Contents
- Welcome to our first newsletter
- New advice booklets available in September
- Paid holidays – the law, good practice and our advice
- Free employment workshops - places still available
- Payroll without the paper
- Independent Living Community
- Tell us what you think
- Contact us: Newsletter also available in different formats
Welcome to our first newsletter
We hope you enjoy reading it and find the articles interesting and useful to your situation.
There are lots of things that we want to tell you about - free employment workshops, our independent living groups.
As this is the first newsletter we have produced we are really keen to find out what you think of it (more about this on the bottom of the newsletter). This will help us decide whether it is something you would like to see on a regular basis as well as what sort of things you would like to see in it.
Do please take the time to read our newsletter and if you have anything that you would like to see covered in future editions please let us know or send in an article.
Happy Reading
Amanda & Gill
Advice & Payroll Managers
New advice booklets available in September
Over the last few months we have been reviewing our advice sheets to bring them up to date and make them more accessible. They will be available from September and we would like to offer them free to everyone using direct payments.
Our new information and advice booklets cover the following topics:
- Independent Living Norfolk’s services
- Personal budgets
- Direct payments – getting started
- Setting up your direct payments
- Finding your personal assistant
- Being a good employer
- Using an agency or self-employed workers
- Independent Living Trusts
- Payroll service
- Supported account services
- Useful contacts
Please give us a call if you would like us to send you a pack. Tell us which booklets you would like from the list above and we will tailor the pack to your requirements.
Do let us know if you would like a copy of these booklets in a different format or language. They will also be available on our website www.ncodp.org.uk/iln
Paid holidays – the law, good practice and our advice
Do you want to know about the rights of your employees regarding paid holidays? In this article we explain some of the issues that our advice line regularly deals with.
What are employees entitled to?
All employees are entitled to a period of paid holiday each year. This is 5.6 weeks per year. It is capped at 28 days.When should a holiday year run from and to?
You can decide what your holiday year should be, eg, January to December or April to March. If we provide you with a payroll service and keep records of your staff’s holiday then our systems only allow us to run it from April to March.Do my employees have to take all their holiday?
You need to make sure your staff have the chance to take a break from their work. If they don’t take all their holiday by the end of the year then, if you agree, they can carry over up to 1.6 weeks.Can’t I just pay my staff for their holidays instead?
We often get requests, as part of our payroll service, to pay staff for their annual leave that they haven’t taken. The law says this shouldn’t happen because your staff should have a rest from work, it wasn’t introduced to give people pay.There are risks if you decide to pay your staff instead of letting them take their holiday. Your staff may feel that you are denying them a break and they may complain. It is better practice, rather than waiting till the end of the holiday year, to try and plan their holiday over the full year.
How much notice should be given for holidays?
You need to agree when your staff can take their holiday, it is not up to them to decide on their own. They should give you plenty of notice, eg, if they want 2 weeks’ holiday you may decide you need at least 4 weeks’ notice.You can also decide when you want your staff to take their holiday but you need to check their statements of particulars and give notice too. If, for example, you want them to take a weeks’ holiday you should give them at least a weeks’ notice. Ideally give them as much notice as possible.
If my employee leaves, are they still entitled to be paid for holiday they haven’t taken?
Yes, they will be entitled to be paid for any holiday accrued but not taken when they leave. This is the case no matter how they left their employment with you.
Do give our advice line a call on 01508 491222 if you have a query.
Free employment workshops - places still available
We are running free workshops for people using direct payments on ‘Managing People’ and ‘Recruitment’.
The Managing People workshop will cover the following areas:
- Setting the scene – rules and conduct
- Managing the employment – terms and conditions
- Supporting your staff when employment ends
The Recruitment workshop will cover the following areas:
- Designing the job
- Attracting the right candidate
- Starting on the right foot
We are holding these workshops in Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Dereham and Kings Lynn from September to November.
We can pay expenses to help you attend our workshops to cover things like transport and Personal Assistant support. More details will be available when you book
We cannot guarantee that everyone will get a place on one of the workshops, if they are very popular, but we may arrange some more in the future.
If you would like to find out more about them please give us a call or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it We can let you know the dates of the courses and book you on.
Payroll without the paper
- Do you have a PA who supports you for the same hours each month?
- Do you hold your own direct payment money?
- Would you like to cut down the number of timesheets you have to complete?
If you answer yes to all these questions then ‘Automated payroll’ may be for you.
Automated payroll is a service where we automatically run your payroll and send out wage slips to you without the need for you to send in a timesheet.
All you need to do is fill in one form letting us know the number of hours worked every four weeks for each PA.
You will still need to inform us of any variations such as bank holidays and sickness but you can inform us of these changes by telephone, fax, post or email.
If you would like to reduce your paperwork and postage costs and this is something you are interested in please contact the payroll team for further details on 01508 491221.
Independent Living Community
There are now over 2,000 people using direct payments and personal budgets in Norfolk. That’s a big community and a lot of expertise! There are now lots of ways you can meet or help others who live independently.
How can I get involved?
There are five Independent Living Groups in Norfolk. The groups are for people who want to take control of their lives and make their own decisions, and are looking for support and information.
Here is a message from the Groups:
Like you, we use direct payments or personal budgets to arrange our own care and support. We want to make social care services in Norfolk better and easier.
We want to meet other people using direct payments or personal budgets or their carers to share our experiences and support each other - after all we’re the experts!
Taking part in group work is another way to get involved. Sometimes Independent Living Norfolk, Norfolk County Council or NHS Norfolk wants to look at how its services are shaped and delivered and need your expertise.
Future groups may include:
- Reviewing administrative and finance systems
- Helping other people to make their personal budget support plan
- Reviewing how social services provides information or advice
Don’t wish to go to meetings? Your help is still appreciated. Perhaps you might prefer to take part in online or postal surveys? Or be willing to take part in training of health, social care or other staff?
If you are interested in any of the above, please fill in the Independent Living Community Feedback leaflet and send it back to us.
Tell us what you think
This is the first time we have produced a newsletter solely for people who use our direct payments support services and we want to know what you think.
We are trying to make this as easy as possible so you can let us know in one of 3 ways: on the internet; by phone or by post. There are only a few questions but it will be really useful for us to know what you think. It would be great if you can take the time to reply. It will help us decide whether or not this is something that you want to receive on a regular basis or not.
So you can:
- Log on to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/63JTDFQ
- Ring us on 01508 491222 and you can complete it over the phone
- Download our PDF Newsletter Feedback form
- Download our Word Newsletter Feedback form
- We can send a survey out by post to you or by email. Ring us or email us - details below.
Thank you very much
Newsletter also available in different formats
Contact us:
- Independent Living Norfolk
- 15 Manor Farm Barns
- Fox Road
- Framingham Pigot
- Norfolk, NR14 7PZ
- Advice: 01508 491222
- Payroll: 01508 491221
- Fax 01508 491223
- E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
- www.ncodp.org.uk/iln