Advice workers provide free, impartial and confidential advice and information to their clients on a wide range of issues. Some act as general advisers covering legal and financial topics such as debt, housing, employment, welfare and education. Others specialise in just one area and offer expert advice. This will usually be in a topic that requires in-depth knowledge such as immigration or homelessness.
There are usually no restrictions on people who can use the services of an advice worker, although clients will often belong to groups with particular needs, such as refugees or people with disabilities.
Advice is provided through face-to-face, telephone and email services. Advice workers are based in a variety of settings including community centres, doctors' surgeries, courts and prisons, as well as in dedicated advice centres.
One of the biggest employers of advice workers in England and Wales is the Citizens Advice Bureau
.