The Regulation Society is launching its newest spherical of reaccreditations for senior caseworkers and supervising senior caseworkers in immigration regulation. Right here we check out what we all know and have no idea concerning the scheme after which flip to how we will help you at Free Motion.
Earlier than we go any additional, we know how this has been introduced and the gorgeous sketchy data and communications accessible have prompted a whole lot of nervousness. For what it’s value, skilled legal professionals hopefully have little or no to worry from the reaccreditation examination itself (though Sonia remains to be a bit of traumatised from the final spherical of this).
What’s the Regulation Society immigration accreditation scheme?
To know what all of the reaccreditation fuss is about, you first must know what the accreditation scheme is.
The accreditation scheme, formally referred to as Immigration and Asylum Law Accreditation, is run by the Regulation Society. To work beneath a authorized assist contract from the Authorized Assist Company, you have to be accredited beneath the scheme. You too can optionally apply for accreditation even in case you don’t do authorized assist work, by which case it operates as a type of high quality mark.
The varied bits of knowledge on the scheme are not straightforward to trace down on the Regulation Society web site. To make it worse, a whole lot of the knowledge appears to be in pdfs, a few of which haven’t any apparent inside hyperlink from their web site. So we’ve tried to supply data and hyperlinks in what appears to us a logical manner.
There are 4 ranges of accreditation: casework assistants, senior caseworkers, supervising senior caseworkers and superior caseworkers.
Casework assistants
Casework assistants who’ve handed the examination can conduct duties delegated to them by a senior caseworker aside from reserved issues however can’t have conduct of their very own circumstances or issues. You possibly can solely be a casework assistant for one yr most, although.
Trainee caseworkers are those that haven’t but handed the examination and need to move the examination inside 9 months.
Senior caseworkers
Senior caseworkers can have conduct of any case or matter. They’ll delegate most duties to assistants however will stay answerable for the general conduct of the matter. They can’t delegate issues for youngsters, those that lack authorized psychological capability or these in immigration detention.
Supervising senior caseworkers
Supervising senior caseworkers can have conduct of any case or matter. They’re additionally answerable for the supervision and coaching of as much as 4 accredited workers and for the allocation of duties.
Superior caseworkers
There isn’t a want to be accredited as a complicated caseworker. For these working beneath a authorized assist contract, as set out at paragraph 8.103 of the 2024 standard civil contract category specific rules for immigration and asylum, a 5% uplift will be claimed on Managed Work paid at hourly charges that has been personally performed by a complicated caseworker. Along with this, it’s sort of a private satisfaction or skilled status factor in recognition of your superior expertise and information.
To get accredited at certainly one of these ranges, you must apply to the Law Society and sit and move an examination. There are completely different exams for the completely different ranges, every of which has its personal examination guide from the Regulation Society:
There’s additionally a barely bewildering set of different paperwork accessible:
- A normal set of candidate’s assessment guidance (pdf) accessible which incorporates an overview syllabus.
- A normal set of application form guidance notes (pdf) accessible which explains the entire scheme in a little bit of element, in addition to the format for the completely different exams for the completely different ranges.
- A normal set of candidates’ guidance (pdf) which explains in additional element concerning the examination, together with a extra detailed have a look at the syllabus.
- A set of exam rules (pdf) which explains (unsurprisingly) the foundations for the exams themselves.
These in search of accreditation need to pay for it. Or, maybe extra precisely, their corporations need to pay for it. Maybe in recognition of the ever-declining variety of immigration legal professionals and regulation corporations keen to work at authorized assist charges, funding for accreditation was launched by the Ministry of Justice from January 2024.
What’s the immigration reaccreditation scheme?
The accreditation scheme has been operating for over twenty years now and accreditation solely lasts for 3 years at a time. Caseworkers due to this fact have to hunt reaccreditation every so often in the event that they need to stick with it doing authorized assist work (an ever-decreasing variety of folks, sadly) or they need to preserve their high quality mark.
Reaccreditation has labored in numerous other ways prior to now. Presently the method includes an evaluation (a number of selection examination) together with an software type which should reveal a minimum of six hours {of professional} improvement in immigration and asylum in every of the previous three years.
The Regulation Society has now announced that the up to date evaluation shall be accessible shortly. Some up to date reaccreditation guidance notes (pdf) have additionally been produced.
We all know that it is going to be a two hour examination consisting of 30 a number of selection questions. However we don’t know rather more.
How do I apply for Regulation Society immigration reaccreditation?
Step one within the course of is to move the evaluation. In idea you possibly can apply for reaccreditation as much as three months earlier than your accreditation expires, nonetheless because the evaluation will not be at present accessible present accreditation will have to be prolonged. Web page 7 of the guidance states that “On enrolling for the examination, you will have four months to complete the examination.” It seems that the act of enrolling for the examination will lengthen your accreditation, however this isn’t mentioned explicitly anyplace that we might see.
