker’s name, the support provided, case file notes, copies of Documentation e.g. job description, Contract of Employment. The case files should be held in a locked receptacle and will be subject to inspection without notice by the local authority and/or its representatives.

q.) NOT be required to undertake Criminal Records Bureau/Protection of Vulnerable Adults checks (CRB/POVA) in respect of the Personal Assistant to be employed by the Service User. The local authority will be responsible for carrying out any CRB/POVA checks on behalf of Service Users where required to do so. The Service Provider will be required to have sight of the original copy CRB/POVA and retain a photocopy on the Service User’s case file.

r.) Provide advice and support to the Service User on an ongoing basis in relation to the employment of their Personal Assistant(s). The range of advice and support will also include areas such as disciplinary matters, sickness and supervision.

PART B - Payroll Services

The Service Provider will not be required to pay the Service User’s Personal Assistant that will be for the Service User to do.

In providing a Payroll Service the Service Provider will:

a.) Assist and support the Service User to register with the Inland Revenue as an employer.

b.) Assist and support the Service User to set up their own Payroll System or enable them to access the Service Provider’s Payroll System. Where Service Users access the Service Provider’s Payroll System the Service Provider will operate it on their behalf, including keeping records of holiday, sick pay of Personal Assistant(s) and ensuring the completion and return of Inland Revenue Forms/correspondence.

c.) Provide advice on the hourly rate the Service User should pay their Personal Assistant. To assist the Service Provider a copy of the Service User’s Care Plan will be made available. In setting the hourly rate, it should not exceed the hourly rate paid by the Council to the Service User unless it has been agreed by the Council that the individual is to ‘top up’ the difference themselves. In setting the hourly rate the law and legislation around tax and national insurance should be observed.

d.) Ensure that the Personal Assistant to be employed by the Service User is legally eligible to work in the UK in accordance with the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 and any other pieces of legislation in force at any time.

e.) Provide advice and support to the Service User to ensure the Personal Assistant(s) to be employed are ‘fit to work’. It will be the Service User’s responsibility to meet the costs incurred, for example G.P. fee, from the ‘Start Up’ costs he/she will receive from the Council.

f.)  Provide completed payslips to the Service Provider detailing the payment details of that person’s Personal Assistant(s) either on a weekly or monthly basis – the frequency to be determined by the Service User. The Service Provider will be required to ensure before any payslips are produced and provided to the Service User that:

1.) all appropriate Insurance Policies are in place by the Service User in relation to the employment of their Personal Assistant.

2.) CRB checks have been undertaken where appropriate.

3.)  a job description and a Contract of Employment in relation to their Personal Assistant is in place.

4.)  a Health and Safety Risk Assessment in relation to the duties their Personal Assistant will be carrying out has been undertaken. To assist the Service Provider a copy of the Service User’s Care Plan will be made available.

5.) the Personal Assistant to be employed by the Service User is legally eligible to work in the UK in accordance with the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 and any other pieces of legislation in force at any time.

g.) Produce payslips to Service Users who access its payroll system, subject to receipt of a completed timesheet. The timesheet will be in a standard format and issued by the Council.

h.) Put in place, in consultation with the Council, Procedures covering the actions to be taken where timesheets are not received from the Service User on a timely basis.

i.) Provide advice, information and support in all payroll matters to those Service Users who manage their own Payroll System.

j.) Create and upkeep individual case files in respect of those Service Users it provides ongoing payroll support to. The case files should hold information on the Service User, such as their name, address, contact and emergency telephone numbers, social worker’s name, the support provided, case file notes, copies of Documentation e.g. job description, Contract of Employment, Inland Revenue Returns/correspondence. The case files should be held in a locked receptacle and will be subject to inspection without notice by the local authority and/or its representatives.

k.) Provide to the Council’s Direct Payments Section a payroll analysis on each Personal Assistant employed by Service User’s on pre-determined periods and upon request.

PART C - Information, Advice, Support, Promotional and Development Services

The Service Provider will be required to carry out the following:

Direct Payments Scheme

1.) To keep up to date at both National and Local Level on changes and developments to the Direct Payments Scheme and should have the flexibility to amend its own services to meet the changes.

2.) To identify direct payments issues and themes and discuss and debate them with the Council and other relevant parties.

3.) To secure Networks to assist in the promotion and development of the Direct Payments Scheme in the City of Sunderland.

4.) To assist the Council in the development of initiatives, policies and procedures in relation to the Direct Payments Scheme.

5.) To attend relevant Seminars, Conferences and Council run training sessions in relation to direct payments. The Service Provider will be required to meet any costs incurred in attending the said Events.

Service Users

1.) To provide training to Service Users on how to manage their Personal Assistant(s). The training should be in a format and frequency to meet the individual needs of each Service User. The delivery of the training should include the option of one-to-one sessions, group sessions, and distance learning. The Service Provider will be required to record details of all training delivered to Service Users on their individual case files. The Service Provider will be required to meet the costs of the training it provides to the Service User.

2.) To assist and support Service Users build up their ability and confidence to enable them to manage their direct payments.

3.) To assist and support Service Users, where required, open a bank account to allow for receipt of their direct payments.

4.) To assist and support Service Users set up where necessary a Trust Fund in relation to direct payments.

5.) To sign post Service Users to other services/agencies as appropriate.

6.) To contact emergency services, where appropriate, when during the course of a home visit to a Service User the Service Provider becomes concerned about the health and well-being of that person. The Council must be notified as soon as is possible and if contact needs to be made outside of normal office hours this should be done via the Council’s Social Services Emergency Out of Office Hours Service.

Service Users Reviews

1.) To carry out independent direct payments reviews and/or jointly with the Service User’s Social Worker/Care Manager where support is provided by the Service Provider to that person. Where a review is carried out independently the Service Provider will be required to provide a copy of the Review Notes to the Council.

Referrals

1.) To keep details of referrals received, their source, and the outcome of the referrals. If the Service User does not access the services of the Service Provider following the referral the reason for this will be required to be recorded.

Resource Directory

1.) To contribute towards the Council’s Website Resource Directory via the collation and forwarding to the Council details of services and activities that the Service Provider deems may be of interest to individuals accessing direct payments.

MAPPVA –Multi-Agency Panel for the Protection of Vulnerable Adults

ACPC – Area Child Protection Committee - Protection of Vulnerable Children