This book is a reference guide for all colleagues. It explains how everything works at Communicourt, in bite-sized, searchable chunks; from our values, to processes, policies and pay. We regularly update this book because we’re always exploring better ways to do things. As our organisation develops, so will the contents of this guide.
AboutUs
Ourpurpose&values
Ourorganisationalstructure
StaffGroups
Communicourtoffices
Practitioners
Operationsteam
When&whereyou work
Travel
Yoursafety
Teamdays
Flexibleworking
Breaks
Howdoweallocatework?
TravellingtoCommunicourtoffices
Travellingtobookings
Overnightstaysforbookings
Travellingtoteamday
Usingtaxis
Safeworkingpractices
Onlinesafety&socialmedia
Travelling&loneworking
Whoyouworkwith(safetyconsiderations)
Whereyouwork(safetyconsiderations)
Yoursafety (continued)
Pay,pension&
benefits
Apps,equipment& IT
Media&journalists
Bullying,Harassment&SexualHarassment
Pay
Pension
Benefits
Recordingyourtime
Claimingexpenses
Stationery&equipmentexpenses
ITsupport,devices&equipment
Dataprotection&confidentiality
Internalcommunications
Outofhoursmessages
Annualleave&purchasingholiday
Juryservice
Restdays
Emergencydomesticleave
Compassionateleave
Leave
Careerbreaks&sabbaticals
Familyleave
Sickleave
Howabsenceswillbemanaged
Medicalappointments
Charity&volunteeringdays
Whotocontact
Guidesandresources
Wellbeingambassadors
MentalHealthFirstAiders
ThisisMe
Yourwellbeing
Yourcareer
Extrasupportatwork
HR(HumanResources)
Wellbeing-relatedpolicies
Careerdevelopment
Supervisionandreviews:Practitioners
Supervisionandreviews:Adminteam
Intermediarycompetencies
RCSLTcompetencies
CPD
Jobvacancies
Secondments
Disciplinaries
LeavingCommunicourt
Policies&Guidance
Glossaryofdocumentsandresources
About us
Communicourt was founded in 2011 by speech and language therapist Naomi Mason, who was also working as a registered intermediary assisting witnesses. From her work in the courts, Naomi realised many defendants had communication needs but they received no support throughout their proceedings. Fuelled by her passion for fair access to justice, she started the business from her dining room with just one member of staff.
The business grew and Billy Scrimshire joined Communicourt as Operations Manager in 2015. Billy, who is also Naomi’s son, took over as Managing Director in 2020 when Naomi retired. Under Billy’s management, the organisation has grown to more than 120 members of staff and is now the largest provider of court intermediaries in England and Wales.
His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) launched an Approved Intermediary Service (HAIS) framework in 2022. Communicourt is a Managed and Approved Supplier of court intermediaries under the HAIS framework.
Our purpose and values
We want people with communication differences or difficulties to have equal access to legal proceedings. We strive to identify and implement personcentred strategies which assist court users to participate effectively at all stages of the legal process, from conferences with their solicitor to giving evidence at court.
Our values guide our work, from Head Office through to practitioners, we are led by five important values: Collaboration, Courage, Innovation, Respect, and Diversity.
These values shape how we work together across the organisation, and how we work with others externally. You can see how we think these values influence our culture and behaviours on our website.
They help us to recruit people who share our values, but also are also guided by their own, individual, personal values, a sense of social justice, and a desire to help someone at a moment of vulnerability in their lives.
This diagram gives you an overview of how Communicourt is structured. There is a full ‘Who’s Who’ available on Communicate.
Chris Horrocks Head of Stakeholder Engagement
Sharon Murphy, Head of People
Billy Scrimshire, Managing Director
John Moroney, Finance and Commercial Director
Lucy Osmond, Lead Practitioner
Sarah Smith, Chief of Staff
Employee Forum
The Employee Forum is a group of employees who meet to raise and discuss views and suggestions from colleagues across the organisation. They meet every two months to discuss anything that has been passed to the Employee Forum representatives or submitted through the anonymous form. Any recommendations are then taken to the senior leadership team. To find out more, submit something to be discussed or see a list of the current Employee Forum Representatives, visit the Employee Forum page on Communicate.
Diversity Ambassadors
The Diversity Ambassadors group made up of several working groups, focuses on achieving positive changes across a variety of areas within the company. Projects have included reviewing and improving the diversity of our assessment and training materials, examining how gender impacts experiences in the workplace, establishing the RCI Neurodiversity Network and conducting an annual Communicourt Diversity Survey.
More information about Diversity Ambassadors can be found on Communicate, including how to get involved, project updates, and links to anonymously submit topics for discussion or for the DA corner of the newsletter.
Neurodiversity Network
The Neurodiversity Network was set up by members of the Diversity Ambassadors, aiming to establish a cross-RCI group space for neurodivergent employees. It currently exists as a Communicourt-only Whatsapp group, and a cross-RCI Teams group.
Neurodivergence refers to (but is not limited to), autistic employees, and staff with ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, sensory processing disorders and mental health conditions. You do not need a diagnosis to be a member of the network. If you identify as neurodivergent, this space is open to you. To find out more or get involved, please contact Victoria Petrides or Rory Sizer.
Getting involved
There are always a variety of projects and working groups going on in the background at Communicourt, and plenty of ways to get involved. From department-specific projects like updating training materials and revamping resources to company-wide efforts such the Mental Health at Work Commitment Team, Team Day Planning Committee and our staff groups (see the staff groups tile on Communicate for more information).
