Relief Working Arrangements at Turning Point Scotland
Turning Point Scotland operates a List of Approved Relief Workers who may be
contacted by services when there is a need to engage additional workers in order to
provide the required support to someone who uses our services. Relief Workers are
primarily deployed to cover periods of leave, or sickness absence and to provide
additional support during periods of peak activity.
When there is suitable work available within a service, a manager will contact Relief
Workers offer them a shift/series of shifts. As a Relief Worker you will be well-placed to
fit your work around your existing work or other commitments and you will be under no
pressure or obligation to accept work from us if it does not suit you to do so. Once work
is offered and accepted by you however, there is an expectation that you will make
every effort to attend to undertake that shift. Your reliability in this regard is very
important to our services and to the people we support who will be expecting you.
Relief Workers submit a Time Sheet to claim payment for the hours they have worked
and are paid on a monthly basis. You will accrue some entitlement to paid holidays and
you will be reimbursed for all reasonable expenses incurred in the course of your work
for us.
You will be required to undertake a programme of basic training which is primarily
designed to enable you to operate safely, but also to meet the organisation’s obligations
to you in terms of health & safety legislation.
A job description of the kind of post you will be providing ad hoc cover for as a Relief
Worker is attached. This will give you a general idea of the kind of tasks you will be
undertaking as a Relief Worker. Please note that this list is not exhaustive.
JOB DESCRIPTION
POST: ADMINISTRATOR – GRADE 2
REPORTING TO: ADMINISTRATION OFFICER/CO-ORDINATOR
ACCOUNTABLE TO: SERVICE MANAGER
JOB PURPOSE: To support the provision of effective administration functions required
by the service to ensure accurate completion of tasks within timescales.
MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
All Grade 1 duties and responsibilities plus:
1. Operates within TPS policies and procedures
2. Assists with on-the-job training
3. Oversees elements of administration support
4. Participates in in-service meetings and produces Notes/Minutes
5. Produces reports from more complex data
6. Responsible for carrying out specific tasks to deadline [without prompt]
7. Drafting simple letters/emails etc based on information provided
8. Responsible for petty cash and submitting returns
9. Processing financial transactions on Pegasus
10. Administration and processing of service user finance
11. Processing of HR and Payroll information
RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
1. To be familiar and comply with Turning Point Scotland’s Finance policies and
procedures.
2. To comply with Turning Point Scotland’s Property and Equipment policies and
procedures.
3. To share information gathered during the course of work appropriately and as
directed with other professionals within and outwith Turning Point Scotland in
compliance with the Data Protection Act and regulatory authorities’ and other
legal requirements.
4. To maintain accurate and up-to-date time sheets which can be relied on by the
Service Manager for billing purposes and statistical reporting etc.
5. To minimise expenses incurred by the Turning Point Scotland in the course of
providing supports.
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
1. To be aware of and operate in compliance with the Scottish Social Services
Council Code of Practice for Social Services Workers.
2. To participate purposefully in and take advantage of the opportunities for
discussion afforded by Turning Point Scotland’s staff supervision and annual
appraisal scheme.
3. To be responsible for your own good practice and for the promotion of good
practice among colleagues.
4. To work to maintain effective working relationships with colleagues and create an
atmosphere for service users which is free from conflict.
5. To report concerns about practice or conduct issues to the Service Manager (or
nominated deputy)
6. To attend all mandatory training in order to demonstrate fitness and continued
fitness to practice safely.
7. To attend training which has been identified by the Service Manager (or
nominated deputy) as being necessary to provide you with the necessary skills to
undertake the duties and responsibilities of your post.
8. To take any action necessary to become eligible for registration with the Scottish
Social Services Council and to maintain registration once achieved.
9. To be responsible for your own continuous professional development and identify
any perceived ‘gaps’ in your knowledge which require to be addressed through
training, or other means to the Service Manager (or nominated deputy)
10. To assist the Service Manager with the on-the-job induction of new starts within
the service, and demonstrate good practice at all times in this regard.
11. To ensure that you can demonstrate your continued suitability to work with
vulnerable adults or children by completing an Application for an up-to-date
Enhanced Disclosure for Disclosure Scotland, on a 3-yearly basis or as required.
12. To be familiar and comply with Turning Point Scotland’s Human Resources and
Training policies and procedures.
HEALTH &SAFETY
1. To support the Service Manager in the management of risk within the service
especially with regard to those service users who can occasionally be violent or
aggressive towards their support team.
I accept the particulars of this job description;
Signed_____________________________________________
Date___________________
1/11/13 Version 2
Head of HR
HAVE YOUR SAY!
