Casework Skills Test Question 56 – Protecting a deadline during a planned system outage
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Practice focus: Alternative channels, receipt dates and service continuity
Difficulty: Medium
Scenario
The online evidence portal will be unavailable for maintenance from Friday afternoon until Monday morning. Several customers have evidence deadlines over the weekend. Guidance allows evidence to be accepted through an approved secure email or by post, and says the original receipt time must be recorded when staff later upload it to the case system. Automated reminders will continue during the outage unless cases are updated manually.
Rate the actions
For each action, choose Counterproductive, Ineffective, Fairly Effective or Effective.
Action A
Publish the secure email and postal alternatives but leave automated reminders and individual case notes unchanged.
Rate this action:
Counterproductive Ineffective Fairly Effective Effective
Action B
Tell affected customers about the secure email and postal routes, record evidence received through them at the original time and upload it when the system returns.
Rate this action:
Counterproductive Ineffective Fairly Effective Effective
Action C
Extend every evidence deadline in the team by one month so nobody is disadvantaged by the outage.
Rate this action:
Counterproductive Ineffective Fairly Effective Effective
Action D
Tell customers to wait until Monday to upload their evidence but leave the original deadlines unchanged and assess lateness in the normal way.
Rate this action:
Counterproductive Ineffective Fairly Effective Effective
Click to reveal the answer
| Action | Correct rating |
|---|---|
| Action A | Fairly Effective |
| Action B | Effective |
| Action C | Ineffective |
| Action D | Counterproductive |
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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