This is essential training if you are starting out as a welfare rights adviser in Scotland or need a good understanding of the benefits system. It introduces you to the social security system and important concepts to help you maximise benefit entitlement. You will gain a detailed knowledge of the core benefits and assessments involved in welfare rights advice – universal credit, the assessment of limited capability for work and the assessment of adult disability payment. You will learn how to maximise entitlement and deal with problems.

The course covers:

Benefits overview

The structure of the benefits system
The range of UK and Scottish benefits available in different circumstances
Key concepts in income-related benefit entitlement
Universal credit

Who is entitled to universal credit
Helping people claim and manage the system
The transfer from legacy benefits
The amounts that make up universal credit
How universal credit awards are calculated
Work capability assessment

What the work capability assessment is for
Who has limited capability for work, and limited capability for work-related activity
The process of going through an assessment
Advising about legacy benefits

What are the legacy benefits that universal credit is replacing and who gets them
Common issues and maximising entitlement
Adult disability payment

Who is entitled to adult disability payment
Understanding the assessment
How to claim
This course is aimed at new advisers and support workers who have little or no experience of the benefits system.