Responsibilities
and Information
EHC
Personal Budgets
via Direct Payment
processes
Sept 2015 version 3
Contents Page
PAGE NO.
CONTENT
1.
What is a Personal Budget via a Direct Payment
3.
Using the money
5.
Keeping safe
9.
Getting started
14.
A young Person between 16 and 18 years old
15.
Managed Bank Account
17.
Employing family
20.
Recruiting a Personal Assistant
38.
Adult Social Care Assessment
40.
Good record keeping
Direct Payments Team - 01629 532023
What is a Personal Budget via a Direct Payment?
The official guidelines state
A Personal Budget is an amount of money identified by the Local
Authority to deliver provision set out in an Education, Health and
Care (EHC) plan where the parent or young person is involved in
securing that provision.
Personal Budgets should reflect the holistic nature of an EHC plan
and can include funding for Special Education, Health and Social Care
provision.
They should be focused to secure the provision agreed in the EHC
Plan (Named Outcomes).
There are four ways in which the parents/young person can
access a Personal Budget:1. Via a Direct Payment – where individuals receive cash to
contract, purchase and manage services themselves
2. An arrangement – whereby the Local Authority, school
or college holds funds and commissions the support
specified in the EHC Plan (notional budget)
3. Third party – where funds (Personal Budget via Direct
Payments) are paid to and managed by an individual or
organisation on behalf of the child’s parent or young
person.
4. A combination of the above.
1.
NB. If there is a delay in the process of setting up an EHC
Personal Budget then an interim provision would need to be
sorted to meet immediate needs so the EHC plan can be
completed within timescale of 20 weeks. These interim
provisions will need to be written together with choice of
how the payment to be accessed (1-4) and how the outcomes
in the plan will be met via the Personal Budget.
Please note that an Education Personal Budget cannot be
granted unless the Head of setting (nursery, school,
college or training facility) has given their approval where
the provision takes place on school premises or the
budget request is normally met by them.
This is not the case with a Personal Health Budget or a
Social Care Personal Budget. These budgets can stand
alone without having an EHC - for further details of these
Personal Budgets please ask key workers for these
services.
You will find a list of providers together with their costs listed on the
Local Offer web site www.derbyshiresendlocaloffer.org these will be
agencies accredited with Derbyshire County Council.
2.
Using the money!
Your child’s /your EHC plan gives detail of the Outcomes which will
govern how you will use your child’s/your budget. They should have
been set with your full participation and agreement. What is
important is that your child/you achieve all the eligible outcomes
within the assessed budget. When making decisions about how to
spend the budget you also need to consider that the budget is finite.
Although there is flexibility in how you meet your child's/your
outcomes you need to balance your expenditure to meet all the
allocated outcomes of the EHC plan. Your child/you should be
involved in all the planning and decisions that need to be made.
When budgeting, remember that everything has to come from their
Personal Budget. For example, this includes reasonable
administration costs, managed account costs and insurance/ payroll
services if you are employing staff, etc. There is no additional funding
for any of these items.
Using the Money
Legally you can use the money for anything that is safe, healthy and
legal which achieves the outcomes agreed. This doesn’t mean that
you cannot use the money flexibly, but your child’s/your EHC plan
should outline the general way that you will use the money to
achieve each of the outcomes.
This should also detail costs. Anything you spend the Personal
Budget on must be traceable. This means you cannot make cash
payments from the Personal Budget direct payment. Everything you
spend the Personal Budget on must be directly related to an agreed
outcome of your child’s/your EHC plan. If you are not sure if
something is agreed, talk to your child’s/your DCC worker.
3.
Employing personal assistants (PA)
If you choose to employ personal assistants, you need to employ and
pay them properly, i.e. using a payroll service to work out tax,
national insurance contributions, etc. There are also additional costs
involved in employing staff which you need to budget for in your
support plan.
For further details re employing PA’s etc. please see page 20
What you cannot spend your Personal Budget direct payment on
· Anything illegal
· Employing a close family member living in the same house except in
exceptional circumstances approved in writing
· Anything which does not meet your child’s/your agreed outcomes in the
EHC plan.
· HMRC fines or costs
· Bank charges if the Personal Budget direct payment account becomes over
drawn or payments are rejected by the bank due to lack of funds in the
account for example.
4.
· Legal or tribunal costs should your personal assistant take action against
you for any reason
· Any costs awarded to your Personal Assistant by an employment tribunal
· Any costs associated with any dispute with an agency or service provider
4.
KEEPING SAFE!
Personal Budgets allows extra control over
your child/your care arrangements and means
that you can identify personal carers. This may
help your child/you feel safe from the risk of
abuse or neglect. However there are times
when this trust is misplaced.
If at any time you as a parent/your child/you are concerned about a
PA, agency or health professional’s behaviour please speak out. If your
child has a Social Worker speak to her/him in the first instance, you
can also ring Derbyshire County Council call centre on 01629 533190
during working hours or 01629 532600 out of hours service.
Do not keep your worries and concerns to yourself.
Whatever you do, make sure you talk to someone. Tell your
DCC worker, a health professional, such as your GP, Health
Visitor or Community Nurse. You could also talk to your
teacher at school, your college tutor or welfare staff at
college. You could tell a trusted family member, friend,
neighbour, community leader or someone from your church,
synagogue, mosque or other local religious centre.
In an emergency you can dial 999 and ask for the police
5.
All PA’s employed must have a current Disclosure and Barring Service
(DBS) certificate. The DBS check can take several weeks to process
(average of 4 weeks). If they hold a current CRB (Criminal Records
Bureau) or current DBS checked through Derbyshire County Council
they could start work straight away but you would need to see the
documentation and discuss with your child or Young Person’s DCC
worker. Please see page 8 for further details.
It is important to talk to the person you intend to employ about their
understanding of child protection issues and ensure that the job
description clearly sets out the extent of the relationship with, and
the degree of responsibility for, the child/young person with whom
the person will have contact. It is important that they understand
that their practice is conducive with child protection.
If the Personal Assistant you intend to employ is unknown previously
to you or is not a trusted family member, it would be safe practice to
request both professional and character references, one of which
should be from the applicant's current or most recent employer.
Additional references may be sought where appropriate.
Wherever possible references should be obtained prior to the
interview, so that any issues of concern raised by the reference can
be explored further with the referee and taken up with the candidate
during interview.
The referee should be asked to confirm whether the applicant has
been the subject of any disciplinary action and whether the applicant
has had any allegations made against him or her or had concerns
risen which relate to either the safety or welfare of children and
young people or about the applicant's behaviour towards children or
6.
young people. Details about the outcome of any concerns or
allegations should be sought.
