Billing and Benefits Officer
- Temporary (3 months), Full Time
- Up to £20 per hour PAYE
- Location: Basildon
Essex County Council (ECC) are delighted to be supporting the Council to recruit a Billing and Benefits Officer on a temporary basis.
This is a hybrid role, the office base is at the Council Offices. There is a requirement to be in the office to meet business needs, approximately 1 day per week. The successful candidate will need to attend the Council Offices on their first day to collect equipment.
Role purpose
The purpose of this post is to administer all aspects of Council Tax billing, up to and including the issue of the bill and Housing Benefit and Local Council Tax Support assessment, ensuring a high standard of quality and accuracy of work. Staff will ensure that all work undertaken is in accordance with law, regulations and guidelines and handled as promptly and efficiently as possible.
General information
The Revenues and Benefits Service administers the billing and collection of Council Tax, Business Rates liabilities and corporate debt, the assessment of Housing Benefit and the Local Council Tax Support (LCTS) scheme. The Service is responsible for ensuring that benefits are paid timely and accurately and that the tax base is protected.
The post holders ensure that decisions on Council Tax liability, exemptions, discounts, reliefs and Housing Benefit entitlement are made in accordance with law and policy guidelines, and that demands and notices are issued in a timely manner.
All staff must be mindful of potential fraud and that suspected irregularities are referred for investigation in all cases.
A common factor in Revenues and Benefits services is that any member of staff may be called upon to act as a witness in proceedings in courts or tribunals to give factual evidence.
Accountabilities
- Day-to-day administration of Council Tax billing and benefits processes, whilst seeking to promote efficiency and continuous improvement.
- Interpretation of Council Tax and Benefits legislation, ensuring that processes and decisions apply in accordance with law and policy guidelines.
- Understand the impact that all assessments, accuracy and overpayments have on subsidy.
- Administer the Local Council Tax Support Scheme in accordance with local policy and guidelines.
- Make decisions in respect of Council Tax liability, exemptions, discounts, reliefs and Housing Benefit entitlement and that notices are issued in a timely manner, referring any matters of doubt to a Senior Billing and Benefits officer.
- Ensure the accuracy of the property and taxpayer database, including Housing Benefits and LCTS data, by updating the IT systems and agreeing totals to Valuation Office Agency where appropriate.
- Undertake enquiries to identify exemptions, discounts and reliefs from council tax and evaluate household details relating to Housing Benefit / Local Council Support claims, carrying out detailed assessments of income, capital and other resources relating to entitlement.
- Verify and validate information, making all necessary calculations to determine entitlement and notifying customers accordingly.
- Liaise with Visiting Officers in relation to establishment of liabilities, reliefs and other queries, including the completion of new dwellings and claims for benefit and LCTS.
- To maintain an awareness of current legislation, policy and guidance relating to Council Tax, Housing Benefits and Local Council Tax Support.
- Respond to requests from customers for clarification of decisions, providing statements of reasons, correcting any errors discovered and reconsidering any decisions where appropriate.
- To liaise with all internal and external partners as required.
- Undertake all the duties within the framework of Equal Opportunities.
- Any other duties appropriate to the post: These other duties must be equivalent to or below the salary and status of the role and, where appropriate, under the Equality Act 2010, due consideration must be given to any employees with a "protected characteristic".
- You must cooperate in all matters relating to Health and Safety and implement all procedures for your job role. The identification of Health and Safety related risks within the working environment must be highlighted to your management.
The experience you will bring
- Demonstrable experience of working in a benefits section or in a similar environment dealing with income-related assessments.
- A good working knowledge of Council Tax and Housing Benefits law and procedures.
- Experience of customer/public contact demonstrating good communication and interpersonal skills.
- Experience of accurately maintaining and interpreting personal and financial data.
- Experience of using office information systems.