ILF Scotland are pleased to inform recipients that the Northern Ireland Department of Health has asked them to provide ILF recipients who employ Personal Assistants with an award increase.
Please note that this increase applies only to directly employed Personal Assistants and not to those who are self-employed or to agencies.
ILF Scotland will apply an increase of 12% to the existing ILF hourly rate and will backdate this increase to 1 April 2022. Recipients will therefore receive a lump sum payment in April 2023 for the backdated period, followed by a new increased regular payment.
This will allow recipients to pay their Personal Assistants an hourly rate of at least £9.50 per hour. Recipients must pass this increase onto their Personal Assistants and should not use it for any other purpose.
If any recipient's Personal Assistants are in receipt of Universal Credit, or any other income related benefit, it is important that they be advised to seek independent advice before making any backdated payments to them, as this may have a lasting impact on any benefits they receive. ILF Scotland is not able to offer benefits advice.
Recipients must contact their Payroll Agency to tell them to pay their Personal Assistants the increased rate of pay from 1 April 2023, along with any backdated increase due, from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
ILF Scotland will apply this increase automatically, so recipients do not have to contact them. If recipients do not wish to receive this increase, please let ILF Scotland know as soon as possible so they can continue to pay your existing award.
This increase will not affect recipient's care and support arrangements.
ILF Scotland require recipients to keep financial records of all payments as normal.
Please note that ILF Scotland have informed the Department of Health about the new National Minimum Wage effective from April 2023 and will issue further communication about this in due course.
If recipients have any questions regarding this letter, or if their circumstances have changed, please contact an ILF Scotland Specialist Caseworker on 0300 200 2022 or email enquiries@ilf.scot.