If the person you employ claims to have specific qualifications or
experience relevant to working with children which may not be
verified by a reference, the facts should be verified by making contact
with the relevant body or previous employer and any discrepancy
explored during the interview.
Child Protection Training for Personal Assistants
You can arrange for your PA to undertake Child protection
training through Derbyshire County Council training section.
Your PA will need paying as normal out of your child’s /your
Personal Budget monies to attend the training. Child
Protection training is considered essential. If there is not
enough money in the PB direct payment account to pay the
PA to attend the training you will need to talk to your child’s
worker. A temporary increase in PB monies to cover the
extra hours needed to enable your PA to go on the Child
Protection Training. A certificate is awarded to attendees.
DBS CHECKS
The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Independent
Safeguarding Authority (ISA) have merged to become the Disclosure
and Barring Service (DBS). CRB checks are now called DBS checks. For
work with children an ‘Enhanced with lists check’ is required, this will
check whether someone’s included in the 2 DBS ‘barred lists’
(previously called ISA barred lists) of individuals who are unsuitable
for working with children or adults.
7.
A DBS check has no official expiry date. Any information included will
be accurate at the time the check was carried out. It is up to an
employer to decide if and when a new check is needed. As a guide
Derbyshire County Council employees have afresh DBS check every 3
years. Derbyshire County Council will pay for all DBS checks carried
out on Personal Assistants. Agencies are responsible for carrying out
and paying for DBS checks on their own staff. You should check that
all agency staff working with your child or young person has a valid
and current DBS certificate.
Applicants and employers can use the DBS update service (see DBS
website - link below) to keep a certificate up to date or carry out
checks on a potential employee’s certificate.
You’re breaking the law if you don’t refer someone to DBS
when you should.
Employers must refer someone to DBS if they:
· sacked them because they harmed someone
· sacked them or removed them from working in regulated
activity (See DBS Website) because they might have harmed
someone.
· were planning to sack them for either of these reasons, but
they resigned first.
Contact the barring helpline for help referring someone to DBS.
Telephone: 01325 953795 (up to 9p per min land line, up to 40p per
min mobile)
DBS link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/disclosure-andbarring-service
8.
GETTING STARTED
You will need to sign an agreement in which you will agree to use the
money as set out in the EHC Plan/ Support Plan and to keep records
about how you use the money. The agreement also sets out what
you can expect from Derbyshire County Council.
Basics to know about a Personal Budget direct payment
 Money is paid into the bank account or
managed account. Clear instructions are needed
of frequency of the payments to be made
when setting up the Personal Budget via a Direct
Payment as this should be quarterly (4 times per year) - it will
default to every 4 weeks in advance unless stated otherwise.
 A record of how you have used the money is needed. If you
choose to employ personal assistants you will be an
employer and will have to follow employment law.

Before a payment is made, you need to decide how you the parent/you will
manage the Personal Budget direct payment and what account will be
used?
9.
PARENTS MANAGING THEIR CHILD’S PERSONAL BUDGET
As a person with parental responsibility you will receive the Personal
Budget on behalf of your disabled child. You are therefore considered
to be the client receiving your child’s support as a direct payment.
This means you are responsible for managing the payment, including
providing DCC with paperwork to show how you have used the
money.
‘With choice and control comes responsibility’
The responsibilities involved in receiving a Personal Budget via a
direct payment are outlined in the “Direct Payments Agreement for
Children with Assessed Needs”, which both you and your child’s
worker sign. It is important that you understand what you are
agreeing to by signing the agreement. If you will be employing staff
you also need to understand your obligations as an employer. The
direct payment agreement can be provided in different formats, if
this is required, such as other languages or large print. If you need
the agreement in another format, please discuss this with your child’s
DCC worker. Your child’s DCC worker can also help you to understand
the Personal Budget direct payment agreement. If you are unable to
understand the agreement, your child’s worker will need to consider
if you are able to have a Personal Budget on behalf of your child.
If you are to manage the direct payment, you need to open a
separate bank account. You will need a bank account which is just for
direct payments and has no other money going in or paid out. Ideally
you need a current account, which allows direct debits and transfers
i.e. internet banking. If you can’t get a bank account, talk to your
child’s DCC worker. They can support you with a letter which may
10.
help you to get one. If you still can’t get a bank account, don’t worry,
you could have a managed bank account.
If you are going to employ personal assistants you don’t have to work
out tax and national insurance yourself, you can use a payroll agency
to do the calculations for you or Her Majesty’s Customs and
Revenues (HMRC) free service.
Your child’s DCC worker will have some forms they have to complete
to get the Personal Budgets via a direct payment set up and will need
to send these, along with the signed disabled children’s direct
payment agreement and bank details, to the direct payment finance
team.
How long until I receive the payment?
Payments cannot be made into the account until all the required
paperwork has been received, including the bank account details.
Your child’s DCC worker will give you a start date from when the
Personal Budget amount will be paid. The finance team will write to
you soon after receipt of the paperwork to confirm your Personal
Budget.
Payment can only be backdated for up to 28 days from when the
completed paperwork has been received, so getting your paperwork
completed as soon as possible is important. If there is a delay which
is not your fault and you have completed your paperwork and given
it to your DCC worker on time, then it may be possible for the direct
payment to be backdated beyond the 28 days as long as the setting
agrees.
If your DCC worker has agreed you can start using the Personal
Budget direct payment and you have already contracted with an
11.
agency, or a personal assistant has already started working for you,
you must keep records to be able to pay them from the direct
payment account. Without these records your Personal Budget will
not be backdated.
Parent managing the direct payment on behalf of their child
A child under 16 years of age cannot take responsibility for their
Personal Budget direct payment nor sign the “Direct Payment
Agreement for Children with Assessed Needs”. Only a person with
parental responsibility can do this on their behalf. No other adult
related to or known to the child can manage a Personal Budget direct
payment on behalf of that child or sign the direct payment
agreement.
The person with parental responsibility becomes the Personal Budget
direct payment recipient, with the responsibility to manage the
Personal Budget to purchase support for the child to meet the
outcomes in their EHC Plan/Support Plan. If there are two parents
with parental responsibility only one can sign the direct payment
agreement. This agreement sets out the responsibilities of the
person with parental responsibility.
The bank account can only be in the name of the parent who signed
the Personal Budgets direct payment agreement. We cannot make
payments into a joint account between both parents with parental
responsibility. Neither can the signatory nominate a third party to
manage the Personal Budget on their behalf. The account must be a
current account.
12.
