 Direct Payments - May update
Welcome
We hope our newsletters provide you with helpful information. If you have any suggestions for content for future newsletters, we would appreciate you getting in touch. We would like this newsletter to have helpful content so it is a useful resource for you.
Some of you will be new to having a direct payment, while other readers have had one for years. Though our team do not have control over budgets, we are able to assist you with various queries regarding your direct payment. Our main role is to assist customers in managing their account smoothly.
The direct payment page on our website has lots of useful information and you can also look at our latest newsletter.
The Direct Payment Team
There are five of us in the team: Karen, Tracy, Martin, Charlotte and Rachel.
To get in touch, you can email us, speak to us on the phone (0118 974 6000, option 6) or you are welcome to visit our Shute End offices.
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CQC ratings for agencies
Purchasing Services from an agency
If you would like to use your Direct Payment to purchase care & support from a care agency, we recommend that you do some research into the care agency you would like to use. This is to ensure that the care agency has complied with all the necessary requirements, including being registered with companies house and that their most recent inspection rates the care agency as good or above.
Autism strategy: one year on
In April 2025, the Wokingham Autism Partnership launched the All Age Autism Strategy - created in collaboration with autistic residents, families, and stakeholders.
A new video reflects on the first year of this five-year plan. This is just the beginning of a long-term journey.
The video offers a glimpse behind the scenes at some of the work underway across six priority areas - from new training courses through ASSIST (Autism Spectrum Service for Information Support and Training), to neurodivergent patient support at Royal Berkshire Hospital, school support through PINS (Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools), co-production workshops on voluntary sector services, and the Safe Places scheme being reinstated. These projects represent only a small selection.
Resident involvement and personal experiences continue to shape the projects. The partnership is committed to improving experiences and outcomes for neurodivergent residents across Wokingham Borough and is continuing to build on this momentum.
The strategy is jointly owned by Wokingham Borough Council, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB, Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, SEND Voices Wokingham, Promise Inclusion, ASD Family Help, Autism Berkshire, and CLASP.
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 Neurodiversity Week
In March Wokingham Borough took part in Neurodiversity Celebration Week, a global event to challenge stereotypes, increase understanding, and highlight the many strengths neurodivergent people bring to our community and workplaces.
The week offered many great opportunities to learn about the different ways people think, process information, and experience the world. It was also a chance not just to learn, but to celebrate.
The events showed how valuing neurodivergent strengths can lead to stronger teams, better ideas, and a more inclusive community.
By embracing different ways of thinking, we take an important step toward the Social Care Future vision; building a community where everyone supports, respects, and looks out for one another.
Gregg's Story: doing the things that matter to us
A couple of years ago, Gregg - a member of the Social Care Future Core Group - posed a simple question to a room full of councillors and social care workers: "What did you do this weekend?" The answers varied - everyday things we all do. "Well, so why would my life be any different? Just because you're disabled doesn't mean you want to live a different life. It just means you need more support."
Gregg's involvement, and that of others with personal experience in the Social Care Future Core Group, adds to the ongoing conversation about what good support looks like - not just basic care, but support that lets someone live the life they want to live.
Gregg has MS and uses a wheelchair. He uses direct payments to recruit and manage his own team of personal assistants through job sites like Indeed and Gumtree. His adverts don't mention "care." His philosophy: "Never in front of you, never behind you, always beside you."
Social Care Future is about bringing everyone together to work toward this vision. The more organisations and individuals who embrace these principles, the stronger our community becomes.
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 Help us match you with the right care professional
The Direct Payment team attended a Curam webinar in March, where they were shown how to choose a carer/PA using their online portal. The team felt this would be useful for anyone trying to find a carer/PA.
Curam offer a service to adults over 18 years old, with various support needs. It works by matching your support needs with the right carer/PA for you.
You enter your requirements onto the Curam platform, these are then matched with the carers/PA's that are registered with Curam. The carers/PA's who match your requirements can then be viewed and you can select who you would like to interview/meet.
If you are looking for a new carer/PA, Curam may be the way forward for you. Please find the link to Curam's platform here:
There is a fee charged when using Curam, however if you contact us, we can refer you to Curam by adding your name and address details to their online portal. Curam have kindly agreed to waiver their fees to Direct Payment customers from Wokingham Borough Council.
For more information on the services Curam offer, please feel free to contact us.
Changes to the employment rights act 2025
Paypacket, the payroll company have provided us with the latest guidance on changes made in Employment Rights Act 2025
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
- Day one sick Pay: Employees will now be entitled to SSP from the first day they miss work due to illness, rather than the fourth day.
- No earning threshold to qualify for SSP: Previously, an employee needed to earn at least £125 per week to qualify for SSP. The changes mean that everyone will receive SSP from April 2026, regardless of how much they earn.
- New SSP Rate: From April 2026, SSP will be paid at the lower amount of either £123.25 or 80% of their normal earnings. For workers whose pay varies week to week, this will be an average of the previous 8 week's pay.
Parental leave
- Day one right to 2 weeks Paternity Leave- still need length of service and above earnings threshold for leave to be paid.
- Day one right to unpaid parental leave -18 weeks in total to the child's 18th birthday & up to 4 weeks per year (except if the child is disabled).
- Bereaved partner paternity leave- unpaid leave during first 52 weeks of child's life if the mother dies.
- Paternity leave can now be taken after shared parental leave.
Whistleblowing
- Sexual Harassment becomes a qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing law.
Further questions? Contact PayPacket on 0800 848 8998 or by email.
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PayPacket and Surewise visit
PayPacket a payroll company and Surewise an insurance provider, have very kindly agreed to come to the council offices, Shute End, Wokingham on 3 June from 10am to 12pm.
When employing your own carers/PA's, it is very important that you have two things in place – 1. a payroll provider and 2. employment protection insurance.
To assist you to understand how a payroll company and an insurance provider can help you, we are holding an event with Paypacket and Surewise. They will provide a brief outline of the services they offer and will be available to answer any of your questions.
This event will be held in the council’s chambers. Please can you sign in at reception upon arrival.
Useful contacts
Insurance providers
Please be aware that your provider will be able to give online support regarding personal assistant and carer training. Get in touch with your provider if you wish to know more about this.
Surewise - 01268 200 020 send an email
Mark Bates Limited - 01476 514 478 send an email
Fish - 0333 331 3770 send an email
Payroll
PayPacket - 0800 848 8998 send an email
Nanny Tax - access website
 Feedback and contact us
Your feedback matters to us, please do get in touch (0118 974 6000, option 6) if you need any assistance or would like to give feedback. You can tell us what you think of this newsletter or what you would like to see covered in the future.
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