Welfare Rights Officer

The Job and What's Involved

Welfare rights officers, also known as welfare benefits advisers or advice workers, provide information and advice to the public about welfare benefits and other areas which could include housing, employment rights and debt management.

As a welfare rights officer, you could advise clients face-to-face, over the telephone or by letter or email. You may advise on all benefits and rights issues (where you would be known as a 'generalist' adviser), or you could specialise by working with a particular client group such as carers, or advising on a particular topic such as housing.

Your work might include:

• Checking that clients are claiming all the benefits they are entitled to.
• Explaining benefit rules, eligibility criteria and official letters to people.
• Helping people fill in forms to apply for benefits or tax credits.
• Helping clients to prepare appeals.
• Representing clients at appeal tribunals.
• Liaising with benefits agencies and other organisations on behalf of clients.
• Referring clients to other sources of help if necessary.
• Keeping confidential records.
• Keeping up to date with relevant laws and policy.

You may also be involved in training staff and volunteers, publicising your service or campaigning on benefits issues.

In a full-time job you would typically work standard office hours with occasional evening or Saturday sessions. Part-time work is often available.

You would be based in an advice centre open to the public. There may also be some travel around your local area, to attend tribunals and visit outreach centres or the homes of clients who are unable to visit the office.

The work can be stressful and pressurised, but also rewarding.

Salaries are typically between £20,000 and £29,000 a year.

Getting Started with this Career Choice

The most common way to get into welfare advice work is to start as a volunteer in an advice centre.

As a volunteer, you would receive training in interviewing skills and a range of general advice topics including welfare benefits. You may also get the chance to gain a qualification such as NVQ Level 2 in Advice and Guidance Support or Supporting Legal Advice (available until December 2010). This may be helpful when you look for paid work.

It usually takes at least a year as a volunteer before you would be considered to have enough experience and knowledge to apply for paid work.

You could work for a range of employers such as:

- Citizens' Advice Bureaux (CAB)
- Law Centres
- Low Pay Units
- DIAL (Disabilities Information and Advice) projects
- Charities
- Local authorities
- Housing associations

Many jobs are fixed-term contracts of up to two years, depending on available funding. Jobs may be advertised in the local and national press and on employers' websites. Competition for paid work can be strong.

Education and Training

Many employers will not ask for formal qualifications as your experience would be the most important thing, but you should have a reasonable standard of English and feel comfortable with maths (for making benefit calculations). Many welfare rights officers have studied a subject such as social policy or community work to degree level, but this is not essential if you have enough practical experience of advice work.

You could also move into this type of work if you have experience as an adviser in a related area such as a local authority benefits department or Jobcentre Plus.

Employers may make Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks before you can start work (paid or vountary).

You may have an advantage for some jobs if you speak a community language.

A Few More Exams You Might Need

As a new welfare rights officer you will receive training from your employer. This would usually be a mixture of on-the-job training from experienced advisers, and short courses run in-house or by outside organisations such as the Child Poverty Action Group, Citizens' Advice or Advice UK.

You may also have the chance to work towards NVQ's at levels 3 and 4 in Advice and Guidance, or levels 3 and 4 in Legal Advice (available until December 2010).

As a paid or volunteer adviser in a Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), you would follow their nationally-recognised training programme. CAB also provides external training courses for people who work for other advice organisations.

You would also receive ongoing training throughout your career, to learn more about specialist issues and keep up to date with new benefit rules and case law.