The parent who signed the Personal Budget direct payment
agreement is also the employer for any personal assistants and is
responsible for being a good employer, i.e. taking out appropriate
insurance, paying tax and national insurance. The parent would also
be responsible for contracting with a service provider, including any
contractual obligations. They are also responsible for meeting all the
DCC financial monitoring requirements of a Personal Budget direct
payment.
The money belongs to Derbyshire County Council and is only
to be used to provide support to the child with assessed
needs as detailed in the outcomes of the EHC plan/Support
Plan.
13.
A Young Person between 16 and 18 years.
As a young person between 16 and 18 years of age you can have a
Personal Budget in your own right. Your DCC worker will need to talk
to you in detail about the responsibilities of having a Personal
Budget. This will include ensuring you fully understand the “Standard
Direct Payment for a Young Person aged 16 to 18” before you sign it.
This should be recorded in the outcomes of your child’s plan.
There is a lot of support available to help you with your direct
payments. There is a list of where you can get support on page 43
for some Useful Contacts.
If you feel unable or wish to not take control of your Personal Budget
then your DCC worker will elect an Authorised Person such as your
parent to do so on your behalf.
Even if you have signed the direct payment agreement, you can
nominate someone else to support you to manage the Personal
Budget. This is an agreement between you and someone willing to
assist you with the Personal Budget. This person is called a Nominee.
There is a place on the form for information about a nominee. You
and the person you have chosen to support you, will both need to
sign. You would still be responsible for the Personal Budget and you
would be the employer if you use Personal Assistants.
If you use a service provider or agency you would maintain
contractual responsibilities. Your nominee can help you with
administrative tasks, including sorting out timesheets, invoices,
receipts from taxi’s, etc. You need to open a current bank account. If
you use a nominee to help you with the Personal Budget direct
payment you can have the nominees name added as a signatory or
your nominee could have the account in their name if you are unable
14.
to sign cheques. However this is your decision and you do not have
to have a nominee.
Managed Bank Account
A managed bank account may be a good option if you feel the
monitoring responsibilities would be something you would find
difficult to manage. A managed account is not giving up control of
the Personal Budget; a managed account provider works on your
behalf and makes the payments you tell them to. The managed
account provider will take on the administration responsibilities of a
Personal Budget direct payment, leaving you with time to manage
your support. However, you still retain all employer responsibilities. A
managed account provider will pay any service provider invoices or
wages to personal assistants, along with submitting your monitoring
forms to DCC. You will still need to send timesheets or invoices to the
managed account provider for them to make the payments.
With a managed account DCC would make the payments to the
managed bank account provider and they would make all payments
on your behalf. You would retain control of the Personal Budget as
employer and any contractual responsibilities. There are a number of
managed account providers who can help you manage your direct
payment. For details please contact your child’s DCC worker or the
people listed on next page.
The paperwork and Personal Budget direct payment agreements
remain the same whether you are managing the Personal Budget
yourself or you choose to contract with a managed account provider,
other than the bank details.
15.
DO NOT OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT IF YOU ARE CHOOSING TO
USE A MANAGED BANK ACCOUNT
Managed Account Providers Which managed account provider
you choose is up to you, as long as they can meet the DCC monitoring
requirements. Here are some providers but you can choose another.
If you do have another service in mind, please contact the direct
payment team on 01629 532023.
The Rowan 02476 322860
Care in Finance 0845 241 0999
http://www.therowan.org/
www.careinfinance.co.uk
Makes payments to personal assistants,
agencies, provides telephone support,
advice with setting PA rates and payroll
issues plus 4 weekly statements
Makes payments to personal assistants,
agencies, provides telephone support,
advice with setting PA rates and payroll
issues plus 4 weekly statements.
Enable Payroll 02031 374406
Paypacket 0800 848 8998
www.enable-payroll.co.uk
http://paypacket.co.uk/
Makes payments to personal assistants,
agencies, provides telephone support,
advice with setting PA rates and payroll
issues, provides 4 weekly statements
and online accounts.
Makes payments to personal assistants,
agencies, provides telephone support,
advice with setting PA rates and payroll
issues, provides 4 weekly statements and
online accounts.
Penderels Trust 02476 511611
Ability Finance 01773 742 165
www.penderelstrust.org.uk
www.dcil.org.uk
Makes payments to personal assistants,
agencies, provides initial home visit if
required, provides 4 weekly statements.
Makes payments to personal assistants,
agencies, provides telephone support,
advice with setting PA rates and payroll
issues.
16.
Employing Family
While family can be employed via a Personal Budget, there are
exclusions and considerations. Your child/you cannot have a Personal
Budget specifically to employ a family member as you cannot employ
a family member who lives in the same house as you or your child.
The Direct Payments Guidance 2009 and Direct Payments Regulations
2009 prohibit anyone receiving a direct payment from employing
family members living in the same household as the client.
This includes the household in which the child lives, the household
of the parent with parental responsibility (even if they live in a
separate household) and any person nominated by a young person
(16 to 25 years of age) to support them with the management of
their direct payment unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Exceptional Circumstances
While the regulations are clear that close family members cannot be
employed via a Personal Budget direct payment, they do allow us to
make exceptions where required. An exceptional circumstance is one
where we cannot meet your needs in any other way. Only a CAYA
District Manager or if in education SENCO (or equivalent) can make
the decision regarding whether or not your child’s/your situation
warrants an exception. Usually exceptions are only made in
circumstances such as a location being difficult for other personal
assistants to get to, communication issues, cultural or religious
needs, mental health or terminal illness. We will also need to
consider how your child’s/your needs will be met when your family
member is unwell or is taking a holiday.
If as a parent you are the signatory on the children’s Personal Budget
direct payment agreement, you are the Personal Budget recipient so
17.
you cannot employ or contract with a family member living in your
house in any way, whether as a personal assistant, self-employed
personal assistant or as an agency carer in an agency in which you
have a vested interest. Furthermore you cannot pay volunteer
expenses to a family member living in your own house or living with
the child who the Personal Budget is for. As the signatory you cannot
also be the personal assistant or be paid for any role from the
Personal Budget direct payment, such as payroll or accounting or for
travel costs when taking your child out and about.
Nominee
Only a young person can arrange to have a nominee to support them
with the management of their direct payments if the young person is
the sole signatory on the direct payment agreement. As a Nominee
you do not have the legal responsibility for the Personal Budget, this
remains with the young person. Nevertheless as the Nominee, with
the young person’s permission you can sign timesheets, invoices, etc
and also be joint signature on the direct payment bank account, i.e. if
the young person is unable to sign cheques, due to the nature of
their disability. Therefore, the same exclusions apply to a Nominee as
to the parent with parental responsibility.
