Fulfil your potential

Your guide to working for Care UK

Fulfilling lives. Fulfilling careers.

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Welcome

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Welcome to your new role at Care UK. It’s great to have you onboard. You’re now part of one big team, helping us put the wellbeing of our residents at the heart of everything we do.

You have joined our company at an exciting time. We have everything it takes to become the UK’s leading care provider – great customers that recommend our services, a clear plan for growth, high quality care services and committed and talented people like you!

Care UK is one of the largest providers of residential care for older people and will continue to grow over the coming years.

Every single one of our colleagues plays a part in helping us achieve our aim of becoming the UK’s most trusted care provider, enabling our residents to lead Fulfilling Lives.

Our commitment to Fulfilling Lives for the people we care for is at the heart of everything we do at Care UK.

To support this aim, we are guided by three core values:

• Passionate

• Caring

• Teamwork

Whatever your role, you’re joining a friendly, supportive company with a close-knit family feel. We see potential in everyone and we will help you fulfil yours – with great training and exciting career paths.

Take a few minutes to read this guide – there’s lots of useful info to help you settle in.

And finally, good luck in your new role!

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ContentsYour first few weeks 6

Staying in touch 10

Your training and development 14

Awards, pay and benefits 18

Teamwork pointers 22

Your details 26

Your health and wellbeing 28

Your work/life balance 32

Equality and diversity at work 35

Dignity at work 36

Safeguarding 38

Health & Safety 40

Moving on 44

Any questions? 47

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Your first few weeks

Your first few weeks will include:

• A personal welcome from the home manager on your first day

• A role-specific induction – to prepare you for your role

• A presentation of our company vision – so you can get to learn more about why we do what we do

• Practical briefings – to explain how we work

• Being assigned a buddy/mentor to be your go-to person for any questions you may have

• A catch-up chat after 2 weeks to see how you’re doing

• An overview of our People Promise, which shares how we treat others and expect to be treated

Your first six months will be a probation period. This gives you time to find your feet, meet your new team and start to build some of the skills you’ll need. You’ll have 2-way reviews with your manager during this time – so you’ll have lots of opportunities to discuss your role.

Our support doesn’t stop after six months. We’ll continue to support you in every way – helping you progress in your role, develop your skills and build a fulfilling career.

Carers in Scotland need to have registered with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) within your first six months of employment. We can help you with this process.

Starting a new job can mean big changes for some people – so your manager and colleagues will be there to help you settle in. We hope it’s the start of a long, rewarding career journey for you. We want you to feel welcomed, motivated and supported from day one.

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You will receive plenty of training in our processes and policies during your few weeks which should give you a good understanding of how we work. Sometimes though, it is good to stop and think about why we do what we do and what makes us the company that we are.

This is where our company values can help. Our values are the common ideas that bring us together as a team and help guide our decisions in every part of the company.

Our value structure has three parts:

Fulfilling lives is the core purpose of our company. It is about delivering great care for the residents in our homes, and remembering that sometimes we can make a real difference by supporting their wider family through challenging times. It is also about making sure that we support each other to learn and grow so that we can all have fulfilling careers.

We also have a core belief that helps us deliver on Fulfilling lives, that every one of us makes a difference. This is important for every single member of our team to remember, whether you are a housekeeper or hostess, carer or kitchen assistant, manager or maintenance person... we all have an important role to play in delivering Fulfilling lives.

Key to all of this though are our three values: caring, passionate and teamwork. These values are important right across the business, from helping us think about the type of people we invite to join our teams to the way that we approach our work. They are what makes us the company we are and the ideas that we come back to whenever we need to make a decisions day to day.

So ask yourself the following questions for every situation you find yourself in:

• What is the caring thing to do?

• How can I show how passionate I am about my role?

• Can better teamwork solve my challenges?

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Values

Everyone of us makes a difference

Fulfillinglives

Purpose

Belief

Teamwork

Pass

ionate

Caring

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Staying in touch

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Fulfilling Lives

Fulfilling Lives is our internal e-newsletter. Check out the latest company news, care home news and events, plus career opportunities, benefits and more! This can be accessed via mycareuk or via the news feed on our eLearning App (just type eLFY into your app store).

