Billing and Benefits Officer

Location

Basildon, Essex | United Kingdom

Job description

Job Category : Revenues / Benefits
Location : The Basildon Centre, Basildon Council
Hours Per Week : 36.25
Start Date : Immediate Start
Start Time : 09:00
End Time : 17:15
Salary: £25.00

Band 5
MAIN 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 Billing and Benefits section administers the billing of Council Tax liabilities, assessment of Housing Benefit and the assessment of Local Council Tax Support (LCTS). The section consists of four senior posts who provide legal and technical expertise, direct and monitor workloads and manage a group of twenty seven FTE Billing and Benefits officers undertaking all administrative tasks.
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.

DUTIES

1. Day-to-day administration of Council Tax billing and benefits processes, whilst seeking to promote efficiency and continuous improvement.
2. Interpretation of Council Tax and Benefits legislation, ensuring that processes and decisions apply in accordance with law and policy guidelines.
3. Administer the Local Council Tax Support Scheme in accordance with local policy and guidelines.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Verify and validate information, making all necessary calculations to determine entitlement and notifying customers accordingly.
8. 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.
9. To maintain an awareness of current legislation, policy and guidance relating to Council Tax, Housing Benefits and Local Council Tax Support.
10. Respond to requests from customers for clarification of decisions, providing statements of reasons, correcting any errors discovered and reconsidering any decisions where appropriate.
11. To liaise with all internal and external partners as required.
12. 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”.
13. Undertake all the duties within the framework of Equal Opportunities.
14. 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.

EXPERIENCE
1.1. Experience of working in a benefits section or in a similar environment dealing with income-related assessments.
1.1. A good working knowledge of Council Tax and Housing Benefits law and procedures.
1.2. Experience of customer/public contact demonstrating good communication and interpersonal skills.
1.3. Experience of accurately maintaining and interpreting personal and financial data.
1.4. Experience of using office information systems.

Job tags

Salary