You might choose to employ a personal assistant if you receive money from the City of Wolverhampton Council in the form of direct payment or a personal budget.
Direct payments enable you to purchase services from care providers or employ your own support worker – known as a personal assistant (PA). You will then have more choice and control over how your support needs are met. Your support would be personalised to meet your needs. However, taking on a PA turns you (as a direct payments holder) into an employer with all the legal, financial and practical issues that entails.
What is a personal assistant?
A personal assistant (PA) is someone employed by the family or young disabled person to help with day-to day living.
It is not a care role in the traditional sense and can involve personal care as well as many other tasks that you decide need doing.
What support can a Personal Assistant provide?
• Personal care
• Preparing meals
• Getting dressed
• Taking medication
• Getting to school or college
You should be able to review this regularly to ensure that your family’s needs are being met in the best way possible.
How do I recruit a Personal Assistant?
You may choose to employ your own Personal Assistant. If you do, Barrie Bookkeeping can give you as much support as you need to help you use your Direct Payment. The support service is independent of the Council and has a contract with the Council to provide support to people who choose to use direct payments.
The support service specialises in this advice and will provide support and information on all aspects of direct payments and how to be a good employer. They will be able to keep you up to date with changes in employment legislation and developments within independent living that may be of benefit to you when choosing to use your own staff.
City of Wolverhampton Council strongly recommends that you use the support of Barrie Bookkeeping when using your direct payment to employ Personal Assistants. Should you choose not to use Barrie Bookkeeping, you MUST inform the social worker who is supporting you. They will provide you with a factsheet pack to give you some guidance on becoming a good employer, how to keep safe and how to use Direct Payments.
If you are to employ your own PA
If you’re looking to employ a PA yourself, a job description can help agencies select a suitable PA for you and your child. This should include:
- A list of all the tasks you may need help with
- Any particular skills or qualifications they must have (e.g. a childcare qualification or a full driving licence)
- An estimate of the number of hours and days you will need the person to work
To find out whether you are eligible to access the service and to see more information including factsheets and guides about employing a Personal Assistant through the use of Direct Payment, Adult Social Care please visit Direct payments.
Further guidance about employing a PA can be found on the Skills for Care website. The Scope website also has useful information on recruiting and employing a PA.