Coming soon – PA Employer Handbook

April 1, 2021

Self Directed Support Scotland (SDSS) has been working with partners to update and redesign the Personal Assistant (PA) Employer Handbook, first published by the Scottish Government in 2014.

Following a survey of the handbook users and a number of changes over the years that have affected current and potential PA Employers under Option 1 of Self-directed Support (SDS), it is our goal to deliver a web-based resource which reflects these changes. These developments and issues include:

Free Personal Care for all
Introduction of the Scottish Living Wage for PAs
Minimum wage requirements for overnight support
Self Employed PAs status
Pension contributions
TUPE arrangements and application
Redundancy costs
Disclosure Act changes
Funding for additional PA Employer costs
Proposed abolition of social care charges (sometime in 2021)
Opening of the Independent Living Fund Scotland and their on-going development with new funding made available
New Guidance related to the COVID-19 pandemic

The updated Handbook was announced at the 2021 SDS National Voice conference which focused on quality to close the implementation gap. With the updated PA Employer Handbook, we hope to provide a high quality, inclusive, resource for PA employers, no matter what stage of the journey they are at.

The PA Employer Handbook is in the final round of peer review before launching in the coming weeks (April 2021), but it is intended as a live resource and anyone can feed their views to shape future design and content. You can even start now by telling us what you want to see in a PA employer resource or liking other ideas in the new SDS Forum.

Make sure you’re the first to hear about the launch by following us on Twitter (@SDSScot) and Facebook (@SDSScotland).