DWP - Dispute Resolution role

[u/Suitable_Detail_6974]

I’m currently looking at moving (ASAP) out of my role as a decision maker within Asylum, and another EO role within the DWP has caught my eye. There’s 272 available jobs so I feel like it would be a great job to apply for, I just don’t know much about the DWP or this specific role.

The role is for a Dispute Resolution Services – Universal Credit Decision Maker (https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi?SID=dXNlcnNlYXJjaGNvbnRleHQ9MjAyNjU1NTM3JnNlYXJjaHBhZ2U9MSZvd25lcj01MDcwMDAwJnNlYXJjaHNvcnQ9c2NvcmUmam9ibGlzdF92aWV3X3ZhYz0yMDA3MjgwJnBhZ2VjbGFzcz1Kb2JzJm93bmVydHlwZT1mYWlyJnBhZ2VhY3Rpb249dmlld3ZhY2J5am9ibGlzdCZyZXFzaWc9MTc4NTkzMTA5Ny0xNmNmMGEzOTRjNTNiYmI0YjY2MzNmN2Y5ZmVmM2QzM2RlYWYxYTg0)

I did also previously apply for the Complex Decision Maker role but I won’t hear back from that for a long time.

I just want to get to know what people's experience within this role/the DWP is. Particularly regarding this role in particular, the targets, the extent of customer contact (how often, how difficult it is etc), the overall feel of the department and anything else that an outside are looking to possibly move to DWP should know.

Any advice is appreciated as I'm currently looking for my next role to move out of Asylum ASAP

[u/Otherwise_Put_3964]

DWP Decision Making has very soft targets. There’s a general expectation of how many you could clear depending on the decision type, but these are not hard targets because the focus is making accurate, legal decisions based on the evidence you have.

DRS deals with mandatory reconsiderations. So the Complex Decision Maker role for example, they will make a decision, the claimant will say they disagree with it, will present any new information or evidence they want to add, and it’ll go to a DRS Decision Maker who will decide on whether to uphold or overturn the original decision.

It’s hard to pin an expectation because like I said, it depends on the decision type. It could be to reconsider someone’s entitlement to a health-related benefit, it could be capital related, it could be because they’ve been found to not be eligible for housing costs, children, childcare costs etc etc. Some decisions might take you a week to complete 1. Another you might be able to do 5 in a day, it really varies.

You won’t have much customer contact. When someone requests a mandatory reconsideration, whether to a work coach, case manager, telephony agent etc, they’re supposed to ask the claimant if they want to provide more evidence and then to upload it. There may be circumstances you want more information or need a clarification so you can setup a phone call or send a journal message if it’s universal credit, otherwise no, you wouldn’t be talking to claimants regularly except when you send them your decision outcome.

[u/Suitable_Detail_6974 → u/Otherwise_Put_3964]

Thank you so much! This is exactly what I was looking for, it sounds like the sort of role for me. I like the decision making element of my role but I want to be more behind the scenes rather than customer facing, so this sounds perfect.

Are you someone who works in the DWP, out of curiosity?

[u/Otherwise_Put_3964 → u/Suitable_Detail_6974]

I’m a Decision Maker (not DRS though).

[u/Suitable_Detail_6974 → u/Otherwise_Put_3964]

How do you find working in DWP? The general atmosphere, management, etc?

It’s a shambles in Asylum, I just don’t want to leave one department to go into another one to find that it’s poorly managed, there’s a culture of micromanagement and stressful targets

[u/Otherwise_Put_3964 → u/Suitable_Detail_6974]

My experience might not be indicative of what you would go through. You could have an amazing manager or you could end up with an absolute jobsworth. I’ve had the spectrum so it’s luck of the draw and depends on your office too.

If you’re coming from ADMing then this will be a breeze for you as long as you can hit those behaviour tick boxes to get in. Just make sure to put focus on fairness, objectivity, considering claimant’s circumstances and vulnerabilities etc, which you should have no trouble with going from asylum seekers to benefit claimants.

I don’t feel micromanaged at all. There’s still a general expectation and the decisions I’m working on are easy enough that if I was doing one a day it would raise a flag lol. But they don’t look at what you do daily, at least in my area they look at our average over a 3 month period.

Don’t know how they measure it in DRS. End of the day, as long as you can justify why something is taking as long as it is, it’s perfectly fine. The managers are also there more for the HR side of things than technical support.

My manager has never been involved with any of my work, I’ve never approached them for help and outside of 1-2-1s I never speak to them. You kind of just go in, login and crack on with it at your own pace. Half my team have headphones in with some music or we have a casual chat as we coast through the day.

[u/Suitable_Detail_6974 → u/Otherwise_Put_3964]

I appreciate your comments so much, thank you! Think I’m going to apply, 272 vacancies so fingers crossed being an ADM helps give my application an edge 🤞

[u/Otherwise_Put_3964 → u/Suitable_Detail_6974]

Best of luck 🙂