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Rowans' Welsh Language Policy is approved by the Welsh Language Board (added 9th May 2008)
The Coalition on Charging Survey (added 16th April 2008)
Spring 2008 Newsletter is now available (added 4th March 2008)
Rowan's Head Office changes location (added 19th February 2008)
Direct Payments support scheme in Nottinghamshire and Nottingham City (added 26th October 2007)
Updates to the law which affect people who employ PAs or carers (added 1st October 2007)
CRB Checks now available through the Rowan Organisation(added 6th July 2007)
New contact details for Cinema Card applications (added 9th February 2007)
DH funded project - Report findings (added 13th April 2006)
The Welsh Langauge Act 1993 was established to set up the Welsh Language Board. Its role is to promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language and to establish the principle that public bodies should deliver their services in such a way that the English and Welsh languages are treated on a basis of equality.
All local authority areas in Wales where the Rowan Organisation is contracted to provide the Direct Payments Support Service have published Welsh Language Schemes.
The Rowan Organisation has been working towards establishing its own Welsh Language Policy and is very pleased to announce that the Welsh Language Board approved our Scheme on May 1st 2008.
Although for a number of years we have produced leaflets and other information bilingually and have offered a temporary Welsh-speaking Helpline number, our commitment through this Scheme will help to ensure we can deliver all of our services to the same standard whether in English or Welsh. The scheme is expected to be implemented over a period of up to three years. It is hoped that as part of this project, visitors will be able to select whether they view this website in English or in Welsh.
If you would like to view our policy document, please click here for the English version or here for the Welsh version (either option will open a new window).
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The Coalition on Charging is a group of organisations chaired by the National Centre for Independent Living (NCIL). The coalition was established to campaign against the current system of charging for community care services.
The Coalition members include: NCIL, Age Concern, Scope, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Disability Alliance, Alzheimer''s Society, People First, Mind, Radar, the Alliance for Inclusive Education, Counsel and Care, United Kingdom Disabled Peoples Council (UKDPC), Action for Blind People, Royal National Institute for the Deaf, Arthritis Care, British Polio Fellowship, Carers UK, Equalities, Help the Aged, the Parkinson''s Disease Society, Mencap.
The Coalition is writing an up to date report, highlighting the current situation with charging for care, to ensure that the issue is on the government''s agenda when looking at the future of social care.
The report is aimed at the Department of Health and Government.
The Coalition has created one set of survey questions for individual people who need support and their carers. There is a separate set of survey questions for organisations representing people who need support and representing carers.
If you would like to complete the individuals survey, you can find this on the NCIL website by clicking on this link (the survey is at the borrom of the page):
http://www.ncil.org.uk/cpr.asp?fldType=1&action=view&id=12
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The Rowan Organisation's Head Office moved from its offices in Ratcliffe Culey, to the Eliot Park Innovation Centre in Nuneaton. We apologise for any disruption to services that may have been caused while this move was taking place.
The new contact details are as follows:
The Rowan Organisation
Eliot Park Innovation Centre
Barling Way
Nuneaton
CV10 7RH
Telephone: 02476 322 860
Minicom: 02476 374 439
Fax: 02476 374 948
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If you employ PAs or carers, there is important new information that you need to know about employing workers legally.
On 29th February 2008, stricter penalties for people who employ illegal workers came into effect.
Under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, employers have to make sure they don't employ someone who is not legally entitled to work in the UK. Employing an illegal worker is a criminal offence, and the new measures mean that an employer could be fined up to £10,000 for each illegal worker they employ. This fine can be given even if the employer didn't realise they weren't entitled to work. If an employer knows that they are employing someone who is not legally allowed to work, they could receive an unlimited fine and up to 2 years in prison.
However, there are steps you must take to protect yourself. Ask the applicant to show you proof of their identity and entitlement to work. The Border and Immigration Agency has two lists of documents that are valid as proof. Your applicant should show you one document from List 1 or two from List 2.
Whenever you employ a new PA, you must check that these documents refer to the person you are interviewing, for example do they match their photo and apparent age? You must arrange to copy these documents and keep the copies in a safe place. Doing this will provide you with a 'statutory defence' if prosecuted.
