Support and advice with all aspects of employing staff, payroll, support planning and managed accounts
If you or someone you care for gets help from social services or has complex health needs, you may be eligible for a Direct Payment.
A direct payment is a sum of money that your local council or health authority will pay directly to you, so that you can buy and arrange your own care and support to live as independently as possible with more choice and control.
New to Direct Payments and Personal Budgets? Take a look at this simple guide
Keep up to date with our thriving Direct Payment peer-support Facebook group where like-minded people come together, information is updated and shared regularly and people share help and support for each other to manage their own care and be empowered to live a independent life.
We also provide a range of information, days out and details of additional hep and support available to you and your carers/PA'S and family via our newsletter, the Independent Living Newsletter and the Skills for Care Newsletter.
What we offer
Ideal for All has been supporting people in receipt of a direct payment to manage their health and care needs since 1997.
Each year we provide a range of services to over 1,000 direct payment recipients, enabling them to direct their care in a way that suits them.
By choosing Ideal for All you can expect the highest level of support, tailored to your individual needs, designed to increase your independence, and improve your health and wellbeing.
Take a look at our direct payment support services below. You can also download our DP Services infographic and see what some of our existing clients say in our case studies section.
To speak to our Direct Payments Support Team call 0121 558 5555 option 1 or send an email and we’ll be in touch.
Working in partnership with your local authority and/or health authority we can support you to understand how direct payments work. We can answer any questions you might have about who can get a direct payment, eligibility criteria, the assessment process, right through to options for managing your budget and what it can be used to purchase. Anything you want to know about direct payments and personal budgets. Working closely with Skills For Care we can also signpost you towards funds available to train yourself as an employer and for your staff to optimise their skills. Find out more by clicking here. Skills for Care also have a range of resources and factsheets available. For example if you need help to understand your responsibilities as an employer, read the guidance, templates and resources about recruiting, training and managing your team online here
Recruitment Support (including DBS checking)
If you choose to employ your own care staff or personal assistant/s, we can support you to recruit the right person for the role, including advice on job descriptions, employment contracts, and other aspects of hiring employees using your direct payment. We can also assist in securing a DBS check for you prospective and current Personal Assistants. Just call us on 0121 558 5555, select (option 1) and speak to a member of the Direct Payments team. Skills for Care offer up to date useful templates and fact sheets as part of their Personal Assistant Toolkit.
PA Register
Our PA register is an online directory that brings together individuals who are available to work as a Personal Assistant and those who wish to employ them.
We hope it will make finding a personal assistant (PA) or employer easier and more flexible. The PA register is not an agency but instead a list of PAs who are available for work.
Check out our PA vacancies section, it holds advertisements from employers (known as individual employers) who are
looking to recruit a personal assistant.
Our PA register provides useful information about finding and recruiting a suitable personal assistant for you as well as other relevant information about individual employers.
We think the PA register will reduce the time and cost involved in finding and recruiting
personal assistants for both organisations providing support (including local authorities)
and individual employers. For more information please call 0121 558 5555, select (option 1) and ask to speak with a member of the Direct Payments management team.
Employment Support
When you pay a carer or personal assistant directly using a direct payment or personal health budget, you are classed as an employer. Ideal for All can provide you with the necessary information and training to become a good employer, working with you at your pace to understand employment law, your responsibilities, and keep you updated as legal requirements change. We work closely with ACAS to ensure we have access to pertinent and accurate information, please click here for good advice in how to be a fair employer.
Payroll
We offer a reliable and low-cost payroll service for employers of personal assistants or carers. Our qualified and experienced staff can manage your payroll, ensuring your staff are paid on time, every time. We have no set-up fees, no end of year fees and no hidden costs. Charges only apply per payslip produced.
What we do for Payroll customers:
- Register you as an employer with HMRC
- Obtain authorisation from you to act on your behalf to liaise with HMRC
- Process employee (your carer / personal assistant) timesheets on a payroll run of your choice i.e., fortnightly, four weekly or monthly basis.
- All your timesheets can be accessed through your Brightpay portal. Please contact Ideal for All for your login once your DP is in place.
- Monitor employee timesheets against your care package
- Issue payslips to employees by the date set out in the payroll calendar
- Prepare P45s when employees leave
- Once you are set up - all your payslips are accessible online via our payroll system Brightpay Connect. You can access them HERE with your login.
- Provide advice on payroll related issues, such as holiday pay
- Assist with auto-enrolment in line with the pensions regulation, including enrolling on a pensions scheme and making deductions from pay. More information on pensions
Managed Accounts
If required, Ideal for All can also manage your direct payment funds. You will still have control over your care package, our qualified and experienced staff can manage and monitor your funds on your behalf. This option suits individuals who may need or want additional support managing their care funding. We can offer this service for direct payments or personal health budgets.
What we do for Managed Account customers:
- Set up the process to have a managed account
- Set up a dedicated account in your name
- Receive and hold all direct payments/personal health budget funds
- Arrange to pay all the agreed outgoings (PA wages, care agency fees, insurance and any other bills as agreed by you and the council/NHS)
- Pay all amounts due to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
- Keep a record of all the income received and payments made
- Provide you with a statement showing all transactions.
Support Planning
In order to receive a personal budget, you will need to create a support plan to show how you intend to use your budget to meet your needs. Working closely with you, Ideal for All can assist you to produce a support plan, ensuring all your care requirements are costed and included.
Personal Health Budgets
Personal health budgets have been introduced by the NHS to help people with long-term conditions have a greater say over the healthcare and support they receive. Ideal for All can guide you through the process of accessing a personal health budget via a direct payment, including developing an individual care and support plan. More about Personal Health Budgets
Self-funding your care
If you are not eligible for financial help towards the cost of your care or health needs from your local authority or the NHS, you will have to pay for your care and support privately. If you are funding your own care, you can purchase many of the services we provide for direct payment recipients such as recruitment, employment, and payroll services. Contact us to discuss your needs.
Peer Support
The opportunity to meet other direct payment recipients and discuss your experiences of managing a direct payment whether that be about employing a personal assistant or using a payroll company. If you have any questions about how to manage your direct payment, then you can come along and ask another direct payments user who may be able to give you their words of wisdom on how they dealt with the same issue that you may be experiencing.
Where we work
Ideal for All is contracted to support individuals that have been assessed for a Direct Payment by the authorities listed below.
Personal Budget (direct payments)
Personal Health Budget (direct payments)
Not currently a Direct Payment recipient? The first step is to contact your local authority or health authority for an assessment to find out whether or not you are entitled to care and support. Click on the weblinks above to access the right department.
My local or health authority is not listed. Don’t worry; regardless of where you live, we are able to support you with your direct payment. Contact us for more information.