SYP - Legal Assistant - July 21

Role: Legal Assistant

Department: Legal Services

Location:  Carbrook, Force HQ, Sheffield

Salary: £21,135 - £26,016 (SC 4/5) (Pro-rata)

Hours: 20 hours per week

Contract Type: Permanent

Role Purpose:

Provide the administrative functions relating to the disclosure of documents, statements and other information in police possession in relation to General Disclosure specifically Child Protection cases, Medical counsel, Antisocial Behaviour and Housing etc.

Key Responsibilities:

• Co-ordinate the administrative and research functions relating to the disclosure of documents, statements and other information for use in civil proceedings, assessing and responding to requests in line with Force Policy, legislation and common law principles.
• Ensures monies are recovered for all disclosure requests, where applicable, in accordance with Force and Department policy and reports on such income to the Senior Solicitor.
• Deals with requests from Local Authorities and other interested parties regarding the disclosure of information with regard to proceedings.
• Advises Police Officers and staff to the necessity and lawfulness of disclosure requests received, and where appropriate, advises on grounds for resisting disclosure.
• Works with Police Officers and staff to locate the relevant file, liaise with those seeking disclosure and the Court and, where appropriate, agreeing to the release of documentation and countersigning appropriate Consent Orders.
• Identifies documentation to be disclosed, including electronic and physical material, arranging for copies and dispatching them subject to obtaining appropriate undertakings and in accordance with relevant legislation.
• Identifies cases in which there is objection to disclosure and arranging for a Force Solicitor to be briefed to make representations.
• Drafts applications to the Court for disclosure (from the Court files within both South Yorkshire and Humberside Police) for use in police investigations, advising on the strengths of such applications and briefing one of the Force Solicitors to attend Court.
• Liaises with Solicitors and Housing staff acting on behalf of Local Authorities and Housing Associations in relation to tenants responsible for causing nuisance and annoyance on Council estates.
• Interrogates appropriate Police systems to obtain details of convictions, which are relevant to Council properties for the purpose of eviction proceedings, in accordance with the Housing Act 1996.
• Refers to Court files to verify and check the relevance of information prior to assessing each case and granting approval for the disclosure of information.
• Co-ordinates the process in relations to requests for information from victims of nuisance and anti-social behaviour, liaising as necessary with tenants, members of the public and victims, and sanctioning disclosure as appropriate.
• Undertakes research and produces reports and management information in relation to new areas of disclosure as required.
• Provides advice to police officers in relation to any statements given by them for use in civil proceedings and to advise them on their attendance at Court.
• Provides details of previous convictions to Local Authorities in connection with childcare proceedings and responds to requests for information from CAFCASS.
• Agrees forms of Information Sharing Protocol with our partner agencies.
• Provides administrative support to the department as required, including handling incoming and outgoing post, answering of incoming telecommunication calls, receiving visitors to the department, reviewing and allocating incoming legal matters either electronically or physical.
• Performs such other duties as reasonably correspond to the general character of the post and are commensurate with its level of responsibility.

Skills and experience:

• Literate and Numerate
• Educated to A Level standard or equivalent.
• Possess an Awareness of the application and principles of GDPR, the Data Protection Act and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the implications regarding disclosure.
• Proven experience of releasing information in accordance with respective legislation.
• Experience of working in a confidential environment.
• Experience of using Microsoft to input, amend and retrieve information.
• Computer Literate / Keyboard Skills.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to communicate at all levels within the Force and with external agencies.
• Good presentation and report writing skills.
• Self-motivated and able to use own initiative to resolve problems but understands when to refer.
• Is able to prioritise work in order to meet deadlines as directed.

For further information relating to the role and tasks of this position, please refer to the attached role profile.

Benefits:

We offer generous entitlements and supportive policies to enable a better work-life balance, some of which are listed below:

• Generous annual leave allowance
• Flexible and agile working
• Generous ‘family’ leave
• Voluntary CPD Events for all staff to allow continuous development
• Mentoring & Coaching Scheme
• Paid Professional Subscriptions when relevant to role
• Access to a range of occupational health facilities
• Generous pension scheme
• Employee assistance service (accessible 24/7)
• Additional benefits for Westfield Health members
• Cycle to work scheme
• Sports and Social Club

Eligibility:

Applicants must meet the minimum requirement checkable history criteria, which must be taken into account for individuals applying to work with South Yorkshire Police in any capacity.  A minimum checkable history of 3 years / 5 years is required for this role and successfully undergoing recruitment vetting procedure is a pre-requisite of employment with South Yorkshire Police.

Appearance & Standards:

All tattoos and piercings must be in line with South Yorkshire Police’s Appearance and Standards policy.  Tattoos visible on your face, neck, hands or head are not permitted.  Any tattoos which could be deemed inappropriate or cause offence will also not be accepted.  If you have tattoos, you will need to make a declaration at the time of application.

Closing Date:

2 August 2021 at 23:55

Closing dates are not normally extended, other than in exceptional circumstances and agreement is made with the Talent Acquisition Manager, Recruitment and the Line Manager for the role.

Contact point for applicants:

For further information about the role, please contact Robert Hutton on 07464 983622.  Please do not contact this number for an application form.

Further Information:

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Diversity & Inclusion:

South Yorkshire Police welcome applications from under-represented communities.  For further information on diversity and inclusion within South Yorkshire Police, please visit the diversity and inclusion page:

https://www.southyorkshire.police.uk/sign-up/join-team-syp/diversity-in-the-force/

Apply for the role:

To apply for the role, please click the ‘Apply’ button.