Employing family not living in the same house
Family members not living in the same house can be employed via a
Personal Budget. However, you still need to be a good employer and
your family will have the same employment rights as any other
employee. We recommend that you have a job description and by
law you must give written terms and conditions of employment which is best given as a contract of employment. Having these will
help you establish boundaries about what a family member does as
18.
an employee and what they do as a family member. Family members
employed must also pay tax and national insurance as any other
employee.
For further information regarding employing family members, please
see the Direct Payments Guidance, Community Care, Services for
Carers and Children’s (Direct Payments) Services 2009 which by
found online at:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/www.dh.gov.uk/en/S
ocialCare/Socialcarereform/Personalisation/Directpayments/DH_0
76522
19
Recruiting a Personal Assistant (PA)
Finding the right personal assistant (PA) for your child is important
and it can be difficult to know where to begin to find that person. If
you wish to employ your own personal assistant, and do not have
someone already in mind, you will need to recruit somebody to be
employed by you. There are a number of ways of finding a PA.
 You can ask people you know who you think may be interested,
i.e. Friends, neighbours, etc.
 You can advertise i.e. in a local shop window, job centre, local
papers
 You can contact Disability Derbyshire for help with recruiting a
personal assistant.
 You can use one of the many resources out there such as PA
Pool - though there may be charges.
Where should you start?
 You need to think about what you want your personal assistant
to do.
 Use the outcomes of your child’s/your EHC Plan/Support Plan
as a guide
 Any tasks your PA does need to enable your child/you to meet
these outcomes
 Write down the tasks and use these in the Job Description.
 You also need to set an hourly rate you will pay your PA. How
much you pay your PA is up to you, but you must pay minimum
wage or more.
 Any Personal Assistant you consider will need to meet all the
20.
relevant employment legislation. More information can be
found on: https://www.gov.uk/browse/employing-people.
 You need to make sure you have enough money left over to pay
other costs, i.e. insurance, payroll costs, holiday pay, relief
hours, etc.
The current rates of minimum wage can be found at
https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
Advertising for a Personal Assistant
 To advertise for a personal assistant you need to think how best
to let people know you are looking for someone to work with
your child
 This can depend on where you live but you may consider
placing an advertisement in the local shop or notice boards
 If you have internet access you could use the job centre website
 Reasonable costs for advertising can be funded from the
Personal Budget but think carefully before placing very
expensive advertisements in newspapers. It may be that they
don’t reach local people. Please do not include personal details
on any advertisement.
Support with Recruiting a Personal Assistant
If you are not sure what to do or what you are looking for you can
contact Disability Derbyshire Coalition for Inclusive Living (DDCIL)
on 01773 742165. Their support workers can help you with
drafting job descriptions, advertising for staff, holding interviews
and personalising contracts of employment.
E-mail: direct.payments@dcil.org.uk
Website: www.dcil.org.uk
21.
References and Disclosure and Barring Service
 To safeguard your child, we recommend you obtain satisfactory
written references for the personal assistant and a ‘satisfactory’
and current Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Any
potential personal assistant will need a DBS check carried out
and come back ‘satisfactory’ before they start work with your
child. Derbyshire County Council insists you have an enhanced
DBS disclosure carried out on any PA you wish to employ to
work with your child even if this is a family member. DCC pay
the cost of the disclosure.
 You will need to check with any PA you employ, or propose to
employ, whether they have anything recorded on their DBS
certificate. This is now your responsibility to do so, as
Derbyshire County Council no longer has this information to
help make a judgement about the suitability of the PA and
potential risks involved in employing the PA concerned. Your
child’s DCC worker can insist on seeing the DBS certificate of
any potential PA as part of their child protection
responsibilities.
 If you want a DBS check carried out on a potential PA please
contact your DCC worker who will make the necessary
arrangements. (Agencies are responsible for carrying out DBS
checks on their own carers).
 Please note:
 DCC staff cannot become involved in employment matters nor
support you as the employer should you experience any
employment difficulties. This is because the contract between
an employer and their staff, including those who consider
themselves to be self-employed, is a private matter. You are
22.
strongly advised to take out employer and public liability
insurance and include the insurer’s legal employment helpline
in the policy.
Managing Personal Assistants
Being a good employer is very important. To do this there are some
tasks you must complete. These are: provide a contract of
employment, follow health and safety regulations, purchase
employers liability insurance and only dismiss your personal assistant
after taking advice and following disciplinary procedures.
Contract of Employment
It is a legal requirement that all workers are provided with written
terms and conditions of employment. These are best provided in a
contract of employment. A sample contract can be found on DCC
web pages: www.derbyshire.gov.uk/directpayments
It is also useful to have a job description. If you need support to
personalise this you can contact Disability Derbyshire on 01773
740246 or 01773 742165.
Insurance
All employers must have employer’s liability insurance in case of an
accident or injury to a PA. This safeguard is important because you
may not be able to meet any claims against you without this cover. It
is also a legal requirement. Derbyshire County Council recommends
you take out employer’s liability insurance with additional benefits to
include tribunal expenses and 24 hour help lines for health and
safety and employment matters. It is up to you which insurance
provider you purchase this insurance from, but three organisations
which provide this level of cover are:
Fish Insurance can be contacted on 0800 088 3245 or at
23.
https://www.fishinsurance.co.uk/independent-living-insurance.php
Direct Care Insurance can be contacted on: 0800 458 3301 or at
www.directcareinsurance.co.uk
Premier Care can be contacted on: 01476 514478
www.home-employment-insurance.info/direct-payments-insurance
This insurance does not cover your property from damage and you
would need to check your buildings and contents insurance to see if
you are covered. Your PA will also need to have business use on their
car insurance if they are using their own car to transport your
child/you. This is paid by the personal assistant privately.
Health and Safety
As an employer you are responsible for the health and safety of the
people you employ while they are working for you. Please share any
Moving and Handling Assessments, Specialist Intervention reports or
risk assessments you have, with your PA.
Your PAs are also responsible for taking care of themselves
and following any instructions from you for their own safety.
Home care safety is a shared responsibility. You and the person who
is assisting your child/you are both responsible for making sure that
you work safely to keep everyone free from harm. Take advice from
your insurance provider about carrying out risk assessments. If a
member of staff becomes pregnant, you will need to do a pregnant
worker risk assessment and make adjustments to their work if
necessary. Any worker who is 16 or 17 years of age will also need a
risk assessment carrying out.
For support with Health and Safety contact your insurance provider.
The HSE website www.hse.gov.uk may also contain information
24.
useful to you.
