Business Support Trainees - Welfare and Exchequer

The jobs will be based in the following teams:

Local Welfare Provision

Local Welfare Provision deal with people seeking urgent assistance with difficult situations for a wide variety of reasons. An empathetic, non-judgemental and flexible approach is essential to effectively assess their needs and decide on appropriate assistance within the limits of the scheme and related provision.

The tasks can include:

• Providing vouchers for food parcels and food vouchers
• Providing fuel vouchers
• Assessing a customer need for debt counselling
• Providing emergency assistance such as furniture or essential items
• Assessing a customer’s entitlement to additional help towards their rent or council tax

Non-Means Tested Benefits

The Non-Means Tested Benefits team deal with Blue badge applications, bus passes, free school meals and Kirklees Passports.

Daily tasks include:

• The process and ordering of Disabled Blue Badge Parking Permits and obtaining payments from our customers.
• Processing and confirming eligibility for Disabled Bus Passes & Free School Bus Passes.
• Carrying out eligibility checks for customers applying for Free School meals and liaising with Kirklees schools and academies.
• Dealing with queries concerning Kirklees Passports.

Other duties include:

• Monitoring email mailboxes and communicating with customers through a number of methods.
• Providing phone support to Kirklees Direct & Customers Services concerning customer queries.

Housing Benefit Overpayments

The Housing Benefit Overpayment team deal with those claimants who have been paid too much Housing Benefit due to a change in their circumstances. 

The work involves:

• Making decisions on the recoverability of overpayments
• Sorting invoices, reminders, final demands prior to being sent out
• Setting up new direct earnings attachments and chasing up payments
• Setting up direct debits
• Dealing with general queries from the public
• Recovery work, including referring cases to external Enforcement Agents and  the DWP
• Setting up new landlords for payment and changing current bank details

Business Rates

Business rates, or non-domestic rates, are a tax on the occupation of non-domestic property.

Day to day tasks involve:

• Updating our records to reflect when customers move in and out of business properties
• Processing reliefs and exemptions as appropriate
• Processing refunds
• Valuation work: bringing new properties onto our records and revising/deleting rateable value’s as appropriate
• Responding to emails, letters and telephone calls from customers
• Dealing with the recovery of unpaid rates including attending monthly court hearings and instructing enforcement officers to visit the debtor
• Negotiating with ratepayers to agree repayment arrangements

Revenues Officer

Councils raise revenue in the form of a local tax charged to occupiers of property, based on the value of that property.  Council tax officers determine the liability of local residents to pay tax, calculate it and administer the systems for requesting and collecting payment.

Day to day tasks involve:

• Keeping the computer database showing taxpayers' details up to date, for example, when they receive new information about someone moving into or out of a property or claiming a council tax exemption or reduction
• Resolving all customer enquiries/complaints at the first point of contact in a timely fashion, ensuring that accurate information and guidance is given at all times
• Processing items of work in our bespoke software systems
• Negotiating, agreeing and monitoring arrangements made with taxpayers who have had difficulties with payments
• Liaising with the Benefits Section to ensure that customers are awarded any council tax benefit that they are entitled to
• Supporting vulnerable customers and signposting them to appropriate assistance

Client Financial Affairs

Client Financial Affairs review online claim forms from customers to check if they qualify for financial assistance to help pay for their social care charges, this can include residential care and home care.

This includes:

• Raising invoices
• Generating standard letters
• Checking payments and ensuring care fees and bills are paid on time
• Helping customers with their finances
• Assessing the amount or financial assistance someone is entitled to
• Checking entitlement and proofs

Kirklees Benefits Advice Service

KBAS (Kirklees Benefits advice Service) provides advice and support to some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged residents of Kirklees. KBAS help them claim and maintain awards of welfare benefits thereby helping them to maximise their income.

Some of the areas you will be involved in include:

• Greeting clients and referring to the relevant department
• Signposting clients to other institutions or charities
• Being responsible for sending files to the council’s central archive
• Using spreadsheets to record the archived files
• Supporting the Benefit Advisers
• Gaining awareness of disability benefits and helping clients to complete benefit forms
• Assisting people through the appeals process for disability and sickness benefits.

Document Control Team

The Document Control Team are responsible for categorising and recording high volumes of manual and electronic documents received within the Service. We also provide a Business and Administration support role to the Service Management team.  Day to day tasks include:

• Indexing documents via the Services data image process system – searching and retrieving information and inputting data.   
• Post and scanning functions – this is an office based function and involves opening, sorting, scanning and indexing post.    
• Routing and controlling documents within the data image processing team to ensure that information received from customers, clients, agents etc. is sent for processing in a timely manner.   
• Managing the Services complaints database – recording and monitoring complaints received
• Administration of various communication links within the Service for example managing the Service e-mail account and Service SharePoint system

In order to be shortlisted for this post please complete the Shortlisting Questionnaire.