Mycareuk

Mycareuk.com brings you the latest news, job opportunities and company policies. To use the site, first register using your payroll number and an email address of your choice and set your password. Once registered, you’ll be able to log in.

Ask Andrew

If you have a questions or have any feedback that you’d like to share this is your opportunities to ask our Managing Director. You’ll find this on the forums part of mycareuk.com

Over to you! survey

Every year, it’s your chance to tell us what you think. You’ll be able to access our Over to You! survey through our e-Learning portal or via your computer, phone or tablet.

Noticeboards

Check your local noticeboard for news and information that’s relevant to where you work.

We love to share news with you! And we want to hear from you too. So we’ve got lots of ways to stay connected.

Social media

• LinkedIn – connect with us on LinkedIn for updates about our services and jobs we’re recruiting for.

• Twitter – follow @careuk for daily corporate/social care updates. Find links to health advice, jobs and sector news.

• Instagram – follow us on Instagram to view pictures of events in our homes.

• Facebook – see what’s happening on our Care UK Facebook page or your own care home’s page.

Colleague Voices

Colleague Voices is our listening and discussion forum, which gives colleagues the opportunity to share on the ground feedback and talk to the senior management team about the issues that are important to them. Your home will have appointed at least two Colleague Voices representatives who take feedback from your home teams to regional and national meetings on a regular basis. Care UK takes colleague feedback seriously and uses this information to inform future plans, prioritise initiatives and to help improve the business and the way we support our colleagues.

A few examples of what our Colleague Voices representatives have achieved so far include employee assistance programme, long service awards, Christmas bonus, shopping discounts and refer a friend.

When you start your new role look for information on who the Colleague Voices Representatives are at your place of work. You can contribute your feedback and suggestions about what’s working well, what needs to improve and ideas about how we can make things better by talking to your home rep.

We’re always interested in new talent joining the Colleague Voices rep team so once you’ve settled in you might want to consider discussing this opportunity with your line manager. Who knows… your ideas might be part of shaping our business!

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Your training and development

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We want you to have a long and successful career. Here are just some of the ways we help our people have more fulfilling careers:

• Bespoke learning and development programmes – innovative programmes tailored to the role you are undertaking, whether you’re new to care or highly experienced.

• One-to-one appraisals – your personal development will be the focus of your mid-year and end-of-year appraisals, so we can ensure you have access to the right learning & development opportunities to support your career goals.

• Regular feedback – your manager will talk to you on a regular basis. They’ll look to help you develop the right skills and gain the qualifications you need to keep your career goals on track.

• Revalidation for Registered Nurses – If you’re a registered nurse you’ll be automatically provided with access to ClinicalSkills.Net a resource that supports your continued professional development and enables you to easily capture your learning & reflection when it comes time to complete your revalidation process. Care UK has invested in this additional learning environment as we recognise how crucial it is to support our clinical teams to continue to learn and refresh their skills.

Your personal career path

Everyone’s different. And we all have different career ambitions. Whatever yours are, we can help you achieve them.

Apprenticeships – apprenticeships let you earn as you learn and acquire recognised qualifications. Today, they’re open to anyone looking to develop new skills, not just young people starting out. To find out more, ask your manager or check out our Learning and Development page on mycareuk.com

Moving up the career ladder – if you’re ambitious to progress into more senior roles, we’ll support you with tailored training and development programmes. If you’re dedicated and ambitious, we’ll help you go far.

Staying in your role – we appreciate that you may not want to move up the career ladder and simply want to focus on being the best you can be. That’s fine – we’ll support you with ongoing training to help you do just that.

When you’re part of the Care UK team, you don’t just have a job, you have a career.

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Mandatory training

On joining Care UK you will receive a link to a separate document that outlines the full Learning & Development programmes available and the mandatory training that you are required to undertake in your role.