There are opportunities to represent Communicourt outside of our usual roles too, though delivering external CPD sessions or speaking to students about the intermediary role. Our communications team are always looking for people to get involved in creating content and way to mark awareness days and cultural events throughout the year, as well as contributions to our internal and external blogs.
When & where you work
When and where you work
Practitioners and Operations colleagues have different working lives. Practitioners are contracted from their home addresses and travel to courts, prisons, solicitor offices and other locations across England and Wales. Operations colleagues are largely based at our Head Office.
Please note: all practitioner contracts are tied to their place of residence, and they all have a contractual obligation to live within easy reach of a major railway station (and to be able to access this station via public transport). If you wish to relocate, you will need to complete a Change of Personal Details Form and submit it to the Lead Practitioner or Service Delivery Manager for approval. Moving house without prior approval may lead to a potential breach of contract, which could have serious consequences for your employment. Read more about the Change of Personal Details Expectations here.
Communicourt offices
Head Office is at Trigate Business Centre on Hagley Road, Oldbury. The Senior Leadership Team, Bookings Team, Finance Team, Communications, Recruitment, and Client Relationship Team are all based here.
We also have a Birmingham City Centre training centre at The Southside Building, in Hurst Street. This centre is just a few minutes walk from Birmingham New Street station. We run our initial training programmes and recruitment days at this centre.
Practitioners are contracted to work 2,080 hours a year (equal to 40 hours a week). Contracted hours are annual, as some weeks you may work over or under 40 hours.
Work includes a mix of bookings, admin, and project work. Bookings may fall at any point between 6am and 10pm, depending on travel and court processes.
There may be occasional Sunday travel to accommodate court attendance on a Monday, although this is kept to an absolute minimum. If you need to stay overnight for work, most practitioners can claim a Disturbance Payment of £25 per night (see Overnight Stays policy).
While some weeks may be busy, at other times you may have blank days (this is when there is no booking on your calendar for that day). Please note that a blank day is not the same as a Rest Day (which is treated as Annual Leave - learn more in the Annual Leave & Rest policy).
How you manage your time on blank days is largely up to you. You must be contactable during working hours, and prepared to work if an emergency arises, otherwise, you may choose to complete competencies, undertake CPD, check the work of others, work on projects, complete other tasks or take some downtime if your hours are high.
Read blank days guidance
Operations Team
Operations colleagues typically work from 9am until 5pm, Monday to Friday. The external office telephone line is manned from 09.00am until 16.45pm. The internal staff line is manned from 7.30am until 17:30pm.
All colleagues must attend Team Days, which take place four times a year. They are currently held in Birmingham city centre and take place on Saturdays. We cannot close our service during the week for Team Days because the courts are open. Team Days
Practitioners should include Team Days as part of their working hours on their timesheets. They can take the time back on days when they do not have any billable work (known as blank days). Operations colleagues are given a day in lieu for each Team Day they attend as they do not use timesheets to log working hours.
Read more about travelling to Team Day
Flexible working
We aim to offer as much flexibility for our colleagues as possible, and our approach is informed by the needs of the courts. If practitioners are not allocated to a billable booking, they manage their own time.
For Operations colleagues, our standard working pattern is 9am until 5pm, with 30 minutes for lunch. If you need an alternative working pattern, eg, 10am until 6pm, or 8am until 4pm, please discuss this with your line manager. We are happy to consider any working pattern you think will work for you, but we cannot guarantee we will always be able to accommodate your request.
Any changes to your working pattern must be sustainable for your wellbeing, productivity and the needs of the role. We will always give you clear feedback if we don’t think we can accommodate your request and discuss any alternative solutions with you.
Read the Flexible Working policy.
Breaks
Everyone should take a rest break during the working day. For every six hours of work, you need to take at least a 30 minute break. The break can be split into two 15 minute breaks.
In the scenario in which an intermediary works over 12 hours in a day, they must take at least an hour’s break. Again, this can be split up, but should be made up of breaks of at least 15 minutes each.
How do we allocate billable work?
Billable work refers to anything that we charge HMCTS for. This covers conferences, court work, assessment and report writing. When allocating a booking, we follow this process:
We want our organisation to be as sustainable as possible. We ask all colleagues to use public transport wherever possible. We have limited parking at our Head Office, with a car parking rota for staff who are based there. When working at Southside, there are two parking spaces available, check with a member of the Senior Leadership Team if you wish to use these.
Practitioners travelling to our offices via public transport should expense their travel using Pleo and log it on their Odoo timesheet.
Travelling to bookings
All practitioners should use public transport to travel to court and assessment bookings as a first option. Communicourt can claim train expenses from HMCTS, and it is easier for practitioners to work on the train and get work done before they get home.
Sometimes, we understand it is easier and less time-consuming to drive to a location. You can drive your own car to a booking, but you will need to meet the following criteria:
You have appropriate car insurance, e.g. business use
You are driving from your contracted address
The journey by car will take an hour or less, and is at least 25 minutes faster than public transport
These criteria are in place to protect you. Driving long distances is tiring, and may also mean you will still have a report to finish when you get home.
Please note, you can claim the mileage back as an expense (45p per mile) but you cannot use your Pleo card to buy petrol.
Read the Driving Policy
Overnight stays for bookings
Practitioners may need to stay overnight to attend bookings. The Bookings team make every effort to minimise overnight stays and ensure these are spread evenly across practitioners.
