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Jobcentre Plus for people of working age
Customer Charter
Introduction
1. This Charter tells you about the level of service you can expect from our
Jobcentre Plus offices. It also tells you what to do if things go wrong and
what we expect from you.
2. Before writing this Charter we asked our customers and staff what they
wanted to see in it. You said you wanted:
to be dealt with quickly and efficiently, including by phone
easy access to information for everyone
friendly, knowledgeable and helpful staff
a pleasant office environment.
3. We have taken notice of what you want when setting up Jobcentre Plus.
We want to give the best service we can to everyone who needs our help.
4. We welcome your views on how we can improve further. If you would like
to contact us you can do so through your local Jobcentre Plus office.
5. You can also write to me at XXXX.
Leigh Lewis
6. Contacting us
For your nearest Jobcentre Plus office look for the Jobcentre Plus display
advert in the business numbers section of the phone book.
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Our service
7. Jobcentre Plus is a service to:
help people get work or to improve their chances of getting work
pay people the right benefit quickly and accurately when they are not
working.
8. We aim to actively help people to be more independent, through work for
those who can, and support for those who cannot. We will be realistic
about people’s job options, but will encourage anyone to work if they can.
9. We have targets to meet for our service to customers:
DN – Douglas Edwards to provide details
Our responsibilities to you
10. We will:
be helpful, friendly and treat you with respect
treat you as an individual by offering you the service you need
behave professionally
keep what you say to us confidential
take responsibility when dealing with you
provide a safe, welcoming and pleasant environment in our offices.
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Your responsibilities to us
11. We expect you to:
treat us with respect. We will not tolerate harassment, threats or
assaults
be on time for appointments
answer as soon as possible if we ask you for more information
give us complete and accurate information
tell us about changes in circumstances for you and anyone you are
claiming for
behave in a considerate and polite way to other customers.
Responsibilities we share
12. We can all help by respecting each other and being patient, so that
everyone gets the help they need. If you behave in an inconsiderate way
or have in the past, we may not offer you some of our services. For
example, you may not be able to have interviews in private rooms and we
may not visit you.
Giving you information
13. Our offices will:
give information and advice on:
- work
- benefits
- other opportunities, such as training
provide a full range of leaflets and other information about services you
can get
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tell you about job vacancies, including jobs from some employment
agencies in other parts of Europe
give information about benefits and other financial help you can get
provide phone lines to help you contact other organisations, such as
the Pensions Service and Child Support Agency
DQ – is this correct?
arrange for help to fill in Jobcentre Plus forms.
Information on the internet
14. You can also get information about Jobcentre Plus from our website. The
address is address.
15. You can also get details of job vacancies at www.worktrain.gov.uk
Your benefit payment
16. If you are unable to work we:
aim to pay you the right amount of benefit on time
let you know what benefit you will get and when, or what happens next.
17. If you want to appeal against a decision on your claim, contact the office
dealing with your claim.
18. Targets for dealing with benefits claims quickly and accurately are:
DN – Douglas Edwards to supply details.
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Answering phone calls
19. Jobcentre Plus Telephone Contact Centres are open from 8.30am to 6pm
Monday to Friday. Calls are charged at local rate.
20. Call Centres and helplines are open at various times. See the list on page
x of this Charter.
DQ – What terminology should be used? Need to make sure the
customer knows the difference between Call Centre and Contact Centre
21. When you phone us or use a textphone, we will answer your call within:
10 seconds if you ring a Jobcentre Plus Call Centre
20 seconds if you ring a Jobcentre Plus office or Contact Centre.
22. Jobcentre Plus staff will always answer the phone with a standard greeting
and their name. If you need to contact them again, they will give you their
direct dial number. If you are dealing with a Call Centre they will tell you
what number to ring.
If you do not speak English
23. You can use your own interpreter or if you wish we can arrange an
interpreting service over the phone straight away.
If you have a speech or hearing problem
24. You can use textphone to contact us.
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Visiting our offices
25. When you visit our offices:
our staff will always wear a name badge and greet you in a friendly and
business like way
if you need an interview with a Personal Adviser we will arrange it
within 4 working days of the date you contacted us
if you have an appointment we aim to see you on time
if you do not have an appointment we will see you within ten minutes
if you need another appointment we aim for it to be on the same day or
as soon as possible
If you ask for your interview to be private, we will use a private
interview room if we can.
When you write to us
26. When you contact us by letter, fax or email, we will:
reply fully within 10 working days of the date we receive it *
let you know we have received it within 2 working days if you have
made a comment, suggestion or complaint.
27. If we cannot deal with your letter fully within 10 working days of receiving
it, we will tell you:
the reason and if there is anything you need to do
how long it will be before we give you a full answer.