Your mandatory eLearning modules will be automatically loaded onto your eLearning profile (based on the role that you undertake) and these should be completed within the first 12 weeks of your employment. Additional face to face training (such as Fire and Basic Life Support) that is required should be booked with your line manager/supervisor as soon as you start in the home.

If you have any difficulties in completing your courses you should discuss this early on with your line manager/supervisor so we can support you in your development needs.

Induction documentation & sign off

When you start in your role at Care UK you will be provided with a role specific induction workbook which includes more information around some of the areas outlined in this employee guide as well as key learning areas for your role.

At the end of your first 12 weeks you will complete a mid probation review meeting which will include signing off your induction workbook as complete. Your line manager will then upload a training record onto our system to notify us centrally that you have completed all required training.

It is ultimately your individual responsibility to ensure that you complete your learning either at work or at home in order to maintain your compliance for working in health & social care which covers regulated activity. If you fail to complete your mandatory or induction training within the agreed timescales this could impact your ability to continue in your role as we will not be able to demonstrate that you are fully competent in your role.

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Our eLearning System

Our eLearning system is supplied by a company called eLearningforyou and the app can be downloaded from either android or apple app stores for ease of access on smartphone or tablet.

On the eLearning system you will find your eLearning courses (courses), details of face to face training opportunities happening around the organisation (events), newletters and company updates (news) and any messages that are generated by the system for course completion or training event attendance, you can also use the message centre to contact your colleagues within Care UK without having to have an email address (messages)!

Your log in details will be set up initially as:

Username: firstnamesurname (this is input all in lower case as your passport name is spelled)

Password: ddmmyyyy (date of birth)

When you log in for the first time you will be prompted to change your password and set up 3 security questions in order for the system to comply with data protection regulations.

If you have any questions about learning & development at Care UK please initially speak with your line manager/supervisor or email rcs.training@careuk.com

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Awards, pay and benefits

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• Long Service Awards – starting at five years’ service, these awards recognise long-term commitment and loyalty.

• GEM recognition – a monthly recognition scheme to celebrate colleagues living our values.

• RCS Stars – our annual company award scheme.

• National award schemes – we also take part in external national award schemes for the care sector, where our teams have been known to pick up a prize or two!

We celebrate success. Whether it’s a pat on the back from a colleague, praise from your manager or a smile from a resident, it’s nice to be appreciated. We go one step further, by recognising good performance through various award schemes, including:

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A rewarding package

Everyone needs to feel motivated and rewarded. So we offer a great package of pay and benefits. We also recognise the value of a healthy work-life balance – so we always try to be flexible, helping you fit your working life around your home life. Our benefits include:

• Competitive pay

• Pension scheme

• Private Medical Insurance (Dependant on role)

• Company sick pay (Dependant on role)

• Flexible hours

• Holiday and travel discounts

• Retail discounts

• Cycle to Work scheme

• Employee Assistance Helpline

• Access to an online health portal

• Training

• Free tea, coffee and squash in colleague rest areas

• Option to purchase additional annual leave

• Recommend a Friend reward scheme

• DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) / PVG Scotland (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) check paid for

• Christmas voucher

• Uniform (if applicable)

• Parking (where parking is available)

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Teamwork pointers

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Time keeping – always arrive on time

Being on time and ready to work is vital. So please, do always arrive on time to start your shift. If you’re late on a regular basis, we may need to take action to resolve this.

Dress code – remember, appearances do matter

Dress smartly to reflect our professionalism as a care provider. Our Dress Code Policy sets out what you can and can’t wear. Your Manager will decide if you’re meeting dress code standards – speak to them if you have any queries.

Relationships at work – let us know if you have a relationship with someone at work

Please let us know if you have a close personal relationship with another colleague, contractor, supplier, relative or a resident.

Smoking at work

Do not smoke (or vape) in any of the company’s buildings. If any colleague is found to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol while at work, we will take disciplinary action. You may smoke or vape in designated areas.