The Bookings team are responsible for booking hotels (unless you are travelling for Team Day). You can request a hotel using the Hotel Booking Form if: you are on the same case for 2 or more consecutive days and the journey time will be more than two hours each way from home to the booking location. you need to leave home before 6am to get to a court booking on time
Email the form to the admin inbox no earlier than 48 hours in advance of you needing a hotel. If there is a last minute change, you may need a hotel for the same day. In this case, please email admin with the subject line: ‘URGENT FOR TONIGHT’.
If your hotel hasn’t been booked by 3:00pm on the day you require the hotel, please contact the Service Delivery Manager.
Read the Overnight Stays Policy
Travelling to Team Day
Team Days are currently held in Birmingham, so everyone can travel there by train or bus. You can expense public transport tickets through the Pleo app. Practitioners should also record travel on their timesheet (and their activity during the day).
We do not usually reimburse mileage for anyone who has driven to Team Day. If you think you need to drive to Team Day for any reason, please speak to your line manager.
If travelling to Team Day will require you to leave your house before 6am, you are welcome to book a hotel for Friday night. You should book a hotel yourself using your Pleo card (instead of asking the Bookings team for a hotel).
Read the Team Day hotel guidance
Use of Taxis
If you know in advance that you might need to get a taxi for part of your journey to a solicitor’s office or court, you need to get authorisation from the Service Delivery Manager.
You do not need prior authorisation to get a taxi if: there is an emergency (such as your train is cancelled and if you wait for the next one you will be late), please go ahead and book one.
Make sure you get a receipt with the following details: taxi company date and time you took the taxi pick up and drop off points price signature from the driver
If the taxi company does not have receipts, a hand written receipt, or written note of the Taxi License Number is fine. you are travelling and feel unsafe for whatever reason. Your safety is the most important thing, so please do get a taxi if you are concerned.
Read the Timesheets and Expenses policy for more information.
Your Safety
Safe working practices
Your safety is Communicourt’s first consideration. You will only ever be asked to attend events or bookings in professional locations. The safe working practice guidance outlines how best to manage your safety when working in a variety of settings, such as: courts, prisons, solicitors’ offices, whilst travelling and when working from home. However, there may be times when unexpected situations occur. The golden rule is: if you don’t feel safe, remove yourself from the situation. This can be done by making a discreet excuse (‘I need to use the toilet/make a phone call/ ask the solicitor something’), alerting other professionals to the problem or taking a taxi to distance yourself from the situation. You do not need prior approval to get a taxi to ensure your safety.
Read the Safe Working Practice guidance
Online
safety and social media
It is important that all staff always act responsibly when using social media. They should present themselves in such a manner which does not have any detriment to Communicourt as a professional entity, or the services which are provided as part of our contracts.
Make sure you have activated security settings on your social media accounts and be careful about the content you share. You must not accept friend requests from any service users on any social media platform. If you receive any persistent requests, or you are concerned, let your Team Leader know.
Read the Social Media and Appropriate Communications policy
Travelling & lone working
You can find more information about your safety while travelling and lone working in the Safe Working Practice guidance, which includes guidance on staying safe while using public transport and when staying in hotels.
One of the most important things to remember is that Communicourt will support the actions you take to ensure your safety. If you are travelling for work and you feel unsafe, you do not need to get prior approval for taxi travel, or to change hotels. Just keep the receipts and contact the Bookings team when it is safe to do so. The “Ask for Sally” procedure can be used to discreetly alert colleagues to a safety issue and arrange help.
Who you work with
Who you will be working with is an important consideration when you are risk assessing your professional activities. The Safe Working Practice guidance includes helpful points to keep in mind when working with:
Service users (general information)
Unrepresented service users (the Assisting Unrepresented Service Users guidance may also be helpful in these cases)
Legal professionals
Other professionals
Where you work
Safety considerations and risk assessments can vary depending on where you are working. For example, if you are working in criminal court in the dock, you may want to consider how you will discreetly alert the dock officer or court to any possible issues that arise. If you are conducting an assessment at a solicitors office, it may be helpful to arrive
early to arrange the assessment room and to ensure that a member of staff will be close at hand.
You may also want to consider how you will leave court, and what steps you will take if you encounter someone involved in the case on public transport.
There are lots of different safety considerations which may be helpful to keep in mind, depending on the setting you are working in. These are detailed in the Safe Working Practice guidance, which includes specific safety advice for:
Working in courts, including in:
- Conference rooms
- Cells
- Docks
- Leaving court
Working in a solicitors office
Working in prisons and secure settings
Working in ‘unusual locations’ (e.g., hospitals or parentbaby units).
Read the Safe Working Practice guidance
Media and journalists
If you are approached by a journalist or media of any description while you are working with a service user, refer them to the Head of Communications and Marketing. You must not make any comment or answer any questions. If a service user asks you to approach a journalist for whatever reason, you should make it clear that is outside the scope of your role. You can find more information about dealing with press and media in the social media policy.
Read the Social Media and Appropriate Communications policy
Bullying, harassment and sexual harassment
Communicourt has a zero tolerance policy on bullying, harassment and sexual harassment. These three issues are distinct from each other but are handled using the same processes (explained below). These issues can affect any team member, and can be perpetrated by anyone inside or outside of Communicourt. Colleagues, legal professionals, service users and other people you encounter in your working life can be responsible for bullying and/or harassment.
Whatever the situation, Communicourt will take the matter very seriously, treating it with the utmost seriousness and confidentiality.
Harassment is unwanted behaviour related to one of the following protected characteristics: age, sex, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion, belief, sexuality, marriage or civil partnership, maternity or pregnancy.
