Administrative assistants or officers (courts) do clerical and support work for the Justice of the Peace (JP) Courts, Sheriff Courts, the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. They may also be known as court officers.

The Work

You could be:

• attending court sessions to help and advise on procedure
• setting the dates and times and allocating courtrooms for court cases
• preparing a list of each day's court cases
• preparing papers for civil court hearings and typing up minutes
• answering enquiries at a reception desk or on the phone
• checking in witnesses and calling jurors for cases
• issuing court orders and handling warrants, summonses, initial writs and simple divorce papers
• carrying out general admin tasks – photocopying, filing, dealing with mail
• working out and collecting legal fees and fines.

Pay

The figures below are only a guide. Actual pay rates vary, depending on:

• where you work
• the size of the organisation you work for
• the demand for the job.

The salary scale for an administrative assistant (court officer) working for Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service begins at £19,320 a year. An administrative officer earns from £22,000 a year.

Conditions

• You would work for the Scottish and Tribunals Courts Service.
• You would normally work in an office and occasionally in the court.
• Working hours are usually 9.00am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday.
• There are good opportunities to work part time.

Getting In

• The Civil Service has nationality requirements – you must be a UK, Irish or Swiss national, Commonwealth citizen or national of the European Economic Area.
• There are no minimum qualifications required but you may need some subjects at National 4 or 5 and you will need to pass a suitability test.
• You may be able to move into court work from other Civil Service posts.
• You will require a satisfactory criminal record check from Disclosure Scotland to show that you are suitable for this type of work. Contact Disclosure Scotland for details on the type you would need.

What Does it Take?

You need to be:

• able to work quickly and accurately under pressure
• able to work well in a team
• well organised
• methodical
• reliable
• tactful and polite when dealing with members of the public.

You need to have:

• respect for confidential information
• good spoken and written communication skills
• good IT skills
• ability to pay attention to detail.

Training

• Training is mainly on the job.
• You can also do short specialist courses.

Getting On

With experience and further skills, you may be able to move on to other jobs within the Civil Service.

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Contacts

The following organisations may be able to provide further information.