Working for Care UK is all about being part of a team. Our standards are high – and we expect everyone to do their best to meet them. That’s how we deliver first-rate care to our residents, day in day out. The following pointers will help you meet the expectations of your role. You can read our full policies on mycareuk.com or ask your manager for a copy.

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Social media and mobile telephones

Don’t use your personal mobile phone while you’re on shift at work. And don’t post, download or upload any material on social media that could offend or have a negative impact on the company, colleagues or residents. Any breach of our Social Media or Dignity Policy will be a disciplinary matter.

Data Protection

Don’t share computer login details – such as usernames or passwords. And don’t disclose any information about colleagues or residents to anyone, unless you have permission to do so. This includes making statements to anyone from the media.

Receiving gifts – don’t accept gifts

We pride ourselves on our reputation for acting honestly. Any form of corruption will not be tolerated. We’re very grateful when people want to thank us for the service we provide. However, please don’t accept any gifts of any kind. Please ask the giver (including suppliers) to speak to your manager.

Second jobs – don’t take on a second job without our permission

Our residents deserve your full professional commitment while you’re at work. We also have a duty of care to ensure that you do not work excessive hours. Don’t take on a second job or business activity without speaking to us first. You must tell your manager if you have another job or wish to take up a second job while you’re working for us. Some homes may be able to offer overtime if you are looking for additional work.

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Your details

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Keeping us up-to-date

• We make every effort to keep your details accurate. If any of your personal details change, such as your address, bank details or marital status, please let your manager know right away.

About your pay

• If you’re paid hourly, you’re paid in arrears, approximately from the 1st Sunday of one month to the 1st Sunday of the next month. Ask your manager to explain how this affects your first pay when you join.

• Details of your pay are included in your employment contract

• Please make sure we have your correct bank details

• Your payslip is available each month on Employee Self Service

• Find out how to access your payslip on mycareuk.com/businesssystems/ E-Payslips

• At the end of each tax year, we’ll give you a P60 form. This shows the total pay you have received during that year, including tax and pension deductions (if there are any)

• All colleagues are paid on, or before, the 26th of each month.

For any queries about pay, please speak to your manager.

For queries about your tax, the contact details of our tax office are: HMRC (Tax Office)H&M Revenue & Customs PAYE PO Box 4000Cardiff CF14 8HRTel: 0300 200 3300From 8am - 8pm, Monday - Friday and Saturday mornings

Your manager or payroll team can confirm your PAYE reference, which you must quote, along with your National Insurance number.

We keep information about you (both paper records and on computers) for pay, pensions and admin purposes. We won’t pass your information onto any other companies or third parties unless it’s for legal or business reasons. Our full General Data Protection Regulations statement can be found on Mycareuk.

Your health and wellbeing

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Your holidays

Everyone has to unwind sometimes – so don’t forget to take your holiday entitlement! Please follow these guidelines:

• Usually, you can take up to 2 week’s holiday at a time

• Please aim to give at least 4 week’s notice when you request a holiday

• Holiday requests are approved on a first come, first served basis and can be declined due to the needs of the business.

• Aim to take a quarter of your annual holiday between January and April and 75% by the end of August

• Your holiday allowance can’t be carried over into the next year

• Don’t book any holidays before you get approval for the time off from your Manager

Employee Assistance – person-to-person helpline

Balancing work with the needs of home life isn’t always easy. Talking a problem through with an impartial person can be a big help. Health Assured provides free, independent, impartial and confidential support services on issues such as bereavement, debt and relationships. The helpline is available to all Care UK colleagues and their immediate families (immediate family is classed as your legal partner and/or children up to the age of 24 in full-time education, living in the same household). Leaflets and posters with the contact details are available in your place of work.

The Care Workers Charity

We work very closely with the Care Workers Charity, an organisation set up to help current, former and retired care sector workers who may have fallen on difficult times. Their support can come in the form of training in basic life skills such as budget management, online information and advice, and hardship grants. Further information about the Care Workers Charity is available on mycareuk.com

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Time off for sickness

If you experience long-term sickness or persistent sickness, we provide a dedicated occupational health service. We’ll always support you if you’re not well and help you get back to work and there will be a return to work meeting after every absence. Please follow these guidelines if you can’t come to work because of sickness:

• Ensure you tell us about your absence, following the reporting process at your place of work

• Keep your manager up-to-date and tell us when you expect to be back at work

• Any entitlement to sick pay is set out in your contract of employment

• For more information, please take a look at our Sick Absence Policy

• For helpful advice on health and wellbeing visit www.healthassuredeap.com (ask your manager for the password).