Sexual harassment is unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature, which is either intended to or has the effect of violating someone's dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for someone. Sexual harassment can include (but is not limited to) things like telling sexually offensive jokes, asking about someone’s sex life, touching someone against their will, making sexual comments or jokes about someone's gender transition, sexual assault and rape.
Bullying at work can be perpetrated by people in any position, against people of any level of seniority. Bullying at work typically involves undermining an individual’s professional ability, creating extra work or disrupting an individual's ability to work, and/or isolating an individual from other staff.
Harassment or bullying by external parties
If you experience bullying or harassment from someone external to Communicourt (e.g., anoyone you meet in the course of your professional activities), please report this immediately using the Reporting Incident form (send this to HR@communicourt.co.uk) and by speaking to a senior team member at the earliest opportunity.
If you feel you are at immediate risk, please take all necessary measures to remove yourself from the situation. You may wish use the “Ask for Sally” procedure to discreetly alert colleagues to a safety issue and arrange help. Please refer to the Safe Working Practice guidance for more information.
Once you have reported the incident, Communicourt will take measures to prevent you from encountering the individual(s) in question (e.g., by not assigning you to a particular case or location). The People (HR) team will work to identify appropriate next steps in addressing the issue (keeping you informed and gaining your consent before progressing any matters). The steps that are taken will depend on the individual involved and which organisation / professional body (if any) they work under (e.g., whether they are a judge, service user, parole officer etc).
Harassment or bullying within Communicourt
If you experience bullying or harassment from a colleague, the first step is completing the Reporting Incident form and sending this to HR@communicourt.co.uk. Your report will be treated with the utmost care, confidentiality and impartiality.
If you feel comfortable doing so, you should also raise the issue with your manager or Team Leader (or a trusted senior person within Communicourt).
Once you have submitted your report, there are a number of different steps and procedures which may be put in place. At every stage, ‘what happens next’ is wholly up to you (the complainant).
What happens next?
An informal procedure, may be the suggested first step. This will vary depending on the severity of the reported behaviour, as well as the complainant’s views and the outcome(s) they want this process to have. In other cases, a formal procedure may be recommended in the first instance (for example, if the reported behaviour amounts to gross misconduct).
Informal procedures
Informal procedures are used when reported behaviour does not present a significant safety concern or amount to gross misconduct. All efforts will be made to resolve the matter informally at an early stage. This is because many people who experience bullying or harassment simply want their harasser to realise their behaviour is unwelcome and for this behaviour to stop.
The complainant is free to decide what informal procedures they feel comfortable with. Some of the options may not feel right or safe for them. The complainant can talk to the People (HR) Team or a trusted person at work (e.g., your Team Leader) about which steps are most suitable.
Some Informal Procedure options include:
Speaking directly: This involves the complainant approaching the person responsible for the harassing or bullying behaviour, to advise them of the unwelcome behaviour, its impact, and what they would like to change.
Writing directly: This involves the complainant sending a letter or email to the person responsible, to advise them of the matters set out above.
Informal facilitated meeting: If approaching the person responsible directly is not an option, an informal meeting can be set up between the complainant and the individual in question, facilitated by someone the complainant feels comfortable with. The complainant should ask their manager or Team Leader to set up an informal meeting. If it is not appropriate for the manager or Team Leader to have this role, the complainant should ask the People (HR) Department to arrange the meeting.
You can learn more about informal procedures for bullying and harassment via:
Bullying & harassment policy
Formal procedures
Just Speak Up (Communicate area)
If the informal procedure is not successful, or if the matter amounts to serious misconduct in the first instance, the complainant will be advised to make a formal complaint (doing do is entirely their choice). This can be done by filling out the Reporting Incident form and noting that you would like to make a formal complaint at point 7 (desired outcome).
Once this complaint is received, steps will be put in place to separate the complainant and the person responsible for the alleged bullying or harassing behaviour. This does not mean a decision has been made about what happened. This step is simply to prevent the situation worsening while an investigation is carried out.
A typical formal procedure will involve the following:
1. A manager (who is impartial in the matter) will be assigned to complete an investigation
2. The manager will interview the complainant about what happened. This is an informal meeting, an appropriate supportive person can attend (if approved).
3. Witness statements can be provided by anyone with information about what happened. These can be anonymous at this stage.
4. After reviewing the information above, the manager will decide whether a Disciplinary process is required. If they decide that it is not required. If they decide that it is necessary, this could take two different formats:
Conducting a Formal Investigation with the alleged harasser or bully
Holding a Formal Disciplinary Hearing
5. After the Disciplinary process, the complainant will be told whether their complaint has been upheld, and informed of anything put in place which directly affects them (for example, if the decision has been taken to permanently separate the complainant and responsible person).
If you don’t agree with decisions made at any stage of the above process, you can make an appeal. Information about appeals, formal procedures and Communicourt’s response to bullying and harassment can be found here:
Bullying & harassment policy
Just Speak Up (Communicate area)
Pay, pension & benefits
Pay, pension, and benefits
Pay
Salaries are paid monthly on the 28th of the month (or the closest working day when the 28th falls on a weekend or bank holiday). We do not send out paper payslips, all of your payslips can be accessed online via our finance system Sage. You will be sent details of how you access Sage when you begin your employment with us.
You can find details of how to access your payslip, and an explainer of what each element of your payslip means, on the ‘Payslips’ page of This is Me on Communicate.
