Covid -19 crisis

Employment issues in the Coronavirus Pandemic - Frequently Asked Questions

This information was produced on 4th May 2020 and will be updated as the situation changes and more information is known.

 As the four main advice agencies in Southwark we are writing to provide you with a second joint update on how local residents can continue to access our vital advice and information services safely, whilst following guidance provided by the government and Public Health England.

By Phone

We have expanded our phone services and details of how and when people can contact us for help are set out in the table below.

In addition, Southwark Law Centre continues to provide second tier advice for other agencies on 020 7732 2008 - Mon to Fri 09.30 to 13.00 and 14.00 to 17.30.
 
Online
 
• All Citizens Advice Southwark public services can be accessed by email through their website - https://www.citizensadvicesouthwark.org.uk 
• Agencies can also make client referrals through the website -  https://www.citizensadvicesouthwark.org.uk/advice/generalist-agency-referral/  
• Online information on benefits, debt, housing, employment, immigration, consumer, family, discrimination and health, can be accessed through the Citizens Advice Southwark website - www.citizensadvicesouthwark.org.uk  
• Citizens Advice web chat service is also available for help: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/web-chat-service/  
 
Face to face
 
There are currently no face to face drop in sessions operating in Southwark. Please do not attend any of our offices unless you have an appointment.
We will all continue to help all clients with existing cases, and we are providing people in this situation with information about how to contact their caseworker.
Where there is an emergency we will do our best to make arrangements for a face to face appointment.
We want to reassure people that we are still here to help you, and that we are continuing to work hard to help you in the best way we possibly can in the current circumstances.

We will continue to review official guidance and will provide further updates as and when circumstances change

Chris Green – Citizens Advice Southwark; Sally Causer – Southwark Law Centre; Anna Kouma – Migrant Legal Action; Gurminder Birdi – Cambridge House Law Centre
 
 

Homeless application

All appointments will be via telephone.

If you need assistance you can call 0207 525 4140 or 0207 525 5000 option 2 between 9am and 5pm or ask for help via the website - Southwark Council – Advice about homelessness –Www.southwark.gov.uk/homelessness

or if street homeless https://www.streetlink.org.uk/

Referrals for support for people and families with NRPF

Download the NRPF referral form Once completed, send the form to NRPF@southwark.gov.uk 020 7525 4496

For information on what evidence needs to be gathered please see the assessment checklist 

Worried about rent payments and debt ?

Southwark Council has put a stop to all enforcement action in respect of new and existing rent, council tax, business rates, housing benefit overpayments, temporary accommodation and leaseholder service charge arrears.  That moratorium will remain in place indefinitely.

It does not mean that you don’t have to try to pay your rent or other charges

Please contact your rent officer if:

• you think you will have difficulty paying your rent
• you’ve received a letter about your rent arrears
• you’ve received a Notice of Seeking Possession, Notice to Quit or Notice to Terminate
• The council has started either legal proceedings or eviction action

If you’re on a low income, you may be entitled to Housing Benefit, Universal Credit or a Discretionary Housing Payment to help you with your rent payments. 

You can also get free advice on managing your debt from Step Change, or Citizens Advice. 

Worried about a neighbour ?

Contact covidsupport@southwark.gov.uk or call 020 7525 5000

Worried about sexual or domestic abuse and isolated at home

For those worried about sexual or domestic abuse who are feeling isolated at home because of Coronavirus, the SOLACE advocacy and support service is available to anyone aged 16 or over who lives in Southwark. You can call for help on 020 7593 1290 or get help online.

 We will be updating this information on a regular basis 

COVID Newsletter May/June 2020 - Focussing on the Present and the Future: This newsletter gives an insight into the range of issues our people are working on. And the critical financial support that we are receiving from Southwark and Lewisham Councils, and our other funders and supporters.

See our April Newsletter for examples of how we are continuing to try and help Southwark and Lewisham residents at this exceptionally difficult time.

Community Responses and Support Groups

There are a number of community response and support groups being set up in many locations, aimed at supporting people who are self-isolating or otherwise in need of practical help during the current public health emergency.

