38187 - Claims Caseworker

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Background

Good administrative staff with excellent customer service skills are vital to the effective operation of the Courts, Tribunals and other offices within Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). Most of the staff within HMCTS are employed in administrative roles. HMCTS embraces continuous improvement (CI) techniques to provide high standards of customer service

The Bristol Finance Support Centre processes judicial fees and expenses claims, witness and appellant costs from courts and tribunals. The team is based in central Bristol at The Law Library, Bristol Crown Court.

Purpose of the role

The key purpose of the Claims Caseworker role is to receive and progress for payment claims for judicial fees, expenses and witness and appellants’ costs arising from the Courts and Tribunals, and to deal with claimant’s queries, responding by letter, email or telephone.

Duties

Claims Caseworkers are assigned to teams that handle incoming claims and produce monthly payrolls. Claims Caseworkers will check, approve or reject claims. They will assist individual claimants answering their queries by email and on the telephone. Caseworkers are supported in their role by comprehensive guidelines and instructions; complex or difficult issues are normally will involve referral a team leader or their deputy.

Interaction with Others (internal/external)

Claims Caseworkers work within a team with regular management support. They have contact with claimants, including judges, legal professionals and lay members of the Tribunals. They may also liaise with Courts and Hearing Centre staff, and partner agencies such as our IT and payment service providers. 

Outputs

• Approved/rejected claims
• Responses to queries arising from claims
• Financial data and records
• IT reports and management information

Fit in the department’s structure

The Finance Support Centre is part of the Judicial Pay and Expenses team which is a division of the HMCTS Finance Directorate.

Activities and responsibilities

• Receive and process fee and expenses claims arising from Courts and Tribunals
• Check and complete first line approval, confirming claims are valid, correct and comply with policy.
• Action claims in accordance with established procedures to ensure timely and accurate payment.
• Reject incorrect claims and advise claimants accordingly; identify instances of non-compliance with policy and refer to team leader
• Answer and/or appropriately redirect enquiries from HMCTS staff, judicial office holders and other customers;
• Work as part of a team to clear the workload efficiently ensuring equal standards of service across all customer groups;
• Proactively look for opportunities to improve processes and activities of the team;

Other duties

The post holder is required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties reasonably requested by line management which are commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility of this post.

Assessment Criteria

The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate the required experience, strengths, behaviours, and abilities set out below.

• Adaptable and able to prioritise a busy workload
• Good verbal and written communication skills
• Good decision-making skills
• Customer focused
• Team worker
• 5 GCSEs or equivalent qualifications/equivalent experience (details below)

Location of Post

The post holder will ordinarily be assigned to the Finance Support Centre, Bristol but may be expected to work flexibly across a number of HMCTS venues to meet operational needs.

Skills & Qualifications

5 GCSE passes (or equivalent) grades A*-C, or NVQ Business Administration level II or Administrative experience. Relevant computer skills to undertake the level of work required.

This permanent post is also open to existing civil servants at Band E on level transfer or Band F on promotion.

Operational Delivery in HMCTS

This role is part of the Operational Delivery Profession. Operational delivery professionals are the outward face of government, providing essential services to the public in a variety of roles. They work in many different departments and agencies across the breadth of the UK, delivering service to customers in

• Face-to-face roles in HMCTS for example a court usher
• Contact Centre roles in HMCTS for example call centre advisers
• Processing roles in HMCTS for example Staff at the County Courts Money-Claims Centre and Courts and Tribunal Administration

Being part of the operational delivery profession means belonging to a cross-government community of people.  This will offer you access to information on professional standards, skills development and qualifications to help you continue to improve your development and performance and expand your career options.

Starting Salary
The starting salary for this post is £19,246 per annum.

Posting Terms
Public Interest Transfer terms will apply to this vacancy but are limited to Excess Fares only.