Guides

When you begin working for an MP, you will receive a Members’ Staff Induction Pack, including a letter from the Clerk of the House of Commons that provides links to relevant resources on the Parliamentary Intranet and elsewhere.

Here, you will find a collection of guides to good practice that will offer you advice in carrying out the main activities expected of you in your job.  They are constantly being revised and updated, so if you do print a guide out, please remember to check back from time to time.

Casework

• Planning and Management
  • Case management software information
  • Protocol clarified on representing constituents
• Issue by Issue
  • Planning matters
  • Guide to the Child Support Agency
  • List of waiting times for UK visa applications
  • Immigration Casework
  • Dealing with Service Providers and Consumer Protection (for Caseworkers and Researchers)
  • Asylum casework
  • Welfare Reforms 2011 onwards – road map to changes
  • Legal Ombudsman
• Tools and Resources
  • Toolkits for MPs’ staff by external organisations
  • Constituency Casework Toolkit – from the Commons Library
• Helping your constituents – A guide for MPs and their staff from the Citizens Advice Bureau

Your Office

• Organising things: Diary, meetings and events
  • Organising a Meeting in Parliament
  • Bulk emails – the DOs and DON’Ts
  • How to stop junk faxes, junk mail and unwanted sales calls
  • Email etiquette
  • Booking committee and meeting rooms
  • Today’s Meetings – where to find them all
  • How to get photos of your MP in the chamber
  • Parliamentary Outreach – free service for the public
  • Diary Management – Never miss another appointment
• Hiring work experience students and interns
  • Researcher’s Guide to Managing an Intern
• Paying for security costs in your constituency
• Organising events in the constituency
• Laptop security
• Hiring Staff
• Twelve Months in a Constituency Office
• Freedom of Information and Data Protection issues

Research

• Welcome
  • Access to refreshment facilities in the Palace of Westminster
  • Finding your way: Maps of the Parliamentary Estate
• Your Employment
  • Redundancy
  • Maternity Leave and Pay for MPs’ Staff
  • Staff salary scales
  • On-site nursery at Westminster
  • Promotion of a Political Party: Guidance from IPSA and the Information Commissioner
  • Help at Work for All Staff
  • Employment Rights
  • Commons Personnel Advice Service
  • Do you need to register as self-employed?
  • Working from Home: A guide for those who work for an MP
  • Dissolution 2015
• Your MP: Basic Info
  • The Members’ Handbook
  • Members and Constituency Etiquette – vital guide
  • MPs and Freedom of Information
  • Glossary of Parliamentary Terms
  • Freedom of Information requests
  • Defamation – how it applies to MPs
  • Handling Lobbyists
  • theyworkforyou.com website
  • Speechwriting for Party Conferences
• Political links and know-how
  • Useful Internet Tools for Staff
  • Politics-related websites – Keele University links
  • Political opinion polling

Parliament

• The Library
  • Library Talks
  • 10 things the Library can do for you
  • Guides to Commons Library Services
  • The Library Loans Service
  • Online resources from the Commons Library
  • Library Contact Scheme
  • Commons Library Directory of Subject Specialists – latest version
  • Debate Packs from the Commons Library
  • Library Briefing Papers (Research Papers and Standard Notes)
• How it works
  • Legislation: Statutory Instruments made simple
  • Legislation: Working on Public Bills
  • Campaigning: Parliamentary Questions (PQs)
  • Campaigning: Early Day Motions
• Researcher Extraordinaire
  • Writing a speech
  • How to compile a briefing for a roundtable or panel discussion
  • Handling the Media
  • Working with lobbyists
• Online Parliamentary Archives catalogue

Others