Personal Assistants

What is a Personal Assistant?

A Personal Assistant is a person who is employed directly by someone who needs additional support to live their life safely and achieve their agreed outcomes. A Personal Assistant is therefore somone that has been chosen by the person and is someone that they can get to know and trust over time. The Personal Assistant role is varied, it is based on good working relationships and can be flexible and highly rewarding for both parties.

Here are just a few ideas of how support from a Personal Assistant may be used:

• Support to access services e.g. leisure and social activities
• To promote personal independence, build skills and confidence
• Support with daily living
• Accessing facilities and making use of public transport
• Help their employer achieve what is important to them
• To provide dignified care

The aim of the role is to support citizens to achieve their goals, live a better quality of life and contribute as far as possible as active citizens.

How does it work?

Using Direct Payments from the Council means that citizens have the option of recruiting their Personal Assistant directly, rather than having a service arranged by Social Services. For many people employing a Personal Assistant of their choice, someone they can get to know, and trust can be life changing and enables them to live a fuller and more independent lifestyle. Employing a Personal Assistant means that the person becomes an employer and need to understand and meet certain employment rules to ensure that your Personal Assistant is treated well and that both parties get the best outcomes from the arrangement.

Flintshire Social Services have an experienced direct payments support team who are dedicated to enabling people who recieve direct payments to understand, set up and manage their arrangements in ways that helps them to get the best value from their funding, make choices about their care and have greater control over the arrangements that they rely on. Therefore, whenever someone chooses to employ a Personal Assistant they can be assured they will have information, support and advice at every step of their journey.

What are the benefits?

Being employed means that Personal Assistants receive a range of benefits and protection, such as annual leave entitlement, maternity leave, sick leave, employment support, entitlement to join a pensions scheme and opportunities for personal development.

There is often flexibility with such roles, this flexibility works both ways.

Personal Assistants working in Flintshire will also have the opportunity to undertake our PA Induction certificate as well as being able to access a broad range of training and qualifications to further their own learning and knowledge.

Being a Perdsonal Assistant enables people to enter into a range of rewarding roles, helping others to remain as independent as possible, and becomeing part of a professional and highly rewarding workforce.

What if I’ve been out of work?

Firstly not all citizens are looking for Personal Assistant’s with formal experience in similar roles. The chances are you have supported someone in your own life and this alone provides experience which others can benefit from. If you have the right qualities, good values, respect people and want to work within a highly rewarding role it is highly likely that there will be opportunities for you.

Training is available and is strongly encouraged. Some training may be mandatory but there opportunities to achieve this prior to starting or whilst learning your role.

Some Citizens only need support for a few hours a week, so this could benefit you and ease you back into work.

There are organisations which can also support you back into work helping to further your skills and confidence to enter work again.

What next…..

Current vacancies are advertised on various sites and spaces e.g:

• Flintshire County Council’s Personal Assistant Portal
• Indeed
• Job Centre
• Social media
• Local social groups
• Leisure Centre’s
• Colleges
• Find a job

Get in touch with the Direct Payment team to discuss current vacancies on 01352 701100 or email dp.support@flintshire.gov.uk

You can also create your profile on our PA register to be considered for upcoming Personal Assistant Opportunities.

Go to www.flintshire.gov.uk/paportal and to the Personal Assistants Home Page to register your profile.

For more information ;

Email dp.support@flintshire.gov.uk 

Tel 01352 701100