A Personal Assistant can be recruited by an agency or you could do this yourself.
Find out more information about recruitment.
Job Description
A job description is a list of tasks you need your personal assistant to do. A person specification is a list of the skills, experience, and personal qualities you would like your personal assistant to have. If you have a care plan you may have specific requirements that you will need to think about when writing the person specification.
The LCC Direct Payments Support Service (Penderels Trust) can support with this.
Recruiting a carer or a Personal Assistant
Unless there’s someone you already know, you’ll need to advertise, interview and carry out checks.
You will need to make sure you have Employers Liability Insurance in place before you start the recruitment.
The LCC Direct Payments Support Service (Penderels Trust) can support with this.
Recruitment agencies might charge you, but it might be worth it for the added peace of mind.
You could look for a PA using Job Centre Plus, Penderels PA Finder or Universal Jobmatch.
Interviews
- Prepare for the interview – Put together a list of questions based on the job description and the candidate's qualifications and experience
- Do not interview alone – It is safer, and you can gain a second opinion
- Allow time between interviews – to allow you to take notes
- Don’t rush a decision – take time to make the decision, you could re-interview, ask for more information or even re-advertise if no-one was suitable
You should check the candidate's right to work in the UK. As an employer, you must make sure that any prospective worker is eligible to work in the UK before you employ them.
Ask to check people’s passports or other ID to prove they’re from the European Economic Area or have a visa to work here.
Ask to check people’s passports or other ID to prove they’re from the European Economic Area or have a visa to work here.
Remember to keep a copy of the paperwork.
You can check a job applicants right to work in the UK.
Once you have decided who you want to employ, contact them and offer them the job. Tell them that you will first need to check their references and carry out any other checks (for example a DBS check). Make sure you give enough time between offering the job and start date to enable you to carry out the checks.
Once your preferred person has accepted the job, send a letter to the people you interviewed who did not get the job. Be prepared to give unsuccessful candidates some feedback if they ask for it.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks (previously CRB checks)
Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks are now called Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, or Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) checks in Scotland.
- a DBS check should only be done for a successful job applicant
You can find further information about DBS checks on GOV.uk.
References
You should ask for the details of referees, who you should then contact for the successful applicant. It is usual to ask for two, which should include at least one previous employer. They can reply via post, email or via a phone call but it is best to have the reference in writing.
