At Citizens Advice we help people find a way forward with a wide variety of problems, including benefits, debt, housing and employment law.
This week we put our employment project under the spotlight.
As a small-medium sized charity based in the local community, serving the 17 town and parish councils of Wokingham borough – our funds only stretch so far. This means anything additional that we want to do, we need to secure funding for – or support our dedicated and passionate volunteers to deliver it.
For a number of years now our volunteer adviser Rob Barnard has specialised in employment matters – now joined by two more volunteers.
They act as caseworkers for people who are assessed and supported through our main advice services.
Our core services help people to identify and respond to issues of discrimination in the workplace, understanding their contract and processes and challenging unfair treatment.
Any specialist or longer-term work may then be picked up by our volunteer employment specialists, working one-to-one with our clients until completion.
We have championed a number of Rob’s cases, highlighting in our 2018-19 impact report about a client securing a settlement of £90,000.
We always give the warning that it is rare to engage with Citizens Advice and leave that journey with £90,000 – but it shows how far our dedicated staff and volunteers will go to ensure we reach a suitable outcome, empowering the client to make decisions – equipped with high-quality advice and information.
If you have any problem and you think Citizens Advice may be able to help, give us a go. Visit www.citizensadvicewokingham.org.uk for all the details on how to contact us.
Our main enquiry areas are benefits, consumer goods and services, debt, discrimination, education, employment, financial services, health and community care, housing, immigration, legal, relationships and family, tax, travel and transport and utilities.
