OFFICIAL

Job Title & Grade:

Caseworker - EO

Contract Type:

Permanent

Salary range (depending on location):

National - £29,303 to £31,061

Please note that unless you are currently employed by the Civil Service and are earning more than the minimum above, if successful you will be offered the minimum for the grade depending on your location.

Location:

Please note that whilst this role is open to all Civil Servants staff, you can only apply for London, Cambridge and Brighton offices if you are a current LAA staff member based in those offices. This is due to and in line with the LAA's Location Strategy and the Cabinet Office's Places for Growth Strategy.

Directorate:

Case Management

Team:

Exceptional and Complex Cases Team (ECCT)

Working Pattern:

The post is supported by the MOJ flexible working policy and includes colleagues who work flexibly, remotely (as part of hybrid working), part time or as part of a job share etc.

If you are applying for a part time role, please note that in order to meet business demands we need preferably cover for a minimum of 30 hours and to cover 4 days of the week - although we will consider all part time requests within reason.

To meet legal requirements, if you are between the ages 16-18 and you are a successful candidate, you will be required to complete an apprenticeship after your initial on the job training.

Reporting to:

ECCT Line Manager

Closing date for applications

30^th April 2026

The Legal Aid Agency

We are an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). We are responsible for operationally administering the legal aid fund to provide criminal and civil legal aid advice to people in England and Wales.

Our people are at the heart of achieving excellence. Employing around 1,200 colleagues across England and Wales, we feel proud to have some of the best People Survey results in the Civil Service.

Case Management

The Case Management Directorate is the operational delivery function of the LAA, and our staff ensure that each year in excess of 500,000 new clients are able to access the justice they require, and that their providers are fairly remunerated for the delivery of the legal aid. With staff based across multiple sites we deliver services for those facing both criminal and civil legal problems including family, immigration, mental health, housing, and exceptional funding cases.  

The Exceptional and Complex Cases Team (ECCT)

The Exceptional and Complex Cases Team (ECCT) sits within LAA Case Management and makes decisions on complex, high-profile, high-value applications for civil funding. We handle applications for exceptional case funding under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. We also decide whether funding should be provided in cases that fall outside the ordinary scope of legal aid: whether it would breach or risk a breach of an individual’s human rights not to do so. This is important work, essential to ensuring access to justice

Life in the team suits people with a strong public-service ethos where we put the applicant for legal aid at the heart of our processes and systems and make funding decisions that are objective and based on the legal aid legal framework to enable access to justice. We work collaboratively with our Case Management colleagues to provide services to help people in need. The team is geographically diverse, based nationally within our LAA offices.

Job Summary

To provide make decisions on complex and high-cost applications submitted to the Exceptional & Complex Cases Team, handle challenges in relation to Director of Legal Aid Casework (DLAC) decisions and other associated work by applying the correct statute, regulations, subject to specific guidance and case law, ensuring these are handled quickly and accurately. You will deal with applications made for a client by a solicitor but also applications made directly by the client. You will be responsible for establishing and maintaining professional links between ECCT and other teams to promote a closer working relationship whilst also being confident enough to challenge current protocols to achieve greater levels of efficiency and customer service.

Key Responsibilities:

Make accurate decisions and recommendations, within set timeframes on applications for legal aid, some of which can be sensitive or emotionally challenging, working alongside subject matter experts.
Assist with issues that have been escalated including complaints from clients, Head Office, MP’s and external bodies. Taking effective action by using discretion and expert judgement and identifying learning points and corrective action.
Communicate effectively, explaining decisions both verbally and in writing. Demonstrating your analysis of legal issues and how you applied the funding criteria, providing detailed reasoning when necessary.
Liaise with internal and external stakeholders and direct applicants providing accurate and timely responses to written and verbal enquiries received including escalated referrals from colleagues and stakeholders.
Ensure funding decisions are properly recorded on the relevant systems and comply with all information management requirements.
Ensure that all data is processed accurately, securely and in accordance with LAA data security guidelines.
Responsible for ensuring that national KPI’s and other stringent LAA quality and productivity standards and targets are met.
Effectively manage competing priorities, focusing on delivering a quality service within targets, identifying issues and solutions as they emerge.
Communicate accurately, responding to incoming communication by phone and in writing.
Undertake learning and development to maintain an up-to date understanding of current guidance and regulations to support performance, completing all mandatory training when required.
Attend LAA offices for face-to-face meetings and training as required.

Essential Knowledge, Experience and skills

Effective analytical and numerical skills with experience of making evidence based decisions.

Established communication skills both verbal and written with proven experience of giving feedback.
IT literate - a good knowledge of Microsoft Office, Excel and digital technology.
Ability to build relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
Excellent time management skills.
Ability to solve problems and make decisions.

Desirable Knowledge, Experience and skills

Knowledge of Legal Aid systems and associated processes.
Experience of working in a casework environment.

