Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support Assessment Officer
| Posting date: | 12 December 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £28,142 to £39,152 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 04 January 2026 |
| Location: | Reading, Berkshire |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 3 days per week |
| Company: | Reading Borough Council |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | RES0748 |
Summary
x2 37 hours, Permanent
Hybrid working avaible, occasional requirement to visit offices
Are you detail-oriented and passionate about delivering excellent customer service? Join our Revenues and Benefits team and help us provide vital support to residents by assessing Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support accurately and efficiently
We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity and inclusion is the key to our success. Reading Borough Council is a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to the recruitment and continued employment of people with disabilities.
About the role
You’ll play a key role in ensuring residents receive the right support at the right time. Working as part of a dedicated team, you will:
Assess entitlement to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support promptly and accurately.
Respond to customer enquiries across multiple channels in a professional and positive manner.
Minimise subsidy loss through accurate assessments and prevention of overpayments.
Help maximise customer income by signposting to other benefits and discretionary payments.
Assist with recovery of overpayments and work collaboratively with colleagues to improve service delivery.
About you
You’ll bring a strong customer focus and an eye for detail. To succeed in this role, you should have:
A general level of education (GCSE or equivalent).
Experience providing customer service by phone, email, and face-to-face.
Ability to interpret and communicate complex advice clearly.
Strong organisational skills and ability to manage a caseload.
IT skills, including Microsoft Office and document management systems.
Knowledge of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support, and welfare benefits (desirable).
You’ll be part of a team that relies on each individual to play their part to the best of their ability. As well as the colleagues that you work closely with every day, you’ll also be part of Team Reading, playing your personal part in making Reading a successful and vibrant place.
Our vision is to ensure that Reading realises its potential as a great place to live, work and play, and that everyone shares the benefits of this success. Our values and behaviours guide how we will achieve this:
Work Together as one team - work collaboratively, with each other and with our partners, and demonstrate the Team Reading values in everything we do
Drive Efficiency - show initiative, be adaptable to change and put forward ideas to help improve delivery and efficiency. Take responsibility for our own learning and development and for reaching our potential
Be Ambitious - be demanding of our own performance – striving to be even better – and be prepared to engage with and challenge leaders in a constructive and positive way
Make a Difference to Reading - maintain the highest levels of customer service and be flexible and willing to provide the services needed at the time they are needed
Our offer
We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition is strongly encouraged, and you’ll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment.
A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:
Generous holiday entitlement - 25 days holiday each year plus bank holidays - rising to 30 days after 5 years’ service and 33 days after 10 years' service, with the option to buy additional leave
A wide range of flexible working opportunities
Modern working environment at the Civic Offices in the heart of Reading
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
Life Assurance - three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
On-site day nursery (Kennet Day nursery) rated outstanding by Ofsted
Season Ticket Loan - a loan to help with the cost of your rail or bus journey, to and from work
Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand new, greener car for three years. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax
Closing Date: Sunday 4th January 2026
Interview Date: To be confirmed
Interview Process: T be confirmed
Hybrid working avaible, occasional requirement to visit offices
Are you detail-oriented and passionate about delivering excellent customer service? Join our Revenues and Benefits team and help us provide vital support to residents by assessing Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support accurately and efficiently
We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity and inclusion is the key to our success. Reading Borough Council is a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to the recruitment and continued employment of people with disabilities.
About the role
You’ll play a key role in ensuring residents receive the right support at the right time. Working as part of a dedicated team, you will:
Assess entitlement to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support promptly and accurately.
Respond to customer enquiries across multiple channels in a professional and positive manner.
Minimise subsidy loss through accurate assessments and prevention of overpayments.
Help maximise customer income by signposting to other benefits and discretionary payments.
Assist with recovery of overpayments and work collaboratively with colleagues to improve service delivery.
About you
You’ll bring a strong customer focus and an eye for detail. To succeed in this role, you should have:
A general level of education (GCSE or equivalent).
Experience providing customer service by phone, email, and face-to-face.
Ability to interpret and communicate complex advice clearly.
Strong organisational skills and ability to manage a caseload.
IT skills, including Microsoft Office and document management systems.
Knowledge of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support, and welfare benefits (desirable).
You’ll be part of a team that relies on each individual to play their part to the best of their ability. As well as the colleagues that you work closely with every day, you’ll also be part of Team Reading, playing your personal part in making Reading a successful and vibrant place.
Our vision is to ensure that Reading realises its potential as a great place to live, work and play, and that everyone shares the benefits of this success. Our values and behaviours guide how we will achieve this:
Work Together as one team - work collaboratively, with each other and with our partners, and demonstrate the Team Reading values in everything we do
Drive Efficiency - show initiative, be adaptable to change and put forward ideas to help improve delivery and efficiency. Take responsibility for our own learning and development and for reaching our potential
Be Ambitious - be demanding of our own performance – striving to be even better – and be prepared to engage with and challenge leaders in a constructive and positive way
Make a Difference to Reading - maintain the highest levels of customer service and be flexible and willing to provide the services needed at the time they are needed
Our offer
We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition is strongly encouraged, and you’ll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment.
A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:
Generous holiday entitlement - 25 days holiday each year plus bank holidays - rising to 30 days after 5 years’ service and 33 days after 10 years' service, with the option to buy additional leave
A wide range of flexible working opportunities
Modern working environment at the Civic Offices in the heart of Reading
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
Life Assurance - three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
On-site day nursery (Kennet Day nursery) rated outstanding by Ofsted
Season Ticket Loan - a loan to help with the cost of your rail or bus journey, to and from work
Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand new, greener car for three years. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax
Closing Date: Sunday 4th January 2026
Interview Date: To be confirmed
Interview Process: T be confirmed
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.