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When we write to you
28. All letters from our offices will:
be typed and in clear, plain language
be in the best format for you if you tell us what this is. For example
braille, audio cassette or large print
tell you clearly if there is anything you need to do
give you contact details, including:
- name
- switchboard and direct line phone numbers
- email and website addresses
- textphone and fax numbers
We will give you the number of a Call Centre, if there is one that can
help.
29. We can write to you in a different language, if you ask. DN – this needs to
be confirmed
*We will reply to MPs’ letters within 15 working days.
We provide an accessible service for your needs
Treating you fairly
30. We will serve all our customers fairly and to the same high standards,
regardless of colour, race, gender, nationality, disability, religion, age,
political beliefs or sexual orientation. DN – ES and BA Diversity Teams
have been contacted for a steer on this.
Visiting you at home
31. If we visit you at home we will always show you our identification card and
give our name.
If you have a disability
32. If you have a disability which makes it more difficult for you to use our
service, we will discuss the best way to help you.
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If you have a hearing problem
33. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, we can arrange a British Sign Language
(BSL) interpreter or other suitable communicator to help you. We aim to
arrange this within one working day. The interview will be as soon as
possible.
If you do not speak English
34. You can use your own interpreter or if you would prefer, we can arrange
an interpreter. We aim to arrange this within one working day. The
interview will be as soon as possible.
Using our leaflets
35. If you ask, you can get leaflets in:
a range of languages
alternative formats, including braille, audio cassette and large print.
If you have a complaint
36. If something goes wrong we need to know so that we can put it right.
There is a national complaints procedure which is easy to use.
37. If you complain, we:
aim to reply to your complaint within 7 working days
let you know within 2 working days that we have received your
complaint and are dealing with it
use the complaint to improve our service.
38. If we cannot deal fully with your complaint within 7 working days of
receiving it, we will tell you why. We will tell you if there is anything you
need to do and when you can expect a full reply.
39. You can get more information from leaflet XXXX Title. You can get the
leaflet from any Jobcentre Plus office.
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We will regularly ask what people think of our service
40. We talk and listen to our customers all the time and act on what you tell
us.
41. We will:
ask our customers and organisations that represent them how they
think we are doing
ask what is important and use the information when we plan
improvements to our service.
DN – The frequency of surveys has to be formally decided by Performance
Management Strand Board/CE.
Our targets and performance
42. You can find out if we are meeting our targets each year in our Annual
Report. Each office will display information about its own performance.
More about the Charter
43. This Charter was published in October 2001 and will be reviewed in 2003.
It is also available in large print, braille, on audio cassette and in following
other languages:
Arabic
Bengali
Chinese
Gujarati
Punjabi
Somali
Urdu
Vietnamese.
43. You can get these from any Jobcentre Plus office.
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44. Useful contacts
Help line Title Service Provided Telephone number
Employment Service For jobseekers who are Phone 0845 6060 234
Direct looking for job Textphone 0845 6055 255
Opening hours: vacancies
9am to 6pm Monday to
Friday
9am to 1pm Saturday
Benefit Enquiry Line For people with Phone 0800 88 22 00
Opening hours: disabilities, their Textphone 0800 24 33 55
8.30am to 6.30pm representatives and
Monday to Friday their carers.
9am to 1pm Saturday
Disability Living For advice and updates Phone 0845 7 123456
Allowance and on Disability Living Textphone 0845 7 22 44 33
Attendance Allowance Allowance and
Opening hours: Attendance Allowance
7.30am to 6.30pm claims and payments
Monday to Friday
Pensions Overseas Changes and Phone 0191 203 0203
Directorate Pensions circumstances and Textphone 0191 201 0194
Direct enquiries from
Opening hours: customers who are paid
7.00am to 7.00pm by Automatic Credit
Monday to Friday Transfer (ACT)
Child Benefit Enquiry Payment of Child Phone 08701 55 55 40
Line Benefit and Guardian’s Textphone 0191 22 518 33
Opening hours: Allowance
8am to 5.30pm
Monday to Friday
Child Support Agency Confidential helpline for Phone 0345 133 133
National Enquiry line general enquiries, Textphone 0345 138 924
Opening hours: leaflets and claim forms
8am to 8pm and advice line for
Monday to Friday employers
8.30am to 5pm
Saturday
War Pensions Helpline Confidential helpline for Free phone 08001692277
Opening hours: general enquiries Text phone 0800 1693458
Monday to Thursday concerning War
8.15am to 5.15pm Disablement and War
Friday 8.15am to Widows pensions and
4.30pm all aspects of War
Pensions
Tax credit office helpline Confidential helpline for Tel 08456 095000
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Opening hours: advice and updates on
Monday to Thursday working families tax
7.30am to 8pm credit claims
Friday 7.30am to 7pm
Saturday and Sundays
10am to 4pm
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