Private Medical Insurance

We offer private medical insurance (PMI) for some roles. As with any benefit in kind, PMI is taxable and is deducted through the company payroll system. If you’re eligible, we’ll send you an enrolment pack when you join us.

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Your work/life balance

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Career breaks – Time Away from Work Policy

Sometimes, you may wish to take a career break for family or other reasons, but want to return to work at the end of the break. To qualify for a career break, you must have been with us for at least two years.

Maternity leave – Maternity Policy

If you’re pregnant, please let your manager know as soon as possible. This is very important, as we’ll need to do a risk assessment to make sure you can carry out your role safely. We’ll guide you through this process and give you any extra support you might need.

Adoption leave – Adoption Leave Policy

If you are going through the adoption process, we’re here to support you through it. Please let your manager know your expected placement date as soon as you can. Or let us know you have been matched with a child within seven days of being told by the adoption agency. Please note, adoption leave is only available if you are using an adoption agency.

Paternity leave - Paternity Leave Policy

You can take paternity leave if you’ve worked for us for the required length of service on or after the birth or placement of your child. Please let your manager know at least 15 weeks before the baby is due to qualify for the leave. For adoptions, please tell us within seven days of being told you’ve been matched with a child.

There are times in life when you may need support in balancing home and work commitments. Here are some of the schemes available. For more details on any of these, please speak to your manager, or view the policy on mycareuk.com

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Shared Parental leave - Shared Parental Leave Policy

You can share your parental leave with a partner following the birth or adoption of a child. This allows both parents to share up to 52 weeks leave in total between them.

Parental leave – Parental Leave Policy

If you’ve been with us (continuously) for over a year, you can take up to 18 weeks’ unpaid parental leave for each child under the age of five. If you have a disabled child, it’s up to the age of 18. You can take the leave in blocks of one week, up to a maximum of four weeks in any one year. If you’ve already taken some parental leave with another employer, this will be taken off your 18 weeks’ allowance.

Unexpected time off - Time Away from Work Policy

Sometimes, you need time off at short notice to deal with a family emergency, such as bereavement, or problems in the home. We’ll always try and support you in these situations.

Time off for public duties or attending court - Time Away from Work Policy

If you choose to play an important role in the local or national community, we’ll support you by allowing reasonable time off work. For example if you are:

• Elected to a local authority

• Appointed to a public body

• A governor at a local school or college

• In the Territorial Army (TA)

Our Time Away from Work Policy gives a full list of the activities that we support and how it will affect your pay if you take time off. Please speak to your manager before agreeing to take on such duties.

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Our policies are for you – Please read them

We have a full range of policies relating to working at Care UK. They cover areas such as HR, clinical, IT and health and safety issues. Some policies may relate closely to your role – please get familiar with them. Please ensure you are reviewing the policies regularly to ensure that you don’t miss any updates. Our policies are important as they shape the way we do things at Care UK – so please take the time to read them.

To view our policies, log into mycareuk.com

Equality and diversity at work

We are committed to promoting equality and diversity at Care UK. The care sector attracts people of many different nationalities from many different backgrounds. So it’s vital we all make a big effort to get on and respect each other. That applies not only to colleagues, but to residents, their families and anyone else you interact with. To make this happen, we live by the following principles:

• We treat everyone with dignity and respect

• We will not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment or bullying

• We are committed to equal opportunities for all – whether they are colleagues, job applicants, residents, residents’ families or suppliers

• All team members must treat residents, visitors, clients, customers and suppliers fairly, without discrimination

• If we see unlawful discrimination, we will deal with it firmly

• We value the advantages that a diverse workforce brings to the company

• Everyone who works at Care UK must uphold this commitment to diversity and fair treatment through their behaviour

• Complete your Equality & Diversity eLearning module and take some time to reflect with your supervisor on what you learn

You can find our Equality & Diversity Policy at mycareuk.com

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Dignity at work

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Everyone has a part to play. Care UK team members must never behave in a way that others might find threatening, harassing or disrespectful. If necessary, we’ll take action against such behaviour. And we will always investigate any complaints fully. Please refer to the next section if you ever need to raise a concern.