Training for Personal Assistants
Personal assistants can access Derbyshire County Council training
free of charge. Derbyshire can provide funding for cover required
where the training is essential to the job, for example; child
protection courses, moving and transferring training where your PA
assists your child to move. To arrange training please contact
Derbyshire County Council training on 01629 531415.
PAs can also access New Level 2 and 3 Diplomas in Health and Social
Care. You can contact the Vocational Qualification Team Unit on
01629 531915.
The direct payment team can provide you with a guide and
application form for PA training, which will help you decide if the
training is essential. Contact us on 01629 532023. You should keep a
record of what training what your PAs have completed or your
insurance could be invalid.
Managing staff
We recommend you talk to your child’s/your personal assistant on a
regular basis, to discuss the role and hopefully resolve any issues
before they arise. This should include giving them positive feedback
about how they are doing. Sometimes it may be necessary to
discipline your staff. If you have any concerns about the conduct of
your staff, you MUST take advice before taking any action. No
matter what your member of staff has done, do not dismiss them
without advice, even if you feel what they have done amounts to
gross misconduct. If you don’t feel able to continue working with
25.
them, it is acceptable to inform them you don’t need them further
that day, on their usual pay, and immediately take advice.
Where you have insurance provided by FISH, Direct Care
Insurance or Premier Care, ensure you contact them for
advice, and follow any advice given, or your insurance could
be invalid. Keep a record of what you are advised and by
whom. They all operate a 24 hours legal employment
helpline.
Disability Derbyshire can provide emotional support with disciplining
your child’s/your PA with practical support such as note taking. You
can contact them on 01773 740246 or 01773 742165.
Setting the Hourly Rate
When setting the hourly rate for your child’s personal assistant, it is
very important to think about the costs of being an employer and
make sure you have enough to cover both the employees wage and
the associated employer costs. What you pay your personal assistant
is up to you, as long as it is above the minimum wage 1 October 2014
it is £6.50 per hour for adults 21 years and over.
Payroll Options
You are responsible as an employer to register with HM Revenue and
Customs and pay tax and National Insurance on behalf of your
personal assistant.
Tel: Employers helpline 0300 200 3211 or 0300 200 3200 for advice
and to register. Or visit www.hmrc.gov.uk
HM Revenue and Customs now requires monthly returns as part of
Real Time Information (RTi) and if you choose to manage your own
payroll, you will need to make online returns every time you make a
26
payment to a personal assistant.
Alternatively you can use a payroll agency, which will register you as
an employer and calculate tax and national insurance for you.
Payroll agencies who can calculate your tax and national
insurance:
Ability Finance payroll - 01773 740246 - www.dcil.org.uk
Paypacket payroll - 0800 848 8998 - www.paypacket.org.uk
Rowan Organisation – 02476 322860 - www.therowan.org.uk
These agencies can also provide managed account services.
Help in choosing the right provider for you can be found by
contacting your DCC worker or the DP social work team.
Other payroll providers are available and you can use your
own payroll provider as long as their charges are
reasonable.
When planning your budget you need to make sure you have enough
money in your contingency to pay for:
 Employers Liability Insurance (approximately £135.00 per year)
 Cover for personal assistant holidays (5.6 x your weekly PA
hours)
27.
You may also need to pay for:
 Payroll costs
 Employers National Insurance (For staff earning over £144 per
week)
We recommend paying personal assistants around £8.50 gross. If
you have been given a personal budget, you
need to consider these costs when planning how many hours you
wish to use and what hourly rate to pay. Please note that Tax and
Employee’s National insurance contributions are deducted from the
PAs hourly rate.
Timesheets
You and your child’s personal assistants need to have a record of
what hours they have worked, so your PA should complete a
timesheet. A timesheet can be any form that shows what hours
someone has worked. The timesheet should be signed by you both.
Derbyshire County Council will provide you with sample timesheets
to use if you prefer.
If you are using a payroll provider or have a managed bank account,
the timesheet must be sent to the organisation providing payroll. The
payroll will use the timesheet to calculate what wages to pay your
personal assistant and what tax and national insurance is required to
be deducted. Your payroll provider will also inform you how much
your Employer’s National Insurance contributions are.
Personal assistant expenses
If your outcomes include accessing social events and activities, you
need to discuss with your DCC worker if there is enough in the
budget to pay for personal assistant expenses. Your child’s/your
28.
personal assistant must be paid for their time in the normal manner
when supporting your child/you in the community. You cannot just
pay their expenses or give them a gift in lieu of their salary.
Whilst out, you are expected to pay for your child’s/your own
refreshments, travel costs and entrance fees. If your child/you are
being transported in their PA’s vehicle you would normally be
expected to fund this from your personal money or from your
child’s/your mobility allowance. If you feel there is an exceptional
reason why your child’s/your transport costs should be included in
their support plan, talk to your DCC worker.
You may agree with your DCC worker for costs to be named as an
Outcome in your child’s/your EHC Plan for a proportion of your
child’s/your Personal Budget. However these expenses need to be
reasonable and within HMRC guidelines, otherwise they could be
taxable income. This also ensures that there is responsible use of
public monies. HMRC rates are:
Daytime social activity, Refreshment limit - £5.00
Evening social activity which lasts until after 8pm
Refreshment limit - £15.00
Full day and evening social activity, Refreshment limit - £20.00
(2 meals)
Mileage rates up to 45p per mile. We usually recommend 40p per
mile but it is your decision.
The direct payment finance team will query any costs above this and
you may be required to pay the additional costs back.
29.
Public Transport
You can reimburse ‘no more than the necessary costs of business
travel’ and only for journey’s forming ‘part of an employee’s
employment duties’. A reasonable limit, i.e. coach fare or 2nd rail class
fare. If your child/you wishes to go 1st class with their PA then you
must pay the difference privately. Please note 1st class travel is seen
as an employee’s taxable benefit and you will need to declare the
cost when sending the PA timesheet to your payroll service.
Derbyshire County Council does not recommend contracting with
self-employed individual’s for personal assistant tasks. In law there
are certain conditions that must be met for someone to be classed as
working in a self-employed capacity.
A personal assistant may not meet these conditions. If you have a
self-employed worker you could be found liable for all the tax and
national insurance.
HM Revenue and Customs are the only people who can decide a
workers status.
If HMRC decide after your personal assistant has been working for
you that they are not self-employed, you could be liable for the full
tax bill and any costs and fines.
If you do decide you want to go ahead and contract a self-employed
personal assistant, then we would advise you to take the following
steps.
30.
