Casework Skills Test Question 40 – Assessing an anonymous allegation about undeclared employment
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Practice focus: Unverified intelligence, proportional checks and fair treatment
Difficulty: Hard
Scenario
An anonymous email says an applicant is working for a named employer and has not declared the income. The email provides no documents but includes a specific workplace and start month. The case is otherwise ready for decision. Guidance says anonymous allegations may be recorded as intelligence, but must be verified independently and must not be treated as proof or disclosed to the applicant in a way that identifies the source.
Rate the actions
For each action, choose Counterproductive, Ineffective, Fairly Effective or Effective.
Action A
Record the allegation appropriately, check authorised information sources, seek proportionate clarification or evidence and avoid changing the decision unless reliable evidence supports it.
Rate this action:
Counterproductive Ineffective Fairly Effective Effective
Action B
Refuse the application immediately because the allegation includes a named employer and a plausible start date.
Rate this action:
Counterproductive Ineffective Fairly Effective Effective
Action C
Delete the email because anonymous information should never influence a case.
Rate this action:
Counterproductive Ineffective Fairly Effective Effective
Action D
Ask the applicant to confirm their current employment and income without mentioning the anonymous source, then compare their response with the existing evidence.
Rate this action:
Counterproductive Ineffective Fairly Effective Effective
Click to reveal the answer
| Action | Correct rating |
|---|---|
| Action A | Effective |
| Action B | Counterproductive |
| Action C | Ineffective |
| Action D | Fairly Effective |
Members can unlock the full explanation for all four actions, including how evidence, fairness, confidentiality, customer impact and authority affect each rating.
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