Employing personal assistants toolkit
Finding and choosing a personal assistant
EasyRead version
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Finding and choosing a personal assistant is often called recruiting.
There are laws about recruiting and different steps you have to go through.
job
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This part of the toolkit explains the things you have to do: n
have a job description and person specification
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advertise
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choose who to interview
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interview
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offer someone the job
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do checks
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keep records.
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Job description and person specification Think about your ideal personal assistant - the type of person you want and the things you want them to do.
job The job description tells people about the job and what your personal assistant will do.
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help with personal care
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make meals.
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The person specification says what you want your personal assistant to be like and the skills and experience they need to do the job.
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someone who can drive
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someone with a sense of humour
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someone who understands your religion or culture.
There are examples of a job description and person specification on the Skills for Care website: www.skillsforcare.org.uk/employingpas
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You need to advertise to tell people about the job.
There are lots of ways to do this: n
word of mouth Talk to people who might be interested. If this is someone you already know, think about how it might change things if they work for you and you are their boss.
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your local paper This is a way to tell lots of people about the job but it can cost a lot.
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Jobcentre Plus They will advertise your job for free and can help you write the advert.
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on the Internet It does not cost anything to advertise on websites like Gumtree: www.gumtree.com
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direct payment support organisation They might advertise jobs on their website.
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local college or university. They might know older students who want a job. Your direct payment adviser might also have some good ideas.
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Writing your advert Your advert should give people clear information about: n
the days and hours you need them to work
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how much you will pay them There are rules about how much you should pay. Ask your direct payments advisor what other people in the area pay their personal assistants.
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the area where they will work. You do not need to give your home address
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the experience or skills they need. The law says you must treat everyone fairly so if you need a man or a woman you must say why (for example because they will be giving personal care) 7
CV
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how to tell you about themselves. You can ask them to fill in a form or send you a CV (a paper that tells you about their education and other jobs)
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a closing date to reply by. Usually 2 weeks
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whether they need a CRB check (Criminal Records Bureau). This will tell you if people have been in trouble with the police. The person must have it if they work with children or people who are at risk
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other information like whether you want someone who can drive or who does not smoke.
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PO Box
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references. This means you ask for the name and address of 2 other employers they have worked for so you can find out what they were like
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where to reply to your advert. It is not a good idea to give your personal information so ask if your direct payments adviser or Jobcentre Plus can help. You can set up a PO Box for people to send letters to but you have to pay for this.
There is information about a PO Box on the Royal Mail website www.royalmail.com or you can telephone: 08457 950 950
There is an example of a job advert on the Skills for Care website: www.skillsforcare.org.uk/employingpas 9
Choose who to interview This is often called short listing because you think about everyone who is interested in the job and make a shorter list of people to interview.
You must look at how people match the job description and person specification and give everyone an equal chance. For most jobs you must not think about:
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whether you already know the person
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their age
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a disability
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their race or religion
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whether they are a man or a woman.
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You can get a booklet called ‘Delivering equality and diversity’ about the Equality Act and how to treat people fairly when you choose staff.
It is on the ACAS website: www.acas.org.uk
Once you decide who to interview you can ask them to come for an interview. It is better to meet people away from your home.
Your direct payments adviser or Jobcentre Plus might help you find a room for interviews.
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Interview Doing interviewing can make you feel as nervous as the person you interview. These are the things you need to think about:
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think of questions that link to the job description and find out what the person has done before and why they want to work for you
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ask a friend or direct payments adviser to help you with the interviews It is good to know what someone else thinks but this is your decision!
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have a break between interviews to make notes to help you remember what each person said
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do not rush into things. If you are not sure who you want to employ you can think about it, ask for more information or interview people again. If you do not think anyone is right you can advertise again and interview new people
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you must ask them for papers to prove they have the legal right to work in the UK.
You can get more information from The Business Link website: www.businesslink.gov.uk
The Home Office UK Border Agency Website: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk
Telephone:
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0845 010 667
Offer someone the job When you decide who you want to employ as your personal assistant you can offer them the job.
Tell them you have to check their references before they can work for you. If you need to do a CRB check you will also have to do this before they start.
Make sure you leave time to get all these checks done when you give them a date to start work.
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Telling people they did not get the job Dear Sir I am very sorry, but you did not get the job as my PA
You do not have to phone to say they did not get the job if you do not want to. You can send them a letter instead.
People might ask you why they did not get the job. This is why it is important to have notes from the interviews. Try to tell people what they did well, not just the reasons why you did not choose them.
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Do checks References help you:
job
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check people have told you the truth about themselves
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find out what other employers think about them.
The best way to get a reference is to send their previous employer a copy of the job description and ask questions about the person and how they will do the job.
It can be quicker to phone the other employer but this can make it harder to explain the job you want your personal assistant to do.
It is a good idea to ask them to send you a written reference after you phone them. 16
If someone gives you a written reference when you interview them, always phone the previous employer to check it is right.
CRB checks: n
tell you if the person has been in trouble with the law
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you must have one if the personal assistant will be working with children or people who are at risk.
Keep records You should keep all the papers about interviews for 6 months. This includes any notes you made. You will need these if anyone says they were treated unfairly when you decided who to employ as your personal assistant.
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You get more information from ACAS: Website: www.acas.org.uk
Telephone helpline: 08457 47 47 47
There is also information on the government website: www.gov.uk
Notes:
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If you would like this toolkit in a different format please contact Skills for Care:
Email: marketing@skillsforcare.org.uk
Telephone: 0113 245 1716
Skills for Care West Gate 6 Grace Street Leeds LS1 2RP Email: info@skillsforcare.org.uk
Credits This paper has been designed and produced for Skills for Care by the EasyRead service at Inspired Services Publishing Ltd. Ref ISL 281/12. January 2013. 19