Direct Payments Support Service

Personal Assistants/Support Workers Vacancies

Updated 28th January 2012

The following vacancies are advertised directly by the disabled person who receives support from the Direct Payment Support Service. It is important to note that it is not Darlington Association on Disability that is the employer.

Would you like the opportunity to work for and assist a disabled person on a one to one basis to have choice and control in their life and live independently within their own home and in the community?

Do you enjoy the company of people, are able to work flexibly, reliable, have good communication skills and willing to learn how to meet the individual needs of the person you are assisting?

If the answer is YES to both of these questions then you may be interested to find out more about the various posts available to work in Darlington employed by a disabled person or carer using a Direct Payment.

Duties may include assisting with personal care, accessing community facilities, shopping and domestic tasks. Having access to transport is desirable but not essential. Previous experience is not essential.

A version of this information in Word format is available by clicking this link: Direct Payments Vacancies(Word). For a PDF version please click this link: Direct Payment Vacancies(PDF).

Support Worker cover - West End Area Ref No: 10-13

Female only applicant (Permitted under Schedule 9, part 1 of the Equality Act 2010) required to cover holiday/sickness hours for support worker for disabled person - assistance with personal, domestic and social activities involved.

Ad-hoc hours to cover holidays etc. Some weekend working with a possibility of it leading to more permanent hours.

Flexible working required. Successful applicants are required to provide an enhanced disclosure. Disclosure expense will be met by the employer.

Personal Assistant - Town Centre Ref: 13-18

A gentleman with advanced M.S. is to looking to recruit a PA with experience who will be able to fit into a well established team of 3 PAs

Duties: Assistance with getting out of bed, getting ready for bed, meal preparation, assistance at mealtimes and general domestic tasks.

Hours: Approx 22 hours per week - Mornings, teatimes, bed/night-times and weekends

Rate: £7.00 per hour weekdays, evenings and Saturdays; £10.50 per hour on Sundays.

Applicants: Some medical knowledge of MS would be advantageous. Applicants must maintain confidentiality, work for a close-knit family with pets, be reliable, have excellent communication skills and be able to work in a non-smoking environment.

Temporary Personal Assistant - Darlington Ref: 06-04

A personal assistant is required to assist a gentleman with personal care, household and domestic duties and social care.

Hours: 5.5 hrs per week (Mondays, Wednesday & Fridays from 9pm - 9.30pm, plus Saturdays and Sundays from 7am - 8.30am and 4 - 4.30 pm).

Hourly rate: £8.00 per hour

The successful applicant will undergo references and an enhanced criminal records bureau check. If interested please contact Direct Payments Support Service on 01325 360524 quoting the above reference.

Personal Assistant/Support Worker - Ref: 01-07

A Personal Assistant is required to support a young disabled boy with social activities. The Personal assistant will be employed to care for the young boy for approx 3 hours each week.

Hours: The family would like someone to support the 15 year old boy on a weekend or after school/school holidays. They are quite flexible around what hours you will work on the weekend.

Hourly rate: £6.50 - £7.50 per hour

Duties: Duties will include taking the young boy out to participate in social activities. There are no personal care duties involved.

Applicants must be: Honest, trustworthy and friendly. They must be reliable and flexible and have the ability to handle challenging behaviour. Having experience working with disabled children and having access to transport is a plus, however is not a necessity. A fun loving, enthusiastic person would be ideal.

Important information for applicants:

Applicants must be: Able to work flexibly, good communicator, able to respect dignity and willing to learn from the employer.

All applicants will have to provide references and undergo an enhanced criminal records bureau check.

For further information please contact the Direct Payments Support Service on 01325 360524 quoting the job reference number or alternatively e-mail directpayments@darlingtondisability.org

A Direct Payment is made from the local authority to individuals to have control and choice over their own support. Many people who use a Direct Payment choose to employ a personal assistant or a support worker.

Successful applicants will be employed directly by the disabled person who receives support from the Support Service to do this. It is important to understand that it is not the support service that is the employer.

All posts include the statutory requirement of 5.6 weeks paid holiday and other usual employment rights.

It may be helpful to understand that there is a difference between that of a Care Assistant and a Personal Assistant. Although differing posts have varying requirements the general role of a personal assistant is the same. A personal assistant's role is to help your employer to live the way they choose. This means that a personal assistant should listen to their employer to understand and respond positively to any reasonable request for assistance. It enables disabled people to lead an individual, independent life equal to that of non-disabled people.

If you would like to apply for any of the posts please quote the reference number (on the top of each advert). To ensure a smooth recruitment process we ask applicants to apply for only one post at a time and if you are unsuccessful you are then able to apply for further posts.

If however you are looking for work, which is in excess of the advertised post - please speak to the Support Service, as there may be posts, which you could apply for together to make up the hours that you wish to work.

What happens next:

1. After completing your application form and returning it to the Support Service, your application will be sent to employers which you have requested and if indicated other employers which are appropriate.

2. If short-listed you will be asked for an interview, which will give the employer the opportunity to decide whether they wish to employ you. This is also the applicant's opportunity to find out information to decide whether you feel the position is appropriate for you.

3. Where you indicate as such your application form will be kept on file and passed on to an appropriate employer. This means that it may take some time before you are contacted.