Welfare Rights information for professionals

Training

We provide training to help staff deal with people's benefit issues. See our Welfare Rights training courses for more information.

More information

See the following for more information:

• A-Z of benefit guides - our guides to benefits and common benefit issues.

Specialist teams

Our specialist teams provide a number of services that concentrate on working with some of the most vulnerable people in our community, and on providing support to other professionals and agencies working with vulnerable people. 

Other help available

If you want to help people check if they are getting the right benefits, you can also promote the use of the benefit calculators available on Gov.uk: Benefits calculators.

Using a calculator will give someone an idea of:

• the benefits they could get
• how much their benefit payments could be
• how their benefits will be affected if they start work or increase their hours
• how their benefits will be affected if their circumstances change - for example, if they have a child or move in with a partner

The person will need

Accurate information about their:

• savings
• income, including their partner's (from payslips etc)
• existing benefits and pensions (including anyone living with them)
• outgoings (such as rent, mortgage, childcare payments)
• Council Tax bill

They may find it useful to have this information to hand when using the calculator.

The calculators are not suitable for anyone under 18, and they will not give accurate results for:

• a prisoner
• a student
• anyone not a British or Irish citizen
• anyone on strike
• anyone living outside the UK
• anyone living permanently in residential care or a nursing home