National Centre for Independent Living

Before you even start to advertise or interview people you will need a job description. A job description is one way of ensuring that your PA knows exactly what their duties are. When you are looking for staff it will help them to know exactly what you are looking for and whether they wish to apply. You can write a job description using your personal assistant checklist or you may decide to make your job description into a letter which tells the personal assistant something about yourself as well as your personal needs. However you decide to word your job description it needs to be a clear description of what you need you PA to do and how you want to treated.

The document below will give you an example of a job description and some of the elements that you may want to include within in. Please use it and adapt it to your own personal needs.

Once you have decided how to organise your personal assistance hours you need to advertise for staff. There are a number of places where you can place your advertisement. The local Job Centre (Job centre Plus) will place advertisements free of charge. Sometimes they provide cards for you to fill in. Local colleges' offices also provide a good opportunity for free advertising for staff.

Advertisements in local newspapers or journals are generally used by most people, but may be quite expensive. You can also place advertisements for PAs in local supermarkets and shops. They are relatively cheap and provide a good way of recruiting local people if that is what you are looking for. A recruitment agency is another way of advertising - but they are often expensive. Some Personal Assistance Support Schemes help with advertising for staff. If you have one locally, ask them if they do. You may also use our website using the contact us link

An advertisement for a PA should be brief and include information on:

• the type of work
• hours per week
• pay
• how to get in touch with you.

We suggest you do not display your address, only your telephone or a P.O Box number, or you may be able to use the address of your local direct payment support service. However, an advertisement could say the general area you live in.

Some individuals arrange with their local disabled people's organisation to receive the applications on their behalf to ensure that people do not have access to a home address. You may also find that your local organisations may have a notice board, website or newsletter where you could post an advert..

Once people start to reply you need to know more about them before you decide whom to employ. You can do this by sending them an application form, you need to think about having this prepared before you place your advert so you can send them out as quickly as possible.

Whether to use an application form is a matter of personal preference. They can be useful in helping to get the most suitable people, but filling them out can discourage some potentially very good PAs from applying.

To get round this you may want to draw up a list of essential questions and ask people straight away. Many people find they can tell who is going to be completely unsuitable by talking to them on the phone. It is probably true to say that if you are looking for someone to work a high number of hours, or what amounts to a full time job then it might be best to use an application form.

You can use the information in your Job Description to help you write the form but we have given you some examples that you could use or adapt to meet your needs further down this page. You may also wish to put a closing date for return on the form or mention it on the advert, particularly if you are looking to employ someone quite urgently.

When your application forms are returned you can start to decide whom to interview. If you are talking to people on the phone you can decide who you want to interview there and then. Pick a day you want to put aside for the interviews and give them a time slot while they are on the phone.

Interviews sometimes cause anxiety both for you and for job seekers. You might consider having a friend or relative present at the interview to provide moral support. They can also help with questions and can provide a second opinion if you are unsure about whom to employ. Some direct payments support services will also offer support in these situations

You may want to make sure you include questions about skills you know you will need support around. For example, driving a car, or having good written or spoken English, working with children, if you want support reading. Skills with a computer might be important also. You can make your own list but you may want to include some mention of particular interests or activities you regularly take part in, or ask about the interests of the personal assistant, to check they will be comfortable working with you.

However, the key to good interviewing is to prepare well before the interview takes place. It is helpful to write down important questions and take notes of the applicant's answers on an Interview Checklist, we have provided and example of this below. This gives you an opportunity to look at people's responses once interviewing is over and will remind you what people have said.

You need to find out about people's attitude and ability, and you need to be sure that someone is right for you. As with the application stage, you should avoid unfair discrimination, but you can employ someone who suits your lifestyle. For instance as a woman, you may only want a female PA to undertake personal care; you may require a driver; you may need a BSL interpreter; if you are a lesbian or gay man you may want a lesbian or gay PA; you may require a PA who speaks the same language as yourself; or a PA who can attend a Mosque with you or who has worked with young people.

The important thing is to get as much information as possible at the interview in order to help you make the best decision. If you are unsure about what is unfair discrimination look at our section on equality or contact your local Direct Payment/ Personal Assistance Support Schemes who should be able to give you information (and often training) on good practice in interviews.

Some of the financial and tax records you need to keep will depend on the requirements of the organisation(s) which fund your assistance and whether you operate your own payroll. Your Social Services Department will probably have records that have to be completed as a requirement of your continued funding. If you need support in maintaining these records it should form part of your assessment for Direct Payments. Your local support scheme will also advise you about this.

In addition, it is good practice to keep records for each PA on:

• Holiday entitlement and holiday leave
• Sick leave taken
• All correspondence between you and the PA
• A note of any problems discussed during supervision and action agreed.

It is a good idea to keep these records for some time.

Inland Revenue require you to keep PAYE records for 6 years after the tax year ends. If a PA goes to industrial tribunal you will need records for up to 6 months.

Rota sheets and work sheets provide employers with an opportunity to plan PA's work schedule and keep records. (see PA Rota) Many people make up their own system but you may use this as a guide.

Many Support Schemes offer opportunities for "peer support" - a way of getting support and advice from other PA employers. This can be one-to-one or in-groups. Talking over some of these management issues with others who have had similar experiences can help you to be a better employer. Together you can create the kind of support service you want.

To find out if there is a peer support group in your area, ask your direct payments support service. If there is no peer support in your area contact NCIL to discuss ways in which a group could be started.