Salary reviews are conducted each year as part of your annual appraisal process. More information about about pay scales (for practitioners and operations staff) and salary reviews can be also found in This is Me on Communicate.
Pension
Employees who have been employed by Communicourt for 3 months are enrolled into a workplace pension scheme provided by Nest. You’ll receive an email from the Communicourt finance team when you are enrolled, which will mark the start of your one month opt-out period.
Through your Nest online account, you can review your contributions, set up additional contributions, choose which funds your pension pot is invested in, and update your beneficiaries. There are also a number of guides about pension schemes..
Communicourt employees have contractual enrolment (with salary sacrifice).
How you contribute to your pension and benefits you receive depends on which option you have been enrolled under.
You can learn more about enrolment types, salary sacrifice arrangements, opting in and opting out in The My Finances section of This Is Me.
Read more about pensions
Benefits
We offer a range of employee benefits, including:
Access to a private GP
Free 24/7 medical advice available through MyPocketGP, whether you need a remote consultation or just to send GP a quick question. Private prescriptions can also be issued (at employee’s own expense).
Read more about MyPocketGP
Access to counselling
Unlimited telephone support is available through the Paycare Counselling and Helpline service, with referral for funded in-person counselling where appropriate.
Paycare’s helpline service also offer advice about debt, legal matters, health,support for carers and advice for managers.
Read more about Paycare counselling and helpline
Contributions to healthcare costs
Employees are entitled to a package of expenses towards dental. vision, health screening and other healthcare costs, provided through PayCare.
Read more about Paycare health expenses
Life Assurance
Provided through Legal and General, our life assurance package includes a lump sum payment of 2x an employee’s salary in the event that they die whilst working for Communicourt. Other services include a medical helpline, legal information service, wellness tools and support sourcing later life care.
Read more about life assurance
Retail discounts and offers
A wide variety of discounts and offers are available through RewardsGateway (the site on which we host Communicate). Offers are regularly updated, ranging from luxury items to your daily shop, gym subscriptions to dining out.
Read: How to make the most of your discounts
Explore current offers
Charity and volunteer days
Employees are entitled to apply for two paid working days each year to spend taking part in volunteering and
Read the charity and volunteer days policy
Apps, equipment & IT
Apps, equipment & IT
Recording your time
Operations colleagues work fixed hours, so they do not use timesheets. Practitioners use timesheets to allow the Finance team to invoice for their work accurately, and because pracitioners work at variable times. We also keep track of worked hours to ensure practitioners are not regularly working over 40 hours a week.
If you need to use a timesheet, you will record your time through Odoo. All tasks for the week should be entered by 9am on Monday the following week, at the latest.
There is more information about this in the Timesheets and Expenses policy
Claiming expenses
Practitioners are given Pleo cards for expenses. These are Mastercards and can be used like a credit card. They get topped up by the Finance team automatically. Your Pleo card should be used for travel and subsistence expenses, when eligible. You must not use the card to withdraw cash. If you need cash, please use your personal money and then claim it back with a reciept.
Food and drink payments (subsistence) are available when you are away from home for a set number of hours. These rates are set by HMCTS, not Communicourt:
Away from home for 5-8 hours - can claim £4.25
Away from home for more than 8 hours - can claim £9.30
It is important to remember that cannot include breaks in these hours. So, if you are away from home for 8 hours and that included a 30 minute break, HMCTS will count that as 7.5 hours and you will only be entitled to the £4.25 rate.
If you are away in hotel accommodation overnight for work, you can claim an additional £26 for food and drink (on top of the day rates set out above).
Make sure you get an itemised VAT receipt for all of your purchases and upload them to Pleo. You will need to add details, including the SO number of the case you were working on. You can find out more about expenses here:
Timesheets and Expenses policy
Stationery and equipment expenses
Pleo user guide
The best way to request stationery and equipment is to ask for this before one of our four annual Team Days. This can then be provided to you at the next Team Day. Please raise your request with your Team Leader.
Sometimes, you may need stationery and equipment before the next Team Day is held. In this case:
For stationery and fidget aids: Get permission from finance@communicourt.co.uk before you make your purchase, stating what you want to buy and your intended budget. Make cost-effective choices and buy from low-cost shops like Poundland (don’t buy online). If you need equipment urgently, please contact your Team Leader or the Lead Practitioner.
For fidget aids, One or two fidgets (suitable for a variety of individuals) should be sufficient for intermediaries; however, you can purchase a new aid if these become broken or lost.
For more specialised items (e.g. whiteboards) please get permission from the Lead Practitioner. Add “approved by [NAME]” to your Pleo expense description, once approved.
Read the stationery expenses guidance
IT support, devices and equipment
Our IT support provider is Solutions 4 IT (S4IT). You can request support from them at any time by emailing help@solutionsforit.co.uk or calling 0121 387 3681. It is helpful to share your laptop number (on a sticker near your keyboard) in your subject line.
S4IT can deal with laptop issues like installing necessary programs on your device, and technical problems (e.g., Teams not syncing or a webcam which is not working).
The IT, Cybersecurity and Confidentiality policy includes regulations about how you should use your work devices (e.g., using caller withheld code if making external calls, what to do if you are working in a public space, what to do if you receive a phishing email, using devices for work purposes only etc.).
If you are having an issue which does not fall under the remit of S4IT (e.g., Your phone battery won’t stay charged), please contact your Team Leader. Please be aware that work mobile phones do not come under the Solutions 4 IT contract.
