YourRights.

Byline: SueBent

QI AM disabled and have been receiving help from Social Services which mainly takes the form of people coming into the house to help me with household duties and to assist me in moving about. I am not very happy with the service I receive from the care agency provided by the local authority and would like to make my own arrangements. Can I do this?

A PROBABLY, yes. The Health and Social Care Act 2001 allows for people in your circumstances, who for various reasons do not want to receive direct services, to receive money to pay for them.

You have to show that you are capable of managing the direct payments by yourself or with available assistance and there are restrictions that prevent you using direct payments to purchase services from the spouse or partner, or certain classes of relatives living in the same household, including parents, sons or daughters, brothers and sisters.

You can use the direct payments to pay for services from the excluded groups if the local authority is satisfied that securing this service from such a person is necessary to meet satisfactorily your need.

The rules are therefore considerably less restrictive than they used to be and many people do find it very helpful to be able to use direct payments because it gives them control over areas of their life which otherwise they might not have, and particularly it does give them some element of choice in whom they use to assist them.

You should bear in mind, however, that in going down this path you become an employer and you need to be satisfied that you can comply with the requirements of the law as an employer. However, help is available to you in doing this.

The direct payments are calculated on the basis of the reasonable costs of securing the cost of the service concerned and there is guidance into how this is calculated. Obviously, money cannot be spent on anything else.

QI want to take some time off when my partner has our baby later this year. Am I entitled to be paid for any time off?

A Provided that you have worked for your employer for at least 26 weeks by the week just before the baby's due date, you can take two weeks off.

You can take either one week or two consecutive weeks and if you currently earn more than pounds 79 per week you will be entitled to paternity pay of 90 per cent of your weekly pay or pounds 106 per week, whichever is the lowest.

Check your contract of employment or works' handbook, however, to see if there is a more generous company scheme.

CAPTION(S):

SUE BENT from Coventry Law Centre answers your legal questions