ABSTRACT
Poor people do not need social workers in order to obtain benefits, but when in contact with families and individuals you should be able to point them on the right path. The benefits system is complicated with annually changing rates and the introduction of new, often targeted benefits. This should not deter you. Broadly your rule should be: Social workers should know enough to help users to get what should be theirs – but not be expert at the level of detailed knowledge (Thomas 2001). You do not have to acquire the knowledge and detail necessary, for example, for appearing at tribunals: realistically this role could only be expected of a full-time welfare rights officer. But you should be able to recognise when a focus on a user’s income improvement is essential and know enough about the benefits system to be able to:
• Go through the range of the user’s possible entitlements to determine whether they are claiming all that they can;
• Secure back payments of principal benefits if it can be demonstrated that a claimant should have had a benefit earlier.