If you require any additional equipment (e.g., a second screen or standalone keyboard/mouse), please contact your line manager or Team Leader. Requests for additional equipment will be considered according to the needs of each colleague.
Learn more about setting up a safe, comfortable workspace
Data protection and confidentiality
We work with sensitive data about our service users. This makes data protection and confidentiality extremely important. You will periodically be asked to complete training on this and must have read the latest versions of the policy’s overleaf:
IT, Cybersecurity and Confidentiality policy
Data Protection policy
These policies include important information about how you use channels like WhatsApp, emails, Teams and SharePoint, to help ensure service user data is protected.
Internal communications
We use lots of different channels to communicate as an organisation. Daily communication often takes place via WhatsApp (read this guide to our WhatsApp protocol), with other tasks taking place on Teams (e.g., supervision or online training) or via email.
We also share information via the news feed on Communicate, including our newsletter, designed to round up important information and useful resources each month.
Out of hours messages
Colleagues may, at times, work outside of standard working hours - and send messages via email, WhatsApp or Teams at these times.
If doing so, please be conscious that this may cause an unintended sense of urgency for recipients. Try to avoid creating that urgency (when it’s not necessary), for example, by specifically saying that you don’t expect an immediate response, or by scheduling your email to send during standard working hours.
The staff line for practitioners is open 7.30am - 6pm, Mon-Fri.
Leave
Annual leave
Our holiday year runs 1st January to 31st December. Practitioners are entitled to 35 days holiday (equivalent to 7 weeks pro rata) in each holiday year. This includes statutory and other public holidays (and any period during which Communicourt closes down for Christmas and New Year –December 25th to January 1st inclusive).
Operations staff are entitled to 30 days holiday, including statutory and other public holidays, and Christmas and New Year shutdown.
We have different annual leave allowances because the intermediary role is very unpredictable and last minute calendar changes may affect personal plans. Additional annual leave ensures intermediaries can confidently make plans.
Annual leave must be requested at least four weeks in advance, using the Odoo system. For Operations colleagues, requests are reviewed by your line manager. For Practitioner colleagues, annual leave is reviewed by the Service Delivery Manager.
Annual leave should be taken as full days. After 2 years’ service, practitioners will receive an additional 2 days of annual leave. Communicourt will always accommodate your holiday plans where possible. However, please do not book holidays until your request has been formally authorised. Communicourt will endeavour to approve annual leave requests within five working days from receipt of your request.
If you request annual leave on a date when you are already booked to attend court and assist a service user, your request may be rejected. A maximum of 20% of all intermediaries
may be off at any time unless exceptional circumstances and authorised by a senior manager.
If you request a Friday as annual leave, we will try to avoid Sunday night travel, however this isn’t always possible. If you are not going to be available to travel on the Sunday it is best practice to also book the following Monday as annual leave.
Read the Annual Leave and Rest policy.
Purchasing Additional Holiday
Employees are able to purchase up to 5 additional days of annual leave per calendar year.
The cost of additional days is equal to your daily rate. The cost will be deducted from your salary in equal monthly instalments.
Your daily rate can be calculated as gross salary ÷ number of contracted working days per year.
Example:
Gross Salary £28,000 ÷ 260 working days = £107.69 daily rate
Multiply by number of annual leave days purchased:
£107.69 × 5 days = £538.45
Cost is spread over 12 months:
£538.45 ÷ 12 months = £44.87 per month
Employees on the pay scale can find their daily rate on Your Pay: The Breakdown on Communicate.
Holiday purchase requests must be made by submitting a Holiday Purchase Agreement to HR by 31 January each year – late submissions will not be accepted.
Download Holiday Purchase Agreement
Rest days
Rest days are treated as leave; this means that they will not be moved from your calendar. However, you cannot request rest on specific days; rest days will be allocated according to the needs of the service. If you need to be sure of having a certain day free, please book annual leave.
Read the Annual Leave and Rest Policy.
Jury service
If you are required to attend court for jury service or as a witness, you must notify your line manager as soon as possible. You will need to provide a copy of the court summons to support your request for time off work.
I There is no contractual entitlement for Communicourt to pay your salary during jury service. This will be at the discretion of the company and you must declare any payments you will claim from the courts.
Read the Leave of Absence policy
Career breaks and sabbaticals
Career breaks and sabbaticals are available for an agreed duration of between three and six months. These opportunities are only open to employees who have a minimum of two year’s continuous employment with Communicourt. All applications are subject to the Company’s discretion.
Read the career break and sabbaticals policy
Family leave
If you, or your partner, are expecting a baby or adopting, you will find all you need to know about family leave in the Family Friendly Policy. You may be entitled to maternity leave, paternity leave, shared parental leave, or adoption leave. Take a look at our Maternity, Paternity, and Adoption Guidance.
Read the family friendly policy
Emergency domestic leave
We understand that anyone could have an unforeseen emergency at home, such as a burst pipe, broken heating system, or a burglary. You can take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off to deal with that emergency (at the Company’s discretion). This policy does not apply to planned domestic issues, such as routine hour or apliance repairs, or house valuations, redecoration, or removal times.
Read the domestic emergencies policy.
Compassionate leave
If you suffer a bereavement or serious illness in your family or a close relationship, you can ask for compassionate leave. This will be considered on an individual basis and time off must be approved by a senior manager. Payment of salary during compassionate leave is at the discretion of the company. If you need to take leave to care for sick relatives or friends, you will be expected to use your annual leave.
Read the Leave of Absence policy
Sick leave
For Operations colleagues, if you are unwell and unable to work you should call your line manager as close to your usual start time as possible.
