Social Security Experience Panels: agency opening hours

Opening Hours

When would clients need to contact Social Security Scotland?

Participants were asked when they would need to contact Social Security Scotland outside of normal working hours (9am - 5pm).

Half of respondents said that they would want to be able to contact the agency 'sometimes', 'most of the time' or 'all of the time' between 8am and 9am.

Overall, around two thirds (67 per cent) would want to be able to contact the agency after 5pm.

Fewer participants felt that they would want to contact the agency after 8pm, but this still accounted for almost one in five participants (19 per cent).

Table 4 shows participant preferences for contact outside working hours:

Table 4: Need for contact outside core hours^[4] (n=390-408)

Time	All of the time or most of the time (%)	Sometimes (%)	Rarely or Never (%)	Total who would use this service, some, most or all of the time
8am-9am	20%	30%	50%	50%
5pm-6pm	18%	41%	41%	59%
6pm-7pm	15%	32%	53%	47%
7pm-8pm	13%	26%	62%	38%
After 8pm	6%	13%	81%	19%

Those who were under the age of 60 were more likely to want to be able to contact the agency after 5pm then those who were aged over 60 (72 per cent compared to 52 per cent). After 8pm, almost one in four (23 per cent) of those aged under 60 wanted to be able to contact the agency, compared with less than one in ten (9 per cent) of those over the age of 60. Table 5 illustrates this in more detail.

Table 5: Participants who would be likely to contact outside core hours by age some, most or all of the time^[4]

Time	Aged under 60	Aged over 60
8am-9am	53%	42%
5pm-6pm	63%	46%
6pm-7pm	51%	32%
7pm-8pm	43%	22%
After 8pm	23%	9%

Carers were slightly more likely to want to be able to contact Social Security Scotland between 8am and 9am (55 per cent compared to 43 per cent of people who do not have caring responsibilities). This was also the case for respondents who were not disabled or living with a long term health condition, compared to those who were (65 per cent compared to 47 per cent). These differences were not as notable after 5pm.

We also asked participants if they would need to contact Social Security Scotland on weekends and public holidays (Table 5). More than half (56 per cent) would want to be able to contact Social Security Scotland on a Saturday. Four in ten (41 per cent) would want to be to contact the agency on public holidays and just over one in three (31 per cent) on a Sunday.

Those aged under 60 were more likely to want to be able to contact the agency on a Saturday (59 per cent compared to 43 per cent of those aged over 60), but there was not a notable difference for Sundays or bank holidays for these groups.

Many of the responses from those who would want to be able to contact the agencies on these days fell into the category of 'sometimes', rather than 'all of the time' or 'most of the time', suggesting that this may be a more occasional demand.

Table 5: Need for contact on weekends and public holidays^[5] (n=318-327)

Time	All of the time or most of the time (%)	Sometimes (%)	Rarely or Never (%)	Total who would use this service, some, most or all of the time
Saturdays	15%	41%	44%	56%
Sundays	9%	22%	68%	32%
Public Holidays	11%	30%	58%	41%

Participant Views

Participants were given the option of explaining their choices.

Some participants stressed the need to have a means of contacting the agency outside of normal work hours. This was usually for practical reasons, such as being at work during the day:

"At least some hours outside people's normal working times"

"It should take account of the fact that people who claim benefits also work full time, or have appointees or carers who do"

Most participants believed that slightly extended hours on evenings and weekends would be suitable:

"I understand you can't be open 24/7. I think 9-5 or 9-6 Monday - Friday would be expectable… [sic]"

"I think later in the day/early evening would suit a lot of people…"

A small minority requested much longer opening hours:

"8am to 10pm Monday to Friday and Saturday/Sunday mornings please…"

A common theme was the need for participants to be able to contact the agency in an emergency situation. Participants gave examples of not receiving a payment on the day it was due, or receiving a letter from DWP on a weekend or public holiday.

In these cases, participants felt there was an urgent need to contact the agency to resolve the issue. Some suggested a 24 hour crisis or emergency line would be suitable for these circumstances:

"Sensible hours would be fine - what would be helpful is some kind of crisis line immediately available i.e. 24/7. Phone or online skeleton service would definitely help with the impression of truly providing a welfare safety net."

"SSS should be responsive to crisis - especially if it impacts upon children or vulnerable people…"

Other participants preferred having at least one contact option available out of hours, even if it was not a phone line:

"If it isn't possible to have phones manned outwith office hours, a live webchat would be helpful"

On the whole, participants suggested they would be happy with extended Monday - Friday opening hours with some availability on Saturdays and public holidays.

Impact of not being able to contact the agency

A common theme raised by participants was the stress and anxiety caused by receiving communication from DWP by mail on a weekend or the day before a public holiday. Participants were then unable to contact DWP to respond to the letter.

"Getting a letter on Friday saying something must be provided, or your money is being stopped or some other thing when you can't contact anyone to verify is very stressful"

"…letters sent out arrive on Saturday leaving you anxious all weekend to get issues sorted out…"

"Most of the communication I receive from […] is either on a Friday and Sat and having to wait over a weekend to phone can be stressful and worrying at times."

The extended closure over the Christmas period was particularly problematic:

"DWP are in the habit of making sure important decision letters arrive on a Saturday leaving you to worry all weekend, or especially over the xmas/new year periods…"

Participants expressed a strong desire to speak to the agency as soon as possible after receiving a letter in the post. It was suggested that being able to speak to someone at the agency after receiving mail would reduce anxiety and stress.

Other Insights

A number of other themes emerged around the quality and timeliness of responses to participants from DWP. Participants noted a number of cases when they had contacted the Department and upon being asked to leave a voicemail message, were not given a call back.

"If voicemail is used there should be no excuse for not following up on calls and requests as soon as someone is able to respond."

Other participants commented that being able to solve an issue in a timely manner or avoiding a long wait to speak to someone was more important than being open long hours:

"Opening hours are less important than having someone with the expertise to respond to my query…"

"It is not so much about opening hours, it's about making sure someone is able to answer the phone or online chat etc. Spent many an unhappy 30-40 mins waiting for phones to be answered"