You can find our Dignity at Work Policy at mycareuk.com

We want colleagues to be happy in their work and enjoy their time with us. No-one should have to put up with inappropriate behaviour from colleagues or managers. We aim to create an environment where both residents and colleagues can flourish and achieve their full potential.

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Safeguarding

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If you’re joining one of our care home teams, you’ll receive training in safeguarding vulnerable adults. Part of that training requires you to be vigilant and to look out for abusive or inappropriate behaviour towards others.

When working for us, if you see inappropriate behaviour, such as the below, that you have serious concerns about, please raise a concern.

• physical or financial abuse

• fraud or other financial irregularity

• clinical malpractice

• health and safety risk

• bullying or harassment

If such a concern does arise, please follow these guidelines:

• You have a moral and professional duty to put the people you care for first and protect their safety

• Do not turn a blind eye or fail to act for fear of upsetting a colleague or being ‘disloyal’

• Aim to resolve your concern within the workplace

• If you cannot do this, use the contact numbers for reporting abuse on posters at your workplace

• For more details, please see our Whistleblowing Policy at mycareuk.com

Please note, reporting a genuine concern will not put your job at risk or result in any form of reprisal.

The safety and wellbeing of the people we care for are of the utmost importance.

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Health & Safety

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You also have an important part to play in making sure your working environment is safe. Here are just a few ways you can do that:

• Get to know the Health & Safety at Work Act

• Always work in a safe way, observing Health & Safety guidelines and Care UK rules

• Never put yourself, residents, visitors or colleagues at risk

• If you have any Health & Safety concerns, tell your manager immediately

• Never ignore a potentially dangerous situation

• Always use appropriate tools, training and equipment to stay safe

Your manager will provide you with further info on Health & Safety at work and keep you updated with any changes to our policy.

Fire

You’ll receive full training on what to do in the event of a fire. As part of this, you’ll:

• Get to know where the fire exits are in the building where you work

• Understand the fire alarm signals

• Know how to sound the alarm

• Take part in regular fire evacuation drills

If you ever have a concern about a potential fire hazard, please tell your manager straight away.

Everyone has a right to work in a safe and healthy environment. We do everything we can to make sure high standards of health, safety and welfare are met in all our care homes and offices.

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Accidents

• Please report any accidents immediately to your manager

• If first aid is required, please follow the first aid procedure

• Always record the details of any accidents in the correct way, e.g. log them in the Accident Book

First aid

• Make sure you attend your annual Basic Life Support training, the skills you learn on this course could make the difference between life & serious injury

• Make sure you are familiar with the first aid procedures in your care home or office

• Know what to do in case a colleague or visitor becomes ill or is injured on site

• Check the noticeboard to see who is the designated first aider at your workplace

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Moving on

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If you are planning to leave us, please:

• Tell your manager in writing when you intend to leave

• Work your notice period (this will be in your contract of employment)

Please note, if you don’t follow these guidelines, there may be a delay in processing your final pay.

Exit interviews

Even if you’re leaving, we’ll still value your opinions. We hope you’ll accept our invitation to take part in an exit interview. It’ll give you the opportunity to give us honest feedback about your job and about Care UK.

We want you to have a long, happy career at Care UK. We’ll certainly give you lots of support and training to help you progress and reach your full potential. But we also know that sometimes, people decide to move on to new things.

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Any questions?If you have a query or need more info about anything in this handbook, please don’t hesitate to speak to your line manager.

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careuk.com

Version 1 - December 2018