Casework Department Opening Hours: 
Tuesday 10:00 – 14:00 
Wednesday 10:00 – 14:00 
Thursday 10:00 – 14:00 

By instructing the Caseworker team you understand and agree that The Disability Union Casework team are not obliged to support, assist or advocate in all circumstances.  

While we endeavour to offer our support to all members we will decline in instances where there is or has been: 

• Active legal cases 
• Safe Guarding concerns 
• Misrepresentation of facts 
• Foul or abusive behaviour towards our staff or colleagues 
• Illegal activities 
• Court orders 

To request assistance from the Casework team please email support@disabilityunion.co.uk with your request for support.  A member of our team will reply to you as soon as possible during our opening hours. 

Due to high demand for our support, you will be added to a waiting list and allocated a reference number.  You will only be officially on our waiting list and your request logged once you are in receipt of a confirmation email and reference number.  We will endeavour to allocate you a caseworker as soon as someone is available, however owing to the nature of the demands of our members we are unable to stipulate a time frame. 

By asking for support from our casework team you agree to share honest facts about your disability, conditions and circumstances so that we may help you. You also give consent to the casework team to act as your advocate. Failure to do so, or sharing inaccurate information may result in immediate closure of your case. 

Once a caseworker is assigned, you may at any point request support from a different caseworker. Likewise, your case may be passed over to a different caseworker. Two week’s notice will be required in either instance to accommodate these changes.  

Foul, abusive or threatening behaviour will not be tolerated by our staff and will result in your case being closed with immediate effect, without warning.  

Requests to be present at virtual meetings must be made at least two weeks in advance in order to reserve the time required in your caseworker’s diary.  We are unable to attend any meetings in person. 

The safety of all of our members and community are of the upmost importance to us and as such we will always act in the way we feel most appropriate.  We have a duty of care to all that we work with and will always act accordingly, we therefore reserve the right to implement safeguarding procedures where appropriate.  

Well-being support can be offered in blocks of 6 sessions.  You may request a further block of 6 sessions after a 6-week period upon review. 

Requests for support with paperwork and benefit claims should be made where possible two months before the deadline date to allow adequate time to assist and collect relevant information and evidence. 

On occasion, human and technical errors may occur.  We aim to be responsive within a time frame of 5 casework working days, however if you haven’t had a response after this time, please resend your correspondence.  

In order to support as many members as possible you will be allocated a caseworker for a period of 3 months after which time your case and its progress will be reviewed.  We reserve the right to close any cases where communication had lapsed for a period of 30 days. Thus, if we have assisted you for a period of six months or more without the desired outcome and exhausted all available options or our support is declined, we may close your case and signpost you to other agencies/services. 

While we strive to assist and support everyone that requires us, there are times when we will not be able to assist for many reasons.  If we are unable to support you with a particular circumstance, we may be able to assist you with something else.  However, we are not obliged to accept every request. 

To ensure your privacy you agree not to divulge specific information regarding your case on any social media or public forum, failure to comply to this requirement may result in your case being closed.   

Any complaints should be made in writing for the attention of the Casework Director: lauren.toovey@disabilityunion.co.uk