1. PAs and. PA. employers What works for individuals
PAs and PA employers  What works for individuals?   Jenny Hurst and ADKC’s Personal Budget User Group

2. My own experience PA employer since the mid 90’s (via indirect
PA employer since the mid 90’s (via indirect
payments to start).
26 PAs over those years (5 women, 21 men) PAs have stayed between 2 months - 19 years.
Current team with me for 19, 16, 7, 4, 3 & 3 years.
Recruiting
• Adverts locally / nationally
• Word of mouth …
• In emergencies: PA Pool / ILA

3. P As are unique and valuable individuals, not a job role!
• Different P As “work differently”. I change
how I manage my P As
• Different levels of “sharing of personal
life”
• Different reasons for being P A – time
filler, step to something better paid
One very bad relationship – 6 years to sack -
P A shared with another P A user I know

4. What works…
- Choosing who supports you (as long as there are a good range of people to choose from!)
- Being clear about the job limits and relationship before you advertise.
- Knowing how to be assertive and stick your ground.
- Try to tailor job, if possible, to take into account each PAs skills and preferences.
- Not changing the goalposts.
- Saying, and being supported, if things go wrong.

5. What doesn’t work It all depends on the employer…..
• Employing friends and family – hard to discipline /
too much negotiation.
• Employing “strangers” – people don’t know you.
• Trained professionals – stuck in their ways / follow
rigid rules
• Having people without experience – there should be
an understanding of the job.
All agree..
• Making do with poor quality staff, as that is your
only option, doesn’t work in any situation!

6. Areas of frustration
• Finding decent, long-term, staff at “approved” rate.
• Bureaucracy… has to be “on the books”- lack of support around this.
• Employees “blackmailing”… time off, wage increase, organising job around employees
timetable, PAs arranging cover between themselves
• Employers “taking advantage” – short notice
changes, staying over hours, refusing annual leave
• Who the PA works for… employer, council, CCG,
nominated / appointed person/ family members…