Working in care homes can be a very rewarding job, but it’s not without its fair share of Health & Safety, HR and Online Training issues. It’s our job to create solutions to these issues, allowing you to focus on the care of your residents. Carers are not only responsible for themselves, but those in their care also, which is why we want to look after your Health & Safety and HR for you!
You may be asking, how are Wurkplace different from any other outsourcing Health & Safety and HR company? We never use long-term contracts with our clients, which allows them to stay fully in control of their services. We also don’t believe in using call centres, we give a personal service from the get-go, you can speak to our advisors from day one – allowing us to support you straight away.
Read what our Care Home Partners have to say about us 👇Care Sector Health and Safety
Wurkplace provides outsourced Health & Safety services to a multitude of clients across the UK, including care homes! Care work has its own unique set of Health & Safety challenges, which is why our services are bespoke, allowing us to create tailored solutions to fit your care home.
What are the top three Health and Safety issues facing the care industry?
- Reporting Incidents in Care Homes – The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (or RIDDOR) puts the responsibility of reporting workplace accidents, occupational diseases and near misses on the employer and people in charge of the premises. HSE reports that up to ⅓ of RIDDOR reports are incorrectly recorded in the health & care setting. Not reporting or incorrectly reporting incidents can be seen as a criminal offence. Those in care homes are often the most vulnerable, that is why it’s so important for carers to follow the RIDDOR procedure if an accident or outbreak occurs. Wurkplace HR Consultants can help you when filling out RIDDOR forms to ensure compliance.
- Care Home Fire Safety – Evacuating all care home residents and workers from the premises in the event of a fire can be very challenging; especially when most residents require assistance to leave the home! It is a legal obligation for Care homes to have a sufficient number of Fire marshals/wardens on the premises at all times to ensure fire procedures are followed and everyone is safe. Our team of experts can create bespoke fire risk assessments and training to ensure your care home is safe from fire!
- Trips, Slips & Falls – In care homes there can be many factors that can increase the likelihood of trips, slips & falls including; cleaning products, light levels, footwear, contrast, floor material, and obstructions. Care home residents are especially at risk because they can have difficulty moving, medications or poor eyesight & hearing! Employers should put in place measures to reduce this risk for both general safety of staff & visitors, but also targeted measures like installing bed rails. Our tailored risk assessments can help identify specific risks, and we have a slips, trips and falls training course for staff!
- Care Health & Safety Audit – First, our consultants will begin conducting a full Health & Safety audit of your policies and procedures in the care home, upon completion, you will receive an action plan full of our professional recommendations. Then, every year we will repeat the process to ensure compliance with UK regulations.
- Care Home Visits – We will be able to visit your care home site regularly, allowing us to review your health & safety and provide reports for any improvements.
- Risk Assessments for Care Homes – Our team can create bespoke risk assessments for your care home (including fire and COSHH assessments). We will always make sure your care homes potential risks are identified and controlled properly.
- Health & Safety Training – We have a huge range of Health & Safety training courses that can be tailored to care homes, ensuring the safety of your staff and residents.
- Resolving Occupational Health Issues – With our qualified nurse on hand to help, our consultants can help you deal with occupational health referrals, sickness/absence management, medical examinations & screenings, physio and on-site support!
- Monthly Care Health & Safety Updates – At least once a month, we will contact you with any updates to Health & Safety legislation affecting care homes.
Do You Need Help With HR or Health and Safety in Your Care Home Business?
Care Sector HR
Wurkplace also provides the UK care sector with outsourced HR services, personalising all of our HR solutions to your specific care home. We’re dedicated to solving our clients people-problems, letting you focus on the real care issues facing the sector!
What are the top three HR issues facing the care industry?
- Care Staff Shortages - In 2016, one report suggested around ⅓ of all care home staff left their job in the last year which would have been 14,700 staff members – The number now may be much higher. Attracting and keeping qualified employees is very difficult in the care industry, workers are often subject to long hours and hard physical work with no benefits which can often lead them to leave the industry altogether! Wurkplace offers an innovative online HR system which tracks and manages current employees and potential ones, plus our HR consultants keep in regular contact with your workplace ensuring our services and staff benefits makes your carers feel cared for!
- Addressing Diversity in Care – The care industry has one of the most diverse pools of workers compared to most other sectors; a survey in London showed up to 48% of those in health and social care were from the BME community (black and minority ethic). It is HR’s responsibility to address challenges between workers and patients when understanding cultural differences, language barriers and cultural sensitivity. We offer amazing bespoke equality, diversity and discrimination training courses to help you care workers deal with these situations if they arise.
- High-Stress Levels – Not only do care workers have to work long hours with hard physical labour, but they also have to look after vulnerable peoples physical and mental well-being which can be very stressful & strenuous. Carers are also likely to work on their days off, arrive early and leave late as research has shown, which can take a toll on workers and affect the care they provide! We can provide your staff with stress management training and help adapt HR policies to reduce workplace stress.
Wurkplace can provide businesses in the equine sector with bespoke outsourced Health and Safety services – On a retainer or an ad-hoc basis. Riding horses can be dangerous, but so can handling them from the ground! Our team of highly-experienced specialists can visit your premises/stables and give you gap analysis advice on how to improve/implement your Health and Safety procedures and policies.
Wurkplace HR Consultants can help with:
- Full HR Audit – Initially we will conduct a full audit of all your care homes HR policies and procedures, providing a report afterwards with recommendations for improvement. We can also do a full review, every year, to ensure full compliance.
- Online HR System for Care – We use an amazing online HR software system centralises and automates traditional HR work, like payroll. The software allows employers to track their care workers attendance and performance, as well as allowing you to track and compare potential new recruits.
- Tailored Care Contracts and Handbooks – Our HR consultants can make bespoke contracts and handbooks for those working in the care industry. They will include all the relevant HR policies and the terms of employment!
- Care HR Training – We offer a multitude of online HR training courses which educate care employees on how to deal with certain situations, allowing them to develop into their role.
- Employment Law Problems – Our consultants are experienced when handling employment law issues in care home settings. We can help with grievances, sickness/lateness proceedings, disciplinary issues, disputes, redundancies and more!
- Legal Insurance – We can also provide care homes with protection from pesky legal fees and proceedings, up to the value of £100,000.
- Care HR Updates– Every month, we will give you an update on any changes to HR legislation which will affect care homes.
Health & Safety and HR Training for Care Homes
Additionally, Wurkplace is able to provide care homes with Health & Safety and HR training courses!
Our courses are accredited by CPD and approved by RoSPA and IOSH – Ensuring your care home stays compliant with UK legislation and regulations. Our team of experts can tailor all of our courses to your specific care home, this allows your staff to be equipped for any situation they face in the care setting and keeps both your residents and staff safe!
What Health & Safety and HR training courses apply to care homes?
- Equality, Diversity and Discrimination
- Data Protection in the Workplace
- Slips, Trips and Falls
- Understanding Your Role in Care
- Basic Fire Safety Awareness
- Dementia Awareness
- Fire Marshal
- Emergency First Aid at Work
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health
- Safeguarding Adults
- Person-Centred Care
- Manual Handling