Ensure the individual is registered as Self Employed
Firstly, remember, the decision whether someone is self-employed
rests with Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs (HMRC). HMRC
could decide that they are not self-employed, and that you are liable
for any tax and national insurance owed to them. Make sure that the
personal assistant provides you with a Unique Tax Reference number
(UTR). You can also contact HMRC on 0300 200 3600 to check if they
are self-employed. More information about if someone is selfemployed can be found at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/employment-status/index.htm#1
Ask the self-employed worker for a contract
Your self-employed worker should provide you with a contract which
details terms and conditions, important issues it should cover, for
example, are:
They are responsible for their own tax and national insurance
contributions
Notice period to terminate
Notice to change arrangements
Tasks that can be included
Hourly Rate
They are responsible for budgeting for holidays and sickness
They have their own insurance
You need to consider your cover arrangements, as a self-employed
personal assistant must NOT send someone in their place or arrange
cover for you, as this requires registration with Care Quality
Commission and without this they would be acting illegally.
31.
Employer and Public Liability Insurance
It is a good idea to take out your own Employer and Public Liability
Insurance, even if the self-employed personal assistant says they
have their own. In the event of a dispute it is advisable to be able to
seek legal employment advice particularly if there is a question over
the personal assistants employment advice.
Ask for a four weekly invoice
The invoice should contain sufficient details to enable you to check
it is accurate, i.e. number of hours worked and when, amount
charged, tasks carried out, etc.
The invoice should also contain the name and address of the selfemployed personal assistant
The self-employed personal assistant should give you their invoice.
It is up to you to authorise payment
Ask the personal assistant to sign the invoice to say they have
received payment
If you have a managed bank account it would be best if you sign
and date the invoice before sending it for payment. This will help
reduce the risk of misunderstandings in the event of a query
over payment
Never use a timesheet for a self-employed worker
Each self-employed worker must produce their own invoice for the
work they have done. A self-employed worker cannot invoice for
any work someone else has done.
32.
Hourly Rate for self-employed workers
A self-employed worker should set their own rate, however you
need to ensure that your child’s/your personal budget can afford to
contract with them. Before calculating how many hours you can
request at their rate, you need to deduct costs such as; Employers
Liability Insurance, Managed Bank Account costs, relief personal
assistant salary, etc.
Employers liability insurance
You need to find money to pay employers liability insurance from the
budget. Although you are contracting with a self-employed worker,
the recommendation is you take out insurance in case of a dispute.
This insurance needs to be paid for from the Personal Budget.
Managed bank account costs
If you have a managed bank account you need to deduct the cost of
the managed account from your budget (don’t forget to also budget
for their fee for paying the Invoice)
Parents - Keeping your child safe
Even when you contract with a self-employed personal assistant they
will need a valid DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check. This is
mandatory as your child is the client and is under the age of 18 years
old. Please see page 25 for further details
33.
Advantages to choosing to use a service provider
Contracting with a service provider, you will have different
responsibilities. You will agree with the service provider what you
want them to do with your child/you and when. a payment into your
Personal Budget direct payment account for the amount that has
been agreed for you. You pay the service provider when they invoice
you.
A service provider will take care of the following:
 Recruitment of support workers
 Provision of support workers and cover for holidays/sickness
 Paying wages/tax and insurance/sick pay and holiday pay
 Insuring staff against accidents
 Training staff
 Supervision and discipline of staff.
 DBS checks on their staff
Some other factors to think about
 You may not always be able to choose which support worker
your child has. A service provider will try to work within your
child’s preferences but they may not always be able to
 A service provider may be more flexible and able to help out in
emergencies
 The price of the service provider needs to be checked, to
ensure your child’s direct payment money will cover the cost.
Some service providers charge higher rates than those set by
DCC.
Always ask their hourly rate and the rate for travel, The Local Offer
lists out some of these. If you choose to use a more expensive
service provider, calculate the cost incurred and check that you
34
can afford to pay the extra, keep within your child’s/your Personal
Budget and still meet the outcomes of your child’s/your EHC
Plan.
 The service provider should provide you with a contract,
detailing what they charge per hour, what happens if their
worker is sick, how much notice to cancel a visit without being
charged, training and experience staff have had, DBS
(Disclosure and Barring Service) checks, notice period to
terminate their services, etc. Check this contract and ask for
support if you do not understand it.
 The service provider must be registered with The Care Quality
Commission if their workers carry out personal care tasks.
What information do I need to give to the service provider?
You may wish to give the service provider a copy of your child’s /your
most recent Assessment and/or EHC Plan detailing the outcomes to
be met and any risk assessments. You need to discuss with the
provider what information they require to be able to meet your
child’s /your needs. Check that the service provider can meet your
child’s/your needs in the way your child/you wants and at the times
wanted.
What if I want a Service Provider to employ and manage
staff on my behalf?
Some service providers may be prepared to employ and manage staff
on your behalf. If you decide to follow this option it may be worth
considering the following:
 Check how much the service provider charges for this service,
35.
what the ongoing costs are and what they cover. For example;
training. (DCC provide relevant training free of charge to
personal assistants so there would be no need for the service
provider to charge you for training although the PA would still
need paying for their time as usual).
 Ensure you are involved in the recruitment process, including
reading the references and ensuring there are current DBS
certificates on all potential PA. You know best.
 A young person may wish to be involved in the recruitment
process and every effort should be made to accommodate their
involvement.
 Make sure the staff are contracted to provide support for your
child and can only undertake other work for the Service
Provider outside your child’s requirements.
 Check how much say you have in what the staff do to meet the
outcomes of your child’s /your EHC Plan.
As with other providers, make sure you include points such as the
notice period for changes in their charges, notice period for staff
leaving, etc in your contract with them. Don’t forget to give them a
copy of your child’s EHC Support Plan and any risk assessments.
Finding a provider
You will find a list of providers together with their costs listed on the
Local Offer web site www.derbyshiresendlocaloffer.org these will be
agencies accredited with Derbyshire County Council. As a Personal
Budget holder you can choose to use an agency not accredited with
DCC.
If you would like some support with contracting with a service
provider, DCIL support workers should be able to help. They can be
36.
contacted on 01773 742165.
Another option is to involve someone you trust whether it is a family
member, friend or member of your local community.
Please note:
As said before unfortunately your DCC worker cannot become
involved in recruiting Personal Assistants, including ‘self-employed
Personal Assistants, or choosing a service provider. This is because
contractual arrangements are a private matter between yourself (on
behalf of your child) and the Personal Assistants (regardless of their
employment status) and or the service provider.