You can find details of many of them here:

https://freedomnews.org.uk/covid-19-uk-mutual-aid-groups-a-list/

Coronavirus Information in Easy Read

For Coronavirus information in Easy Read go to:

www.easyread.info/coronavirus

Coronavirus Information in British Sign Language

British Sign Language Coronavirus Information

· BSL video on social distancing and self-isolation

· BSL videos by the charity Sign Health.

There is also a petition

for coronavirus information from the government to be in BSL.

Updated Coronavirus Advice in Community Languages-More Languages Added

Due to the changes made to the NHS advice regarding COVID19 on Monday afternoon, Doctors of the World have updated Covid 19 translated guidance:

English, Albanian, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish are now ready - https://www.doctorsoftheworld.org.uk/coronavirus-information/

To be updated very soon: Bengali, Dari, Farsi, Hindi, Kurdish Sorani, Mandarin, Pashto, Urdu, Vietnamese, Tigrinya, Amharic, Malayalam, Somali

They have also added more European languages: Polish, Romanian, Russian are ready. Coming soon: Bulgarian, Latvian, and Hungarian!

The guidance is based on the NHS and the UK government's updated advice and health information.

 Southwark Law Centre were runners up for best team in the 2019 Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards.

Type of Law and Area

We provide specialist legal advice, casework and representation in Employment, Housing, Asylum/Immigration and Welfare Rights Law, mainly for people who live or work in the London Borough of Southwark.

We are also setting up a new legal advice service in Lewisham in partnership with Citizens Advice Lewisham. Initially we are able to provide specialist Housing advice and casework.

We have a Planning Voice Project funded by United St Saviours Charity which aims to support local residents around planning and regeneration issues.

Our Service

We do not provide a drop in service or provide general information for the public.   We take referrals from other agencies - for example, advice centres, councillors, social workers and community groups. To make a referral or discuss a case please ring 0207 732 2008 (Telephone hours: 9.30 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 5.30 pm).

We have a duty immigration solicitor from Monday to Thursdays and a duty housing solicitor from Tuesday to Thursday who is able to speak to other agencies. Frontline workers can telephone for consultancy on welfare rights issues on Tuesdays between 10am and 1pm and Wednesdays between 10am and 3pm.

We provide an employment law telephone consultancy on Monday mornings from 10 am to 1 pm.  Please note that this is only for agencies whose clients live, work or study in Southwark. If an agency wishes to refer a client to us for employment law advice or representation they should call 0207 732 2008

For more information about where to get advice contact your nearest Citizens Advice www.citizensadvice.org.uk. This website also has lots of useful information and downloadable fact sheets. Southwark Legal Advice Network website www.southwarkadvice.org.uk has full information about advice agencies in Southwark.

Lewisham Law Service

Our major new development has been the setup of a new Law Centre in Lewisham, working in partnership with Citizens Advice Lewisham (CAL). The Lewisham Law Service will be managed and delivered as a project by partnership with Citizens Advice Lewisham.

Lewisham Law Service (LLS) aims to increase access to high quality specialist legal advice for disadvantaged residents in Lewisham. LLS will defend the legal rights of people who cannot afford a lawyer. They are specialists working in their local communities to uphold justice and advance equality.

Please click here or go to the Lewisham Law Service page for more information.

There is still time to sponsor us.  Please click on the link herewith: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SouthwarkLC19

Our organisation

We are a registered charity and are governed by a trustee board of local residents.  

To view our audited reports please click here.

To view our 2018 - 2019 annual reports please click here.

What our Clients have Said

"I would like to say thank you for all the help and advice your service provided. I do not know how I would have coped and managed without your support on more than one occasion."

"Excellent Job has been carried out on my case and I am very happy for that. Please keep it up, well done. Thank you."

"I was very happy with the service I have received and I felt that I was treated well and with respect."  

Privacy Notice

Any personal data you give to the Law Centre, its staff and Volunteers for the purposes of seeking advice will be confidentially and securely stored in accordance with our data retention policy (a copy of which is available on request).  It will be held by the Law Centre as Data Controller and will only be used for the purposes of considering and where appropriate conducting your case. It will not be disclosed to any third parties and will be securely deleted in accordance with our data retention policy.  You have a right to be told what data we hold about you (though you are likely to have provided us with that data) and to have it corrected if it is wrong.  You may have other rights under the data protection legislation and you can find out more about these rights from the Information Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.org.uk

 Office of the Immigration Service Commissioners reference is N201000009