For Practitioners, you must call and speak to the Bookings Team (0121 269 2170) ASAP after the staff line opens at 7.30am, and no later than 8.30am.
If you are unwell for seven consecutive calendar days or less, you must contact your line manager (if you are in the admin team) or the Bookings Team (if you are a practitioner) each day to let them know you are still unable to work. When you return to work, you should complete a self-certification of sickness absence form and email this to the People (HR) Team.
If your sick leave extends seven calendar days, you will need to provide a statement of fitness (a ‘fit note’) from your GP to the People (HR) Team.
When you are well enough to return to work, you must let your line manager or the Bookings Team know by 15:00 the day before you intend to return to work. For more information, please check the policy below.
Read the Managing Attendance Policy
How absences will be managed
Your manager will monitor your frequency and pattern of absences, in order to provide additional support if there are signs of possible issues. Higher levels or patterns of absences (e.g., every other Monday) will trigger an informal, supportive disussion to explore any factors affecting your attendance, and how these can be overcome. If informal support does not result in improvement, more formal steps may be put into place. Please see the Managing Attendance policy and Toolkits for more information.
Medical appointments
For a planned or routine medical appointment, you should book it for a day when you do not have anything in your calendar. Emergency medical appointments should always be taken as sick leave.
If you are based in Operations, you should speak to your line manager and give them the details of the appointment. If you are a practitioner, we have a different process to help the Bookings Team to manage the calendars.
Practitioners should complete a Medical Appointment
Application form (available on the policies page on Communicate). This will allow time to be allocated on your calendar and to help us schedule other tasks for you to do remotely.
Read the Medical Appointments Policy
Charity and volunteering days
The Communicourt Charity and Volunteering Days Scheme is designed to provide the opportunity for colleagues to have social impact outside of their role through volunteering activities, cultural engagement, or a combination of both.
All colleagues are entitled to up to two charity and volunteering days every 12 months, from their first day of employment.
Colleagues may choose to use one day for volunteering and one for cultural activities or both days for volunteering.
Read the charity and volunteering days policy.
Who to contact
There are lots of circumstances in which you may need to contact different colleagues or services, whether your are a practitioner and your case is overrunning, or you are a member of Operations who would like to access the Paycare 24/7 GP service.
This page on Communicate is an overall ‘Who to contact’ directory for all staff to use, including who to contact regarding HR matters, how to contact a Mental Health First Aider, and much more.
This is a guide explaining who to contact in different scenarios relating to practitioner work (e.g., if you’re running late, have a DNA or need to call in sick). You can also access this guide through the Who to Contact page on Communicate.
If you have feedback or a question you would like to put to the Senior Leadership Team, explore the Feedback page on Communicate, which has a range of different routes you can take, including using an anonymous direct feedback form and an anonymous whistleblowing form for very serious issues.
If you would like to contact a particular staff group, you can find details about how to do this in the Staff Groups section of Communicate. For example, the Diversity Ambassadors and Employee Forum both have anonymous forms you can submit.
Your Wellbeing
Wellbeing ambassadors
Our Wellbeing Ambassdors look after This is Me and colleague wellbeing initiatives. They also lead Communicourt’s Mental Health at Work Commitment Team. This group works to embed the Commitment’s six key standards to support and improve employee mental health, within Communicourt, through a range of initiatives (including some you’ll find below).
Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs)
We have a number of trained Mental Health First Aiders on staff. These are colleagues you can contact (in whatever way you feel most comfortable) when you need someone to talk to, whether you need signposting to support services, or just need someone to listen after a difficult day. You can find out more about the MHFAs, how to contact them, and examples of when you might contact them, via the link above.
This is Me
This is Me is Communicourt’s wellbeing hub. You’ll find it on the first page of Communicate. It is based around four pillars of wellbeing: Mind, Body, Finances and Community.
In each of these sections, you‘ll find a combination of key information (from information about your payslip and pension, to how to use Paycare counselling, claim health expenses and contact a 24/7 GP) and helpful resources on topics including mindfulness, burnout, stress, managing your money and much more.
Extra support at work
In the My Body section of This is Me you will find information about accessing extra support at work, as well as information about requesting equipment, taking care of your eye health and more.
Communicourt is a Disability Confident Employer and a signatory of the Mental Health at Work Commitment. Colleagues should feel able to request any support they need to do their jobs. Communicourt will take all reasonable measures to accommodate requests and support staff to work at their best.
Support can come in many forms and through different routes, including Occupational Health, reasonable adjustments, and the Access to Work scheme.
You can learn more about how to access different types of support here. People Department (Human Resources)
The People Department inbox: HR@communicourt.co.uk is monitored internally by the Head of People and the People Partner only. This is to allow HR matters to be addressed efficiently within the organisation, which ensuring confidential matters are treated as such within Communicourt. The inbox is also monitored externally by the RCI Group to ensure processes are being followed correctly and fairly
There are many reasons why you may need to contact the People department, for example requesting time off for a medical appointment, requesting extra support or reasonable adjustments at work (for instance, if you have a disability), raising workplace issues or grievances, flexible working requests or requesting parental leave.
Wellbeing-related policies
If you have a wellbeing related query or issue, you may find it helpful to refer to the following Communicourt policies (available here):
Flexible working policy
Health and safety policy
Menopause policy
Stress policy
Family Friendly policy
Parental leave and pay policies
Disciplinary procedure policy
Grievance procedure
Equal opportunities and diversity policy
Your Career
Your Career
Career development
We offer a range of formal and informal opportunities for you to develop your skills and career at Communicourt. The Career and Skills Development section of Communicate is the hub for these opportunities.