Person Specification

Enjoys working in a fast changing environment.
Enjoys working with a wide range of people at all grades and levels of capability.
Enjoys working independently and as part of a team.

Assessment approach

Application Process

To apply complete an application based of the following behaviours, each behaviour should be no more than 250 words:

Making Effective Decisions

take responsibility for making effective and fair decisions, in a timely manner
analyse and research further information to support decisions
talk to relevant people to get advice and information when unsure how to proceed
explain how decisions have been reached in a clear and concise way, both verbally and in writing
demonstrate the consideration of all options, costs, risks and wider implications, including the diverse needs of end users and any accessibility requirements

Delivering at Pace

regularly review the success of activities in the team to identify barriers to progress or challenging objectives
identify who and what is required to ensure success, set clear goals and areas of responsibility and continually assess workloads considering individual needs
follow relevant policies, procedures and legislation to complete your work
ensure colleagues have the correct tools and resources available to them to do their jobs
have a positive and focused attitude to achieving outcomes, despite any setbacks
regularly check performance against objectives, making suggestions for improvement or taking corrective action where necessary
ensure that colleagues are supported where tasks are challenging

Communicating and Influencing

communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing
take time to consider the best communication channel to use for the audience, including making the best of digital resources and considering value for money
interact with others in an enthusiastic way
express ideas clearly and with respect for others
listen to and value different ideas, views and ways of working
respond constructively and objectively to comments and questions
handle challenging conversations with confidence and sensitivity

Managing a Quality Service

work with customers to understand their needs and expectations
create clear plans and set priorities which meet the needs of both the customer and the business
clearly explain to customers what can be done
keep colleagues and stakeholders fully informed of plans, possibilities and progress
identify common problems that affect service, report them and find possible solutions
deliver good customer service which balances quality and cost effectiveness

When submitting an example of a behaviour remember to include the situation, what you did and why, and what was the outcome / result.

Please note that if we have a large number of applications will we do an initial sift on the Making Effective Decisions behaviour.

Please note that we only require Behaviour answers for your application. The wording on this advert may suggest that an Experience question is also required, however this is not necessary.

Interview / assessment Process

If you are successful through the application stage, you will be invited to an interview / assessment centre in person or via Microsoft Teams where you will be assessed against the following:

Strengths relevant to the role
The following Behaviours:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at Pace
- Communicating and Influencing

Your Experience of implementing, promoting, or understanding diversity and inclusion policy - Diversity is the presence of difference, this can include one or more of the protected characteristics (Gender, Age, Race, Disability etc.) or it can be about working patterns, whether we like to jump into a task or reflect on it before acting. Inclusion is how we welcome, value, and celebrate diversity, giving everyone a voice, tapping into ideas, and enabling everyone to be themselves at work and achieve their potential.

For this grade/role we would expect the candidate to demonstrate understanding of the terms Diversity and Inclusion and be able to explain why they are important to them and to where they work. Examples of action they have taken (in or outside of work) to embrace diversity (e.g., increasing understanding) or improve inclusion for others will increase the strength of their answer.

You will be required to undertake an Ability exercise assessing problem solving and decision making skills. You will be provided with all of the required information during the interview.

Shortlisting is planned for week commencing 4^th May 2026

Interviews are planned for week commencing 25^th May 2026

If you would like more information on this opportunity, please contact - Maria Brown maria.brown@justice.gov.uk or John Kirby John.Kirby@Justice.gov.uk

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)  

As part of our commitment to integrity and transparency, we ask all applicants to ensure that the experiences, achievements, and examples shared in your application are entirely your own.  Please do not use AI tools to fabricate or simulate personal experiences. While AI can assist with formatting and grammar, it must not be used to generate stories, skills, or accomplishments that you have not personally lived or earned.  

Our LAA commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain, and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.

As a Disability Confident organisation, we will offer a guaranteed interview to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for this role. Under the Equality Act 2010 a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities which has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months.

If you are responding to a role within the Legal Aid Agency and would like to be considered under the guaranteed interview, please indicate this in your application and let us know of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the sift or later selection processes.

The LAA’s goal is to build an organisation that is open and inclusive and truly values and celebrates the diversity of its workforce. One that reflects and understands the needs of the diverse society we serve. This is regardless of social background, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, beliefs, disabilities or long-term illness or caring responsibilities.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you have a disability or long-term condition (for example dyslexia, anxiety, autism, a mobility condition or hearing loss) and need us to make any reasonable adjustments to support you through the recruitment process, please let us know by adding the information to the applications system or emailing LAARecruitment@justice.gov.uk after you have applied so that we can discuss options with you.

Complaints procedure

If you have any complaints about this recruitment activity, please share your concerns by emailing LAARecruitment@justice.gov.uk initially. We aim to respond to any complaint within 10 working days.

OFFICIAL