The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) replaced the Department of Social Security (DSS) in 2001. The UK Work and Pensions Department administers services formerly overseen by the UK Department of Social Security. These include the JobCentre, helping people return to the workforce; Disability and Careers service, providing support to disabled people; and the Pension Service, facilitating the public pension system.

Because the programs that DWP offers are constantly changing and evolving, it is important for your firm to keep up with the Department for Work and Pensions news and trends. There are several methods your company can use to tap into the useful information about the UK Work and Pensions Department. Your business's strategy for keeping up with Department for Work and Pensions news and trends should include using the following resources:

1. Check online information from the UK Department for Work and Pensions.

2. Check for policy changes at the British Work and Pensions Department.

3. Review UK Work and Pensions Department publications.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Monitor Department for Work and Pensions news at the DWP website

You might assign a team member to check the Department for Work and Pensions website for new information and regulations. Your company can keep up to date through two sources of key data and trends: 'What's New' and the 'Media centre.' For a possible peak at the future, be sure to look at the trends shown by the Benefits and Pension Rates data.

I recommend: Encourage your team to review the information at "What's New" frequently. New items are posted with dates so you know you are reading the latest information. Access the press releases at the "Media centre." The notes are batched by month to facilitate finding specific announcements. The archives feature allows you to note changes and trends.

Check other websites for news from the UK Pensions Department

The changing policies of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department of Social Security England provide interest and opportunities for business owners and employers. Keep yourself and your team up to speed by researching news outside of the DWP website.

I recommend: Read the latest posts at Departmentofworkandpensions.blogspot.com. The Pension Service, which is a part of the Department of Work and Pensions, keeps all of its news articles for the year neatly archived by month.

Keep up with UK Department for Work and Pensions publications

Some of the best places to learn the trends of pensions and benefits are British Work and Pensions Department publications. Keeping up with these publications will provide a complete pension and benefits picture for your company.

I recommend: Read the latest publications from the Work and Pensions Committee at the House of Parliament website. Have your staff check the archived publications at the IDEAS website.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If your business is just starting to monitor British social security system news and trends, consider reading the pertinent leaflets and guides available at the DWP website.
• •  Another source of preliminary UK Pensions Department news and trends is the 'About us' page. You'll find information about department clients and businesses.

The United Kingdom (UK) Department of Social Security (DSS) was succeeded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in 2001. DSS subdivisions that included the Benefits Agency, Child Support Agency, Appeals Service and Departmental Directorates also dissolved at that time. Soon after, the DWP emerged as a recreation of these UK Social Security Department agencies.

A fresh look at the DWP in recent years, finds the agency working with employers to equip and improve business operations, reduce welfare benefits and put people to work. With the demise of the Department of Social Security, UK government programs that exist through the DWP are bringing employers and employees together to improve the economy. As you look for ways to better your business operations, consider how the DWP can assist with the following steps:

1. Hire people you might otherwise overlook. DWP, the replacement agency for the Department of Social Security (DSS), has established programs to help businesses recruit new employees.

2. Contact the DWP for business resources.

3. Register with online services to manage your affairs and do business with government agencies from the convenience of your office.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Partner with the UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to rebuild the labor market

After the dissolution of the DSS Department of Social Security, England sought to improve the economy and labor market through Local Employment Partnerships (LEPs). This program involves the government partnering with businesses to help them hire people with untapped potential. The goal of LEPs is to get people off welfare programs and help them start working.

I recommend: Jobcentreplus offers Employer Direct online as a free service to businesses in Great Britain and abroad that want to post job opportunities on the site. This service allows you to access the website at your convenience to announce, correct or remove job vacancies. Register your business profile with CompeteFor, operated by The London Development Agency (LDA). Access a wide range of suppliers and bidders across the United Kingdom as well as news and event information.

Utilize DWP services in place of former DSS UK resources to improve your business

DWP, the replacement agency for the Department of Social Security of UK, offers businesses free resources that include recruitment events, interview facilities and expert advice as well as other information to help you run a successful business.

I recommend: Attend a free "How to Employ" Ability Workshop through the DWP to learn more about recruiting and retaining disabled workers, obtain guidance packs, converse with other business owners who employ disabled staff, acquire more information about the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and to discover the resources available to you through your local Jobcentre Plus support team. Utilize the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Infoline to get expert advice on workplace health and safety issues. Use an online form to report major injuries, diseases and dangerous workplace incidents in accordance with the law.

Conduct business online with government agencies that supplanted DSS

Access business systems, forms, experts and other valuable resources through online services offered by government agencies that exist for sole purpose of helping you manage your business.