Supervision and reviews: Practitioners
For practitioners, supervisions are an opportunity to check in with your Team Leader, raise questions, share any concerns, and reflect on your practice and progress. They are also an opportunity for Team Leaders to monitor your progress and put in place action points to support your development. You will need to complete a supervision form before each session, and send this to your Team Leader.
Read Supervision Policy
Supervision form Download Appraisal form
During appraisals, you and your Team Leader will explore the skills you have built whilst working through your development areas. They are an opportunity to set goals for professional development, and to review your current pay point. Before your appraisal, you will need to complete an appraisal form and send it to your Team Leader. At your appraisal, you will need to provide a portfolio evidencing your development area work.
The timing and frequency of your supervisions and appraisals will depending on your stage of professional development (see diagram overleaf).
Intermediary Pathway
Mentor Pathway
Team Leader Pathway
Operations
Pathway
Usually 6 months
Probation review and target setting for next 12 months
12 months
Appraisal and target setting for next 12 months
Appraisal & Target setting every 12 months
Supervision and reviews: Admin Team
For the Trigate Team (e.g., Bookings and Finance personnel), the appraisals process is different.
A review of your performance takes place at the end of your 6 month probation period. Following your post-probation review, you will take part in an annual appraisal. These appraisals are an opportunity to discuss your professional development with your line manager. At your annual appraisal, you may be recommended for a pay increase.
At your appraisals you will be expected to demonstrate your progress over the previous appraisal period. The expectations in terms of your role and how you should demonstrate progress will be clearly outlined. This may be through resources like a role expectation document template.
Throughout your employment, you will receive one-to-one meetings your line manager once a week.
Intermediary competencies
Every practitioner must complete their intermediary competencies over the first 6-9 months (approximately) of practice. Throughout this process you will be supported by your Team Leader and Mentor. You may also be paired with a skills buddy to help you prepare for evaluations.
After completing the bulk of compencies 1 and 2, you will attend Assessment and Report Writing Training before completing the remainder of your competencies. You may be paired with a report writing coach to support you at this stage.
RCSLT Competencies
If you are a Speech & Language Therapy graduate and wish to complete your RCSLT competencies, you can start work on these after you have completed your intermediary competencies. You will be provided with a supervisor and one blank day per month (over a period of 6 months) for this purpose.
Learn more about RCSLT competencies at Communicourt
CPD
(Continued Professional Development)
CPD is an important part of ensuring your practice is at its very best, and that your professional knowledge is growing. You must keep a CPD record to log your learning (these will be checked at supervisions and may be audited externally).
CPD can include lots of different types of learning, including Communicourt training, Team Days, independent reading (or engaging with relevant podcasts or webinars, external courses and more. You can find lots of CPD resources in the Knowledge Hub and the monthly Communicourt newsletter.
Download CPD record & read guidance
Job vacancies
Different roles may become available during your employment. For example, Mentor and Team Leader positions, or roles within non-practitioner teams (e.g., Bookings, Communications, People Department). When new roles become available, they will be shared on our internal jobs page on Communicate.
Secondments
A secondment is a temporary transfer of an employee to another role, department, or organisation. It is often used to provide employees with opportunities to develop new skills, gain different experiences, and broaden their professional network.
When secondments become available at Communicourt, they will be shared on our internal jobs page on Communicate.
Learn more about secondments
Grievances
If you have an issue with an aspect of your employment, our grievance procedure is designed to help resolve those issues. The first step is to raise the matter informally with your line manager or Team Leader. A more formal process can be put in place if this approach is not effective or not suitable.
Read the grievance procedure
Disciplinaries
Any issues with your work or behaviour will be dealt with informally in the first instance, through discussions with your line manager or Team Leader.
Communicourt is committed to resolving disciplinary issues informally through support in every possible instance. However, if the issue cannot be resolved through informal means, or is very serious (e.g., unauthorised absences or jeopardising the safety of a service user), a formal disciplinary procedure may be put in place.
This will likely involve a formal disciplinary hearing (which the employee can attend with a supportive person, e.g., a Trade Union official or colleague). At this stage, you can provide evidence and explain your side of the situation.
Following the hearing, a decision will be made regarding what disciplinary action is appropriate (this may include dismissal). You will have 5 working days to appeal against any disciplinary decision.
Please note that the disciplinary process only applies to employees with 1+ years’ service.
Read the disciplinary policy
Leaving Communicourt
If you decide to end your employment with Communicourt, there are a few steps you will need to take:
Practitioners should provide written notice to Lucy Osmond (Lead Practitioner) and to the People (HR) Department inbox. Operations colleagues should provide written notice to their line manager. The amount of notice you must give will vary and will be set out in your contractit is typically 2 months.
You will be asked to complete an exit interview - this will help improve Communicourt as a service and an employer. Interviews are usually conducted by an external person, to ensure you feel able to give open feedback. Alternatives can be arranged, if this is more comfortable for you.
If you have any Communicourt equipment (e.g., laptops/ phones), bring them back to the Head Office at Trigate or return them by post (you can expense the postage).
Policies & guidance
You can find all of the policies and guidance via Communicate’s ‘Policies, forms & processes’ tile. Policies and procedures: Glossary
Here is a glossary of all of the different documents. Click on the section heading to navigate to the different documents on Sharepoint:
