Guidance

Compensation for poor service: staff guide

A DWP staff guide that explains DWP's financial compensation principles and processes.

From:
Department for Work and Pensions
Published
1 April 2012
Last updated
233 MayNovember 2023 — See all updates

Documents

Financial redress for maladministration: staff guide

Ref: ISBN 978-1-84947-532-7

HTML

Financial redress for maladministration: staff guide

Ref: ISBN 978-1-84947-532-7

PDF, 211 KB, 1211 pages

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Details

This document describes:

  • the scope of, and authority for, the department’s special payment scheme

  • the underlying principles for ensuring that financial redress is used correctly

It’s not a rigid set of rules. Though it shows important principles, it cannot and does not intend to provide a blueprint for every situation. Each case must be considered on its own merits, in the light of the particular circumstances of the case. However, as the department aims to provide similar remedies for similar injustices, the principles must be applied to every case.

What is maladministration?

Unfortunately, we don’t always get things right first time. The term ‘maladministration’ is not defined, but is sometimes used to describe when our actions or inactions result in a customer experiencing a service which does not match our aims or the commitments we have given. It applies to situations in which we have not acted properly or provided a poor service. For example: wrong advice, discourtesy, mistakes and delays.

Why we publish this guide

We publish this guide to help people understand how we make decisions.

Complaints procedure

If you want to complain about the service you get from DWP or from an organisation that provides its services, use our complaints procedure.

Published 1 April 2012
Last updated 233 MayNovember 2023 + show all updates

  1. Updated the team name in the executive summary; updated footnotes 2 and 4; updated Independent Case Examiner and Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman contact details in Annex A.

  2. Updated team names and also the contact address for the Ombudsman’s office (Annex A).

  3. Changes to wording at paragraph 5.5 to provide greater clarity about the precise basis on which DWP may make a special payment, in recognition of the erosion in monetary value of benefit arrears, following a maladministrative delay in their payment. The revised wording more accurately reflects the special payment policy position and its intent.

  4. Published version with minor updates to contact infornation.

  5. First published.