Phil, 34, works as a Welfare Rights Adviser on the Macmillan Support Line. The team provide information on the benefits and grants people affected by cancer might be eligible to claim.
I have been working on the Macmillan Support Line as a Welfare Rights Adviser for 4 and a half years now. Prior to this role I was a face to face adviser for a local authority and also worked as an immigration caseworker for a legal advice centre.
I am currently based at Macmillan’s Shipley offices in West Yorkshire, which is right on the banks of the canal and close to the UNESCO World Heritage Village of Saltaire. The surrounding area is very green, and it makes the train journey into work relatively enjoyable!
A typical day as a Welfare Rights Adviser within Macmillan’s Financial Help team involves speaking to cancer patients, and their family members, about their current financial situation to try and identify benefit entitlements and other financial support such as a Macmillan Grant.
We know that 1 in 3 people living with cancer experience a £860 drop in income per month, normally because an employer may only pay Statutory Sick Pay at £92.05 per week. We therefore receive many calls from recently diagnosed patients that are concerned about the financial impact this will have on them.
Unfortunately, the financial impact is often compounded due to extra costs associated with their cancer diagnosis. This could include requiring post-surgery bras following a mastectomy, feeling the cold due to chemotherapy or just requiring a break away in the UK to escape the cycle of treatment and recovery for a few days. On every call we always check to see if someone is eligible to apply for help towards these types of costs via our Macmillan Grant scheme.
The role does have its challenges, particularly right now, because of all of changes in the benefit system. As a team we are managing to get our heads around the Universal Credit system but every week we discover a new rule that surprises us, especially when it increases someone’s income!
I also have an additional role as an ‘Advice Champion’. This role allows me to be a point of contact for other advisers on the Welfare Rights Team, if they require extra support with a complicated enquiry for example. The role also has other responsibilities such as delivering training sessions and assisting our technical lead where possible. I do enjoy the extra responsibilities as it keeps me on my toes with my own benefit knowledge and provides opportunity for personal development.
In 2017, as a team, we had nearly 40,000 different contacts with people affected by cancer. Due to these conversations we identified £59 million of unclaimed benefits. I expect these figures to be even higher for 2018 as we have been very busy and recently recruited extra staff.
I am proud to be part of such an excellent team, packed full of experienced and knowledgeable advisers. There’s not many Welfare Rights services where you can call in and get a full benefit check and advice within 25 minutes.
If you feel you might benefit from speaking to a Welfare Rights Advisor, you can call our Support Line for free on 0808 808 0000 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm).
