What is Recruitment Services?
An optional not-for-profit fund which covers you against the risk of unplanned heavy costs which are now your responsibility when you need to recruit your Personal Assistants (PAs).
If you join the scheme you pay a small weekly amount, then when you need to recruit you won't face newspaper advertising costs - typically £500 a time - or other expenses.
You also get a wide range of other benefits from the ILA's wealth of expertise in recruitment to help you recruit successfully.
Why is it necessary?
The service has been introduced by the ILA because of an important change decided by West Sussex County Council. From 1 April 2009, the council will no longer meet PA recruitment costs from central funds - the expense will have to be met from customers' own DP accounts.
The ILA developed Recruitment Services to enable you to avoid having to find large, unpredictable sums of money for staff recruitment, which would leave a hole in your personal budget and may disrupt your spending plans.
Recruitment Services offers you the peace of mind of knowing that the fund will meet your recruitment costs whenever you need it.
How much must I pay into the fund?
It depends on the size of your DP package:
- If your weekly DP amount is less than £101, you pay just £2 a week
- If your weekly DP amount is £101 - £300, you pay just £3 a week
- If your weekly DP amount is more than £300, you pay just £5 a week
Your contributions can be paid by standing order from your bank every four weeks or quarterly, or you may discuss other payment options with the ILA.
What do I get for the money?
- Advertising and other costs met from the fund when you need to recruit a new or replacement PA.
- Access to our DP network of PAs, through which potential staff can usually be selected by you quickly and easily.
- Adverts for your PA posts on the ILA's own website and other recruitment websites that we have found get good results.
- Access to a wide network of accessible interview venues, and help with booking them if required.
Is Recruitment Services optional?
Yes, you can decide against paying into the fund if you wish, but when you need to replace a PA or find a new one you will have to fund the advertising yourself or sign up to Recruitment Solutions at that time. The agreement will be in place for a minimum of a year. Remember, recruitment costs can be very high.
FAQs
What if I decide not to join as I do not currently need to recruit, but find that I need to recruit at a later date?
- You can either pay the full cost of advertising or join Recruitment Solutions (The minimum term is 1 year).
Can I opt in for some of the recruitment services and not others?
- No - due to the low-cost nature of the plan there will be no facility to choose some solutions and not others.
If I have been paying into the fund but have not used any of the recruitment services all year will I get any refund of my contribution?
- No - as with 'breakdown insurance', for example, you have the reassurance of access to all recruitment services for as long as you pay into the fund.
Will I continue to receive recruitment advice and help with creating adverts from the DP team if I do not join the fund?
- Yes, you will. In this case, you would just have to meet the cost - and deal with the administration - involved in placing the adverts.
I have been a member of the DP network up until now - how can I continue to receive updates?
- The cost of running the DP network is funded through Recruitment Services so you will need to pay into the fund to continue receiving updates.
I know I will get a personal budget from the county council, but it hasn't started yet. How can I make sure that I am in the fund and not have to worry about these large, unexpected recruitment expenses?
- If a personal budget has been agreed by the council the DP adviser can sign you up to Recruitment Services straight away. In all other cases the adviser can provide guidance whilst you await your funding award.