When a young person reaches 16, time and attention is required to
consider the transition to adulthood. This may be earlier if there are
complex needs. This can mean life planning and the young person
deciding what they want to do once they reach adulthood. This is
also a time to look at the transition from Children’s Social Care
Services to Adult Care. Social Care Children’s workers at this time
should be making contact with Adult Care to begin the process early
to ensure appropriate services are in place and the transition is
smooth. The EHC Support plan will reflect the changes as they
happen and work to be coordinated between the three services.
Once a young person reaches the age of 16, the Personal Budget
direct payment can no longer be paid to a parent on their behalf,
unless they are appointed as a suitable person. At this stage your DCC
worker will need to fill in a “Standard Direct Payments Agreement for
a Young Person aged 16 to 18” agreement form to establish whether
the Young Person/Nominee or Suitable Person takes overall control of
the Personal Budget.
37.
Adult Social Care Assessment
The transition to adulthood process should be started early, thought
through and work clearly named as Outcomes in the EHC plan,
though a young person does have the option not to continue with an
EHC plan opting to leave education/training post 18. The
Health/Social Services elements of the EHC support plan will
probably continue post 18.
An adult care worker will complete an ‘assessment of needs’. This
assessment will take into account what the young person’s needs are,
what outcomes they would like to achieve and also what support
they have available from families and friends, these should already
be listed within the EHC support plan as part of the present and
future Outcomes that have evolved as the young person grew into
adult hood.
These outcomes could include what the young person needs in their
life, such as achieving activities of daily living. If a young person is
going to college or University. If they are planning to move to
independent or supported living etc..
Capacity
Whether a young person once they reach adulthood has capacity or
not to manage and take responsibility for their Personal Budgets is an
important decision and subject to the legal framework of the Mental
Capacity Act 2005.
The Mental Capacity Act's main purpose is to provide a legal
framework for acting and making decisions on behalf of adults who
lack the capacity to make particular decisions for them – selves.
A person must be assumed to have capacity unless it is established
they don't.
38.
In many circumstances it is clear whether a young person can or
cannot manage their own Personal Budget. For example, a young
person with severe learning difficulty is unlikely to have capacity to
manage their own Personal Budget. Nevertheless a young person
with Asperger’s Syndrome may well have capacity, but needs support
to complete the relevant forms, etc.
If the young person has no impairment of mind or brain, then
capacity must be assumed and the Personal Budget direct payment
would be transferred to them at 18. They can nominate someone to
help them manage the Personal Budget direct payment, such as a
parent. The young person would sign a standard adult direct
payment agreement. The young person would normally open a bank
account in their name for the Personal Budget monies or they can
choose to have a managed account. The young person is fully
responsible for their own Personal Budget.
If the young person has an impairment of mind or brain, such as a
learning disability, then their capacity to make the decision to receive
their Personal Budget direct payment must be considered. An adult
worker would carry out a ‘capacity assessment’. This would involve
communicating with the young person in an appropriate format to
explore what their understandings of the responsibilities involved
with a Personal Budget direct payment are. If the capacity
assessment finds that they do not have capacity they would need a
‘suitable person’ to manage the budget on their behalf.
Anyone involved in the young person’s care can be appointed as a
‘Suitable Person’. It is usually the person who has the most
involvement. There are guidelines to who we should look to as a
‘suitable person’. The ‘suitable person’ signs the ‘suitable person
direct payment agreement’. The Personal Budget monies would be
39.
made into the suitable person’s bank account via a direct payment.
The Suitable Person is fully responsible for the young person’s
Personal Budget.
The rules around use of the Personal Budget via a direct payment
and employment law remain the same for adults and children’s
services.
Good Record Keeping
Everyone is required to keep financial record of things such as wages,
benefits, mortgage statement; a Personal Budget is no different.
We recommend you use your initial administration payment of £5.00
to purchase a file for you to keep all your child’s/your paperwork in.
It is best to keep the paperwork up to date as you go, but there may
be times when your child/you are not well enough to do this. As long
as you make sure all letters, statements, invoices, receipts go in this
one file then it is easier to sort out when you are well enough again.
The essential documents to show how you have used your Personal
Budget monies is the expenditure summary and the bank statement.
Four Weekly Monitoring
Derbyshire Direct Payments Office ask that you send in copies of your
Personal Budget payment records every four weeks. What you need
to send to us will be dependent on whether you employ a personal
assistant or if you are using and agency or other service.
Four Weekly monitoring to be sent to Direct Payments Finance
Team if:
Employing a Personal Assistant
Expenditure summary
40.
Bank Statement
Copy of timesheet for each personal assistant
Receipts or invoices for any other service or expenditure.
Contracting with a service provider or self-employed personal
assistant
Expenditure summary
Bank Statement
Invoice for work carried out, including hours worked, hourly rate
and any other expenditure
Receipts for any other expenditure
Address to send your documentation is:
Direct Payments Finance Section
Adult Care
County Hall
Matlock
DE4 3AG
01629 532119
You can send your documentation via email to the direct
payment finance team. However please remember the
documentation will contain sensitive and confidential information,
i.e. your child’s Personal Assistants name, pay details, your Personal
Budget bank account details, etc. therefore we strongly advise that
you password protect any information you send and send the
password to the DP Finance Team in a separate email.
Emails
41.
Direct Payment Finance Team email address:
direct.payments@derbyshire.gov.uk
For additional timesheets and expenditure sheets please telephone
the Direct Payment Finance Team on 01629 532448 or email
direct.payments@derbyshire.gov.uk
If you are not sure how to complete the timesheets please ring the
Direct Payment Finance Team on 01629 532448 for advice or contact
Disability Derbyshire (DDCIL) on 01773 740165.
Where do I keep my records and for how long?
It is important to keep your child’s/your Personal Budgets Direct
Payments documents, letters and paperwork in a safe place. They
contain important information about your child/you, your personal
assistants and agencies (if you use them).
The Data Protection Act says that employee’s personal data should
be kept safe, secure and up to date. Most of this information will be
on the personal assistants application form, contract of employment,
payslips, correspondence and DBS Certificate, for example. Therefore
it is important to keep these safe.
It is a good idea to have a separate file for each personal assistant so
the information does not get mixed up.
It is best if you have somewhere to lock this information. If you do
not have anywhere to lock it, think about keeping the information in
a safe place where only you have access.
It is advisable to keep your Personal Budget direct payment and
employment information for 6 years, plus the current year’s records.
This does not mean you cannot get rid of the information when it
reaches the 6 year period. But please remember you will need to get
42.
rid of it safely as it will contain confidential information about your
child/you and any staff employed. It is a good idea to use a shredder
preferably one which cuts the paper into very small pieces. Please do
not put the information straight into the bin, even if you have torn it
up by hand or cut it with a pair of scissors.