As acknowledged within the guidance beneath “Outcome of assessment”, after you have handed the examination you’ll have to submit your reaccreditation application form inside 30 days. This steering says that “Your application form must be submitted prior to expiration of accreditation, unless you have received an extension for submitting your application form. Your accreditation status will remain active while the application form is being assessed.” So you will need to perceive the precise nature of the extension that’s to be granted and the Regulation Society ought to be much more clear about this, someplace that’s simply accessible such because the reaccreditation page.
After you have got submitted your software type, the Regulation Society will ship an bill for the appliance and membership charges. As soon as that’s paid it’s best to obtain your new certificates shortly after.
The steering says that reaccreditation shall be granted for 3 years. Final time this was backdated to when the earlier accreditation was resulting from expire. So when Sonia did this her timescales have been: submission of her software on 22 December 2021, receipt was acknowledged on 28 January 2022, her software was accepted on 16 March 2022 and new certificates issued legitimate till 31 December 2024. The steering now says that the “three years will renew from date of award, regardless of when you apply” so plainly this has been modified for the higher.
Prices and Ministry of Justice funding
There are numerous prices related to reaccreditation, as follows:
For many who work at a agency that holds a authorized assist contract, funding is offered to cowl the appliance payment solely, that is offered by the Ministry of Justice. Within the guidance beneath “Eligibility for Ministry of Justice funding” it explains that to “take advantage of the funding, you must visit the enrolment page that will be available after the 1 November 2024 on the Law Society Learning platform and use the coupon code as instructed.” The funding is offered till 31 December 2024 and you should have sat the examination and submitted the appliance by then.
What are the standards for Regulation Society immigration reaccreditation?
There are three parts to reaccreditation.
Examination
Evidently it’s not but attainable to take the reaccreditation examination however there’s a bulk enrolment registration process accessible for the evaluation which is solely accessible till 1 November 2024 however can be utilized by anybody who is because of reaccredit earlier than 31 March 2025 (web page 7 of the guidance). All that’s required is your title, e-mail, agency, any affordable changes wanted and that’s it. When you click on “Next” the shape is submitted. After 1 November 2024 folks might want to guide onto the evaluation individually through the Regulation Society Studying web page, plainly a code shall be wanted and may have been emailed to you already.
As soon as accessible, the evaluation will include 30 a number of selection questions and you’ll have two hours to finish it. At 4 minutes per query, that sounds OK on the face of it. However with out realizing what the questions seem like, it’s arduous to be all that reassuring. The necessary level is to start out revising now, although the evaluation and mock questions will not be but accessible.
The evaluation questions will be on any side of the syllabus. This contains (with hyperlinks to Free Motion programs for members):
The Regulation Society runs its personal reaccreditation programs as talked about above and we’ve at all times assumed at Free Motion that there can be little demand for us to develop particular programs for Regulation Society accreditation, so we’re not planning on altering our coverage. However we do have present on-line coaching programs protecting a number of of those subjects in case you are a Free Motion member and need to revise. We even have an upcoming webinar on making bail applications on 18 November.
The place we will maybe be extra immediately useful is on offering proof of your skilled improvement actions, as we’ll see in a second.
Health and propriety examine
The Regulation Society say that their accreditation workplace will perform vetting checks on candidates. It’s not clear what this includes.
Skilled improvement examine
The Regulation Society say that in an effort to be reaccredited
You need to present full PD data for the final three full PD years previous submission of your software. A PD yr is between 1 November and 31 October. You need to have gained a minimum of six PD hours in every of the PD years within the topic space of immigration and asylum regulation. Preparation coaching that you might have undertaken could also be used as PD the place it was undertaken within the final three full PD years.
No less than 4 of the skilled improvement hours per yr should include “structured activities / courses.” Commentary, studying, dialogue and workforce conferences will not be ample for this goal, though presumably they’re superb for the opposite two hours.
That is the place we actually can help you. We’ve acquired a great deal of structured courses online you possibly can soak up your personal time and you’ll obtain a certificates on the finish of all of them as proof. Our monthly podcast comes with a quiz accessible for members, which is a superb manner of exhibiting you’ve been staying updated with the most recent developments. We additionally run dwell webinars and workshops and have a choice of recorded previous webinars accessible as nicely (scroll to the underside of that final web page).
A Regulation Society skilled improvement yr runs from 1 November to 31 October yearly. We will’t help you journey again in time, sadly. For those who haven’t already, there’s nearly time to get your skilled improvement actions performed for this yr, although, earlier than 31 October 2024.
What if I fail the examination?
The move mark for the examination is 70%. However in case you fail you possibly can resit as soon as. After that, you possibly can nonetheless resit a remaining time however first you must search suggestions and steering from the Regulation Society. For those who fail once more, you must undergo the entire accreditation rigmarole yet again.
This text was a joint effort with Sonia Lenegan.
Interested by refugee regulation? You may like Colin’s guide, imaginatively referred to as “Refugee Law” and printed by Bristol College Press.
Speaking necessary authorized ideas in an approachable manner, that is an important guide for college kids, legal professionals and non-specialists alike.
