Welfare Rights Advisor

  Blackett Avenue, Newport

About the role

Salary: In line with minimum wage

Hours: 22.5 hours per week

Closing date: Monday 24th February 2025

Role type: Permanent

Job Summary:

  • To work as a member of the multi-disciplinary team assessing the individual eligibility and needs of St Davids Hospice Care patients and their families/carers in relation to welfare benefits advice.
  • To share specialist knowledge with the multi-disciplinary team.
  • To participate in education and training.

Key Working Relationships:    

  • Family Support Team.
  • Clinical Nurse Specialists and Day Hospice Nurses.
  • In patient unit staff.
  • Patients and families.
  • Department of Work & Pensions.
  • Local Authority Departments.
  • Voluntary Agencies.
  • Council Tax and Housing Benefit Offices.
                     

Key Areas of Responsibility:  

  • Assess individual needs and eligibility in relation to welfare benefits and grants systems.
  • Give information and explain options to individuals.
  • Identify the level and nature of action to take, and by whom.
  • Give appropriate assistance in response to need, e.g. completing applications, contacting third parties to seek information.
  • All case recordings to be made in line with SDH policy and to show the advice given, next actions to be taken and by when and whom.
  • To monitor and take part in the evaluation and support of unqualified staff, students and volunteers within the team.

Professional 

  • To manage a caseload of clients who require benefit advice and support
  • To carry out telephone benefit check assessments, calculate entitlements
    and support people to claim, as appropriate
  • To see referrals in welfare rights advice clinics in day hospice and resource centres and at home where necessary
  • To achieve positive outcomes for patients and families and maximise appropriate benefit entitlements
  • To act as an advocate to make the claim process as smooth as possible
  • To keep all records in accordance with organisational policy
  • To keep accurate written statistics on the work of the welfare rights service
  • To liaise with all appropriate statutory agencies
  • To produce written reports, as required
  • To attend staff meetings and contribute to the development of the welfare rights service
  • To liaise with voluntary organisations and charities to maximise support services and financial grants for patients
  • To promote independence and autonomy of the patient
  • To undertake other appropriate duties as directed by the Family Support Team Manager and the Director of Nursing.

Person Specification

 

Qualifications

Essential

  • Good general education

Skills, Knowledge & Experience

Essential

  • Sound recent knowledge of welfare benefit systems
  • Excellent time management and time keeping skills
  • Ability to work as part of a team
  • Excellent written and communication skills
  • Ability to understand and respect confidentiality
  • Ability to develop effective and constructive working relationships within the organisation and with other agencies.
  • Ability to use information technology

Desirable

  • Experience of advice work directly with clients, or willingness to learn
  • Experience of working in a health care or palliative care setting
  • Experience of liaison with both voluntary and statutory organisations
  • Good knowledge of Microsoft office

Qualities & Attributes

Essential

  • Ability to provide compassionate, person centered support.

Use of a car and possession of a UK driving licence is also essential

 

Other Information

Health and Safety

To ensure that the agreed procedures are carried out and be aware of the responsibilities placed on employees under the Health and Safety at Work Act. To maintain a safe environment for employees and visitors.

Data Protection

If you are required to do so, process and/or use information held on a computer or word processor in a fair and lawful way. To hold data only for specific registered purposes and not to disclose it in any way incompatible with such a purpose. To disclose data to authorised persons or organisations as instructed.

Equal Opportunities

It is the aim of St David's Hospice Care (SDHC) to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of sex, race, colour, nationality or ethnic origins, or is placed at a disadvantage by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable. To this end, SDHC has an Equal Opportunities Policy and it is for each employee to contribute to its success.

No Smoking Policy

SDHC operates a No Smoking policy.

Conditions of Service:

In accordance with SDHC Employment Manual.

Pension Scheme

A Pension Scheme is offered on appointment.  Staff may prefer to make their own arrangements.

Confidentiality

All information concerning patients/clients and staff must be treated as strictly confidential at all times.

Application form

If any parts of this form require an answer but do not apply, please enter 'Not applicable' or 'N/A'.

Section 1: Personal Details






May we contact you at work?*
  






Are you free to remain and take up employment within the UK with no current immigration restrictions?*   

Please indicate how you learnt of this vacancy


Section 2: Education, Training & Qualifications




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Section 3: Courses attended not leading to professional qualifications



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Section 4: Membership of professional bodies





Section 5: Present or most recent employer










Hours*
   


Section 6: Employment record

Please include a full employment history since leaving full time education accounting for any gaps, most recent first.








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Section 7 : Other employment


Section 8: Leisure


Section 9: Experience and other information


Section 10: Cautions, Rehabilitations and criminal records


If, due to the nature of the work for which you are applying (please refer to Job Description / Person Specification) your application is exempt from the provisions of Section 4(2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, (Exemptions) Order 1975, you will not be entitled to withhold information about convictions which are for other purposes 'spent' under the provisions of the Act. In the event of employment, any failure to disclose such convictions could result in dismissal. Successful candidates will be required to complete a Disclosure Application at Standard or Enhanced level, depending on the nature of the post, for submission to the Disclosure Barring Service. St. David's Hospice Care complies fully with the DBS Code of Practice and the Data Protection Act 1998 regarding disclosure information. Any information given will be treated as completely confidential and will only be considered in terms of its relevance to an application for positions to which the order applies. A criminal record will not necessarily be a bar to obtaining a position. If you have any concerns or queries on this matter, please seek advice from the HR Manager.

Section 11: Driving licence

Do you hold a current UK driving licence?*
   



Do you have access to a car?*
   

Section 12: Employment status

Are there any restrictions on you taking up work in the UK?*
   

Section 13: Referees

Please give below the names of two referees who have agreed to give a reference on your behalf and who are not related to you. One of them should be your existing or most recent employer.

Referee 1



Dates known





May we contact this referee prior to interview?*
   

Referee 2



Dates known





May we contact this referee prior to interview?*
   

Section 14: Background information

Have you had a recent bereavement of a close family member or friend?*
   

We advise a person who has had such a bereavement not to begin employment at St David’s Hospice Care until at least one year has elapsed. If, however, you feel able to begin employment and would like to discuss the possibility of doing so, please contact the Personnel Manager, who will be happy to discuss this with you.

Section 15: Declaration

Privacy Policy

Data protection: Information from this application may be processed for purposes registered by the Employer under the Data Protection Act 1998. Individuals have, on written request the right of access to personal data held about them.

Thank you for your application

We will get back to you as soon as we can.

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