Don’t forget your personal assistant has the right to request to see
their records. It is your responsibility to keep your child’s/your
personal assistants records secure.
If you keep your records on your computer or any other electronic
devise, i.e. laptop, iPhone, etc., please remember you are still subject
to the Data Protection Act. If you need to pass on confidential
information to a third party, i.e. to your payroll service, managed
bank account provider, Direct Payment Finance Team, etc; please use
a password to protect the data. Again, when deleting the information
please ensure you erase it from all sources, i.e. desk top files, hard
drive, external storage facilities, memory sticks, e-mails, etc.
Derbyshire County Council Contacts
Direct Payments Team
01629 532023
Can provide general direct payment advice
Direct Payments Finance Team
01629 532119
They can help you with your direct payment monitoring Paperwork
Timesheets and Expenditure Summaries
01629 532448
43
If you want more timesheets and expenditure summaries ring the
Direct Payment Finance Team
Address: Direct Payment Teams, Adult Care, Derbyshire County
Council,
Matlock, Derbyshire. DE4 3AG
E-mail: directpayments@derbyshire.gov.uk
Website: www.derbyshire.gov.uk/directpayments
Direct payments paperwork can be accessed via the link on The Local
Offer www.derbyshiresendlocaloffer.org
Employment matters Employer and Public Liability Insurance
Take advice from your Insurer’s legal employment helpline.
ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service)- 0845747 4747
ACAS can help with employment matters providing independent free
advice to employers and employees to solve problems.
There is also a question and answer section on Personal Budgets
(direct payments) employment matters in the Advice A – Z topics on
their website. www.acas.org.uk
Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) - 0844 848 9800
CAB offices can provide advice and support with employment
matters. They have offices situated in various locations around
Derbyshire. Many have drop in sessions or you can make an
appointment. www.adviceguide.org.uk
Disability Derbyshire Coalition for Inclusive Living (DDCIL) - 01773
742165
44.
Their direct payment support workers can help with recruitment and
general employment matters. They will also provide advice if you
decide to contract with a Service Provider.
www.dcil.org.uk
Gov.UK Website
This is the official UK government website. There is a lot of advice on
employment matters. There is a section headed ‘Employing Staff for
the First Time’ listing 6 things you need to know when employing
staff for the first time. You may find this information particularly
helpful.
https://www.gov.uk/employing-staff
Health and Safety
Employer and Public Liability Insurance
Take advice from your Insurers legal employment helpline. Please
remember to follow the advice given or your insurance may become
invalid.
Gov.UK website
There is a section on Health and Safety at Work on the Gov.UK
website:
https://www.gov.uk/browse/employing-people/health-safety
Health and Safety Executive
There is comprehensive health and safety information on this
website. www.hse.gov.uk
45.
To recap - Tips and advice
Always take advice before dismissing staff
This has to be at the top of the list. Even if someone has done
something which you feel is gross misconduct, please don’t dismiss
staff without taking and following advice. Your insurance provider will
have a helpline which you must contact. You need to follow the
advice they give or your insurance could be void.
Keep every bit of paperwork
Even if you are not great at organising paperwork, have a box or file
where you keep everything .Then no matter what happens you will
have the information in that box or file. Keep a record of every shift
staff do, even if you use an agency.
Don’t forget to keep the paperwork in a safe place, secured in a
locked drawer or cupboard, as it has confidential information about
your child’s personal assistants or service providers.
Ask for Help
Whatever the issue, staffs at Derbyshire County Council CAYA want to
help you get the most from a Personal Budget with as little
inconvenience to you as possible. We want your child to enjoy the
benefits of having a Personal Budget. So if you need any advice, help
or information just ask us but in the first instance contact your
child’s/your DCC worker.
46.
Make sure you plan your budget
You need to make sure you try to plan for every cost to be met from
your child’s/your Personal Budget. This is especially important when
setting your hourly rate. If you employ personal assistants you need
to account for their salary, 5.6 weeks holiday pay, up to 2 weeks sick
pay, relief staff to cover when your PA is off, employers liability
insurance, payroll costs, managed bank account costs (if applicable)
and maybe employers national insurance. If you need help to plan
your budget, talk to your child’s/your DCC worker.
We recommend you don’t use self-employed workers
HM Revenue and Customs say that personal assistants are not selfemployed and this can mean you could be liable for a large tax bill.
Although not recommended, if you do have self-employed workers,
please ensure they give you a unique tax reference number to show
their self-employed status, ask them to invoice you for their hours
and do not complete timesheets, and ensure you have a service
contract with them. Do not forget they will need a satisfactory DBS
check before they start working with your child.
Everyone
Keep on top of your Personal Budget, it is a lot easier to do your
paperwork once or twice a week than once every four weeks
Make sure you know what you will do if your personal assistant
or the agency can’t make it one day. Make sure you have a
plan for sickness and unexpected emergencies
If you Employ Personal Assistants
Always take up references and new DBS checks for personal
47.
assistants (a DBS check is essential)
Always have a contract of employment with a probationary
period
Write up a job description so you are clear what you want staff
to do
Take out employer’s liability insurance if you employ staff
You may choose to use a payroll agency if you struggle with
calculations or if you also struggle to keep records organised
Ask for support with recruiting staff and any other issues with
your Personal Budget.
If you use an agency or other services
If you choose to use an agency ask for a contract and check it
over to make sure it is fair before signing it.
Check for things like the notice you need to give to cancel the visit
or the service and charges if you do, have the agency staff all got
an up to date satisfactory DBS certificate.
Don’t be afraid to tell the agency what you want and request which
worker you prefer. The agency may not be able to provide exactly
what you want but you may be able to negotiate
Ask the agency to invoice you four weekly. It can be very confusing
for you if they invoice you monthly.
Contingency Planning
Where you receive a Personal Budget direct payment it is essential
that you plan for the future.
48.
Ensure you have planned should you need to ‘bank’ money to cover
extra support during your child’s school holidays or planned
respite for example. This would be included as part of the
Outcomes of your child’s/your EHC Plan.
Ensure you have a plan of what you will do if your employee is
unable to attend work
Check you know what to do if your child’s/your service provider
lets you down
Make a plan about how your child’s/your Personal Budget will be
managed or ended if you are unable to do it anymore, such as
through other commitments, ill health or death.
ABOVE ALL ENJOY THE FREEDOM OF PLANNING YOUR OWN
LIFE, PROVISION AND ACTIVITIES THAT HAVING A PERSONAL
BUDGET BRINGS!
49.
NOTES
NOTES