Welfare Rights Officer Careers

Work Environment:

As a welfare rights officer (also recognized as welfare benefits advisers), give information and advice people regarding welfare benefits and other fields which can comprise debt management, housing and employment rights

Being a welfare rights officer, you can counsel clients by email or letter, face to face, or over the phone. You might give advice on all right issues and benefits where you'd be recognized as a generalist adviser, or you can do specialization by recommending on a specific topic like housing, or working with a specific group of client like carers.

Your job might comprise:

• maintaining confidential-records
• clarifying benefit regulations, official letters and eligibility criteria to public
• staying updated with related policy and laws

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• assisting people to fill up forms to submit an application for tax credits or benefits
• recommending clients to different help sources if required
• acting on behalf of clients at appeal-hearings
• making sure that clients are claiming all the benefits they're expected to get
• coordinating with benefits-agencies and different organizations in support of clients
• assisting clients for preparing petitions

Qualification, Education and Experience:

You can get into this profession by working as a volunteer within an advice center.

Being a volunteer, you'd get training into interviewing abilities and various common advice issues comprising welfare benefits. Furthermore, you might obtain the opportunity to achieve a qualification like Second Level NVQ into Advice and Guidance Support, which might be useful while you search for salaried work.

Generally, it gets minimum one year being a volunteer before you'd be regarded to hold sufficient knowledge and experience to apply for salaried work.

You can contact regional advice centers or Citizen's Advice Bureau, or check do-it.org, for further details regarding volunteer work.

Numerous employers would prefer work experience than official qualifications, although you must have a general standard of English and basis mathematical abilities for doing benefit computations. At degree level, several welfare rights officers have studied a subject like community work or social policy, although this isn't necessary if you've sufficient advice work experience.

You can also enter in this kind of profession if you've experience as an adviser within an associated field like a regional authority benefits division.

Employers might do CRB (Criminal-Record Bureau) inspections before you could begin. You might have a benefit for few works if you can speak a local language.

Training Details:

Being a welfare rights officer you'll be given training by your employer, normally a combination of practical training by experienced advisers, and short training courses executed by other organizations like Citizen's Advice or Child Poverty-Action Group.

You might also get the opportunity to acquire Third and Fourth levels NVQs into Advice and Guidance, or Third and Fourth levels NVQs into Legal Advice.

Being a volunteer or salaried adviser within a CAB (Citizens-Advice Bureau), you'd pursue their nationally acknowledged training course. It also gives external courses for persons who work within different advice associations.

You'd also get continuing training all through your vocation, to know further regarding specialist topics and stay updated with new case law and benefit regulations.

Skills and knowledge:

• mathematical abilities
• the capability to build confidence and make people feel comfortable
• excellent time management and organizational abilities
• the capability to coordinate with people from every backdrop
• excellent writing and oral communication abilities and listening-skills
• the capability to plan out your work and meet up targets
• an impartial and non judgmental approach
• a real aspiration to help out people
• the capability to work by yourself and as member of a group
• excellent negotiation abilities

Salary and Other Benefits:

Generally, salaries for welfare rights officers can be around £21,000 to £30,000 for a year.

Working Conditions:

You'd work for normal office hours, and sometimes with Saturday and evening sessions. You may also work on part time basis.

You'd be working within an advice center. You might be required to travel around your regional area, to be present at hearings and give visits to outreach centers or houses of customers who are unable to come at the office.

This job can be pressurized and demanding, although rewarding.

Different Opportunities:

You can discover work chances with CAB (Citizen's Advice Bureau) or different organizations which give welfare rights services and advice, like housing organizations, charities, Law Centers, regional authorities, and DIAL (Disabilities-Information and Advice) ventures.

Several jobs are on fixed term contracts basis of around 2 years, based on available backing. Employment openings may be publicized by the national and regional press and websites of employers.

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