The lists of appropriate documents can be found on the Border and Immigration Agency's website: www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk . Alternatively you can phone them on 0845 0106677 for advice.
There is also an Employer Checking Service available on their website, that you can use if you are not satisfied with the documents you have seen.
There is also an interactive tool you can use to help check your applicant's status at www.businesslink.gov.uk.
Further information about this is available from the Rowan's Information Service.
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We are pleased to announce that from Monday 29th October 2007, the Rowan Organisation will be responsible for providing support for the Direct Payments Scheme in Nottinghamshire and Nottingham City. We would like to welcome the local staff from the previous support organisations (DiPSU and Age Concern) who will transfer over to the Rowan Organisation on that date.
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If you employ a personal assistant or carer, it is important that you are aware of the following information regarding changes to the law which are relevant to you as an employer. If you are not an employer, for example, if you use Agency carers, you may ignore this article.
From 1 October 2007 the National Minimum Wage will increase.
You need not take any further action if your employees already earn above these new National Minimum Wage rates.
For those employers who provide live-in accommodation for their personal assistant or carer, the rate for the accommodation offset against the national minimum wage will increase to £30.10 per week (£4.30 per day).
Changes to statutory minimum holiday entitlement
From October 1st 2007, the statutory minimum holiday entitlement for all workers will increase from 4 weeks to 4.8 weeks (pro-rata for those working part-time) and from 4.8 weeks to 5.6 weeks from April 1st 2009 (pro-rata for part-time).
Note: If your employees already receive a holiday entitlement that equals, or is greater than the new statutory minimum being introduced on October 1st 2007, then you need take no action.
Personal assistants or carers employed by you whose existing entitlement is less than the new statutory minimum will be entitled to an increase in their annual leave, whatever their work pattern i.e. whether full time, part-time, flexible hours, shifts, permanent, temporary or casual work.
However, the new legislation does allow a certain degree of flexibility. For example:
If neither of the above are mutually agreed upon, you must allow your employee to take the calculated additional entitlement in the same annual leave year.
To avoid any future misunderstanding or queries, we advise that wherever possible, the agreement and/or notification of the new entitlement is recorded in writing and given to your employee and a copy kept by you for your records.
The calculation of the new statutory minimum holiday entitlement may be straightforward or more complex, depending upon individual circumstances and patterns of work. In order to do a correct calculation, you must know the start date of your annual leave year for each person you employ. This may be one of the following:
If none of the above is applicable, the rules are as follows:
We have written to your local authority to see whether they are going to review the Direct Payment rate in the light of the changes to the law and we will let you know of any clarification we receive. However, in the mean time if you have any concerns about whether you can afford the increase to cover the additional holiday entitlement, you should contact Social Services.
For further information about the new holiday entitlement you could go to the following links:
www.berr.gov.uk/employment/holidays/faq/index.html
You can also contact the ACAS Helpline on 08457 474747. They can provide you with information about how to calculate the new entitlement based on the information you provide, but they will not actually do the calculation for you, for legal reasons.
If you use the Rowan Organisation's Payroll Service you can contact the person who normally does your wages on 0800 783 1755. If they need further information in order to do the calculation, they may need to liaise with an Independent Living Adviser in your area.
Where there is uncertainty or complexity regarding your employees' existing contract or entitlements, an Independent Living Adviser may be required to support you. You can contact him/her via our Head Office number 0800 783 1755.
For general information about the changes to the law or any other issue related to this, you can contact the Rowan Organisation's Information Service on 0800 783 1755.
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The Rowan Organisation is now registered as a Vetting Agency with the Criminal Records Bureau. This means that we are able to undertake CRB checks on behalf of service users who wish to employ personal assistants. For more detailed information about this scheme, please contact Head Office on 0800 783 1755.
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Please note that the contact details to apply for a Cinema Card have been changed. Please click on this link: www.ceacard.co.uk.
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Information on both of these can be found on this website by viewing the autumn Newsletter.
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The findings from the DH funded project which examined the barriers to the take up of direct payments in under represented groups are now available. As part of the findings, sets of Good Practice Guidance have been produced for professionals who work with the under represented groups.
Further information and how to obtain copies can be found by clicking here.
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