Adviser skills - understanding social security law and finding it online
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About this course
Benefits advice is legal advice. Entitlement to welfare benefits depends on whether or not a claimant meets the rules set out in law. The law also tells us how benefits should be claimed, how decisions will be made, and when the claimant has a right to challenge them.
For advisers, it’s crucial to be able to find the source material that underpins our clients’ rights.
The course covers:
- The building blocks of the law (acts, regulations and caselaw) and how they relate to one another
- How to navigate social security legislation online
- Finding case law online and tips for using it in your casework
- How to properly cite the law in appeal submissions and correspondence
- The structure and role of DWP guidance, where to find it online and when to use it
- AI tools and their risks and potential in legal research
- An introduction to CPAG’s benefit case diagnostic tools and template submissions to aid effective and accurate casework
This full-day standard level course is suitable for advisers who undertake benefit casework.
You might also be interested in our other Adviser skills courses:
- Adviser skills - Using medical evidence in benefit appeals - two half-days (online)
- Adviser skills - Writing benefit challenges - half-day (online)
- Adviser skills - Representing at the First-Tier Tribunal - two days (face-to-face)
Method of delivery and timings
This full-day equivalent, standard-level course, is delivered online via Zoom over two consecutive mornings. It runs from 10am to 1pm on each day, with a half hour break between 11.15am-11.45am.
It is a practical course delivered using a combination of trainer presentation, exercises and group discussion. Participants will need a Wi-Fi connection and a suitable device to access the internet. It is not recommended to join via a mobile phone.