I recommend: The Pensions Regulator offers businesses advice and guidance on pension schemes. Get news by e-mail, download forms, request a speaker, exchange online services and more through their online services. Use Business Link to reduce paperwork, bid for government contracts and utilize a variety of other services including the TRACES System, National Export System, PEACH System and New Computerised Transit System.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Contact the DWP (formerly the DSS) for information on your company's role in the child maintenance payments of your employees.

The best sources of Department of Social Security (DSS) Education and Training come from government websites that define the skills necessary for civil servants in the United Kingdom. The DSS is one of the largest government agencies in Great Britain and has a reputation for demanding high standards from its employees.

Most DSS employees get their training from formal course work rather than from internships. Consider these suggestions for finding the best training and education in UK civil service employment:

1. Find out if you have the right skills for a position at the Department of Social Security (DSS).

2. Train to become a deputy or director for the Department of Social Security in Britain.

3. Complete a degree in government studies to prepare for a position at the DSS.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Learn about the skills that the UK Department of Social Security requires of its employees

You can access online articles written by agencies within the United Kingdom that help you determine whether you possess the talents necessary for civil servants. If you don't already possess these talents, these articles can explain where you can go to develop them.

I recommend: Civil Service explains the skills necessary for successful careers at government agencies like the DSS. Civil Servant.org offers background information on civil service jobs in the United Kingdom as well as a variety of resources that explain the expectations of DSS United Kingdom civil servants. It also explains the departments and agencies you will work with and the working relationship that civil servants are expected to have with Ministers and the Parliament.

Train to become a senior level director at the Dept. of Social Security

Directors and deputy directors at the DSS are considered senior civil servants. They are expected to have completed more formal schooling and to have had a more extensive and diverse work experience in order to be considered for these positions.

I recommend: Civil Service Recruitment Gateway explains how and where to begin your training, where to apply for the various government leadership programs and how to train to become an "exceptional leader" with the DSS. The Civil Service Fast Stream offers an accelerated program of studies and apprenticeship in civil service.

Get a degree in civil service that the UK social security department accepts

Complete the coursework in financial management, communications, marketing and strategic thinking that will help you secure the degree required of higher level employees at the Department of Social Security of UK.

I recommend: The National School of Government has more than 400 courses in public policy, human resources for government agencies, management development and leadership. You can attend classes or pursue a degree online. Completing classes in economic development, housing, public policy and institutions that are given at the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies prepares you for a position as an administrative officer for the departments of welfare, disability, pension services and debt management.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  A key part of your Department of Social Security (DSS) Education and Training will be focused on how to work well in a team. Some DSS employees have been required to work in teams with as many as 50 people.

The Department of Social Security (DSS) was a governmental agency in the UK in existence from 1988 until 2001. It replaced the Department of Heath and Social Security, and was itself replaced by the Department for Work and Pensions. If your job leads you to work with older governmental records regarding social security or pensions in the UK, understanding the key terms of this now defunct agency may help you better track these records.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Social security

In the UK, 'social security' refers to a collection of benefits granted to residents, including financial support such as pensions and relief for the unemployed.

I recommend: Review the UK’s approach to social security in depth at the Robert Gordon University.

Beveridge Report

Like its predecessor and successor agencies, the DSS's based its approach to social security and benefits on William Beveridge's 1942 report, 'Social Insurance and Allied Services.' Social security's purpose, as stated by Beveridge, was to ensure a standard of living 'below which no one should be allowed to fall.'

I recommend: Read an overview of the Beveridge Report at Social Care Online.

Department of Health and Social Security

The Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS) was an agency that oversaw all social security, health and medical issues in the UK. DHSS split into two separate entities, separating its health function from its social security function. It formed the DSS as the sole agency overseeing social security functions in the UK.

I recommend: Review the statutory instrument that led to the creation of the DSS at the UK’s Office of Public Sector Information, which is part of the Crown copyright.

Benefits Agency

The Benefits Agency (BA) was an internal agency of the DSS, which handled all aspects of the payment of social security benefits, including providing information on benefits to the public. This agency had the distinction of spearheading expanded maternity benefits.

I recommend: Review the ways in which the BA helped create stronger benefits for women at the International Labour Organization.

Department for Work and Pensions

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), formed in 2001, replaced the DSS. The agency provides social security and work related information and benefits.

I recommend: Review the full list of benefits provided by DWP at its website.

Australian Department of Social Security

The Australian Department of Social Security (DSS) is a defunct government agency that covered similar sorts of social benefits as did the UK's DSS, making it easy to confuse the two in your research. In Australia, the Centrelink, which continues to provide services, replaced the DSS in 1997.

I recommend: Download the Centrelink Annual Report 1998-1999, which is its first report, to better understand how the Australian DSS became Centrelink.