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Introduction
At the Learning Disability Forum that Turning
Point Scotland (TPS) holds every 3 months, we
had been trying for quite some time to put
together a ‘charter’ that clearly set out what the
people we support could expect from TPS as
an organisation and also what they could
expect from their support team. For all sorts of
reasons, this became quite a struggle; we did
however sign up for the ‘Charter for
Involvement’ rolled out by ARC Scotland, which
covered
many
of
the
organisational
commitments we wanted to outline. Capturing
the expectations of the people we support
proved to be a bit more of a challenge but our
TPS Connects Conference seemed to offer an
ideal opportunity to do just that.
We held a workshop called ‘Have Your Say’
which was attended by about 15 of the people
we support; the only question that was asked
was ‘if there was anything you wanted TPS or your staff team to know
about how to support you better, what would it be’; the following are the
responses we got.
Not all of the comments made will be relevant to everyone we support, but
we gave a commitment to make all our staff aware of the points raised in
this workshop and what this might mean in practice. We also said we would
put this information on to a leaflet which we would hand to people who are
applying for work at TPS; this would help the applicant clearly understand
our standards and expectations and help them to decide whether or not to
pursue their application.
Thanks to every one of the people we support who participated in the
workshop; everyone added something to the list below which makes it all
the more important and relevant. Thanks also to Andrew Ramsay who
captured not just the detail of what was said, but the spirit in which it was
said too.
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Peter Jung
Operations Manager
People who laugh with me – This means you need to leave your
troubles behind when you come on shift! I know this will be hard at times,
but it can be unpleasant for me if I have to spend my time in my house
worrying about your mood.
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Staff spending time with me, not to seem as though they are
rushing away – I know you are busy, but when people rush to get things
done it makes me feel like a burden; staff who take their time make me feel
important and that is a good feeling.
Staff to stay with TPS longer/too
many different staff members – I
have had loads of people in my life to
date and I know that some people are
only here until a better offer comes
along. Each time someone leaves, it
means I have to learn how to work with
a new person and I sometimes wonder
why I should bother if the chances of
them staying are slim.
Reassurance from staff when I
am under stress – Sometimes it is
more important for me to get emotional
support, particularly if I have been ill or
if I have had a difficult time with my
parents etc. At these times, making sure
my house is clean or my washing is
done is not as important as you sitting
down to listening to me.
Respect my wishes and doing
things that I want to do – never
underestimate the power you have over
me but remember, in order to do your
job well, you should be person centred and listen to the decisions and
choices I make and support me to do them. This means, if I have asked to
see a movie and you have had a bad day, don’t try and talk me out of going
just because it doesn’t suit you to go.
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Having someone there as a
companion – For you, this is a job, but for
me, it’s my life. Don’t think of your support to
me as a series of tasks; it should be so much
more. I am a person just like you and just like
you, I like to be around people I get on well
with.
Staff to spend time listening to me
and understanding what I mean – It
can sometimes be difficult to understand
what I say and it might take some time for
you to get used to the way I communicate.
Please be patient and try not to rush me or
speak on my behalf as I find this frustrating.
Stick up for my views and wishes –
There may be times when you are the only
person who knows what my views and
wishes might be and at these times, I need
you to stick up for what these are;’ this won’t
be just about the easy decisions either!
Remember, don't use your influence to put
across your own ideas – always check with
me or the rest of my team first.
Change the time that staff support
me to the times that I want and need them to be there – this
might mean that your managers will have to change the times you are
working; this is what being person centred is all about. Generally this will
not happen very often, but when it does, I need you to be flexible and work
with me.
Show respect to everyone – this is not just about the language you
use (although that is important) but is about the things you do when you are
supporting me. It is not respectful for you to spend time on your mobile
phone or working with your ear phones in when you’re supporting me, or to
talk about me to others or to have conversations with other people and not
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include me. These things make me feel invisible and devalued; it makes it
easier for me to show you value and respect when you show me the same!
Keyworker – I want this to be my decision; this might mean that I want to
change my Keyworker from time to time and this should be accepted.
Not to be patronised – I am a grown up and so would like to be treated
as one! There may be times when I might take a bit more time to get things
done, but involve me as much as you can; you don’t have to do everything
for me!
Interviews, introductions and probation – I want to be involved
employing my own staff team; this will mean I have my say in getting the
right people to support me and my views will be considered when
confirming staff in post.
Your place of work is my home – You might think of my house as
your place of work, but always remember it is my home – not just bricks
and mortar but a place where I live, a sanctuary where I should be made to
feel safe and valued. Don’t take my house or the property within it for
granted and don’t think of my house as an extension of your own home.
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Most of all remember ‘Nothing about me without me!’ – This
means giving me a full explanation on changes to my support or support
team, involving me when you are planning reviews and ‘what’s working’
meetings. I might also need you to advocate on my behalf or stand up for
me when I can’t do it myself.
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