Right at Home Medway answers common recruitment questions about homecare.
Are you looking for flexible work to fit around you family? Watch our Q&A video to find out more.
Published: 05/10/2023
Discover more about working in homecare in Medway
The Right at Home Medway Recruitment team have put together highlights from our Facebook Recruitment Live video. This will help you find out about working and starting a rewarding career in care with your local, friendly, award-winning, number one Homecare provider in Gillingham, Chatham and Rochester.
What to know before going into Homecare
Do I need experience in care? Most of our CareGivers are not from a care background. You may have gained transferable skills for example from working in a customer service background in retail, travel, hospitality or leisure. Perhaps you have worked in education, or simply taken a career break to look after family.
What qualities do I need? We are looking for friendly, trustworthy, reliable, caring, people who are good communicators. You must also be compassionate, empathic and patient. Our selection process ensures we employ the very best people.
Will I need a DBS? Yes, following a successful interview with us, you will need to apply for an enhanced DBS for working with adults. We will send you the link to apply online at a cost of £45.20 and we will refund the initial application fee to you following successful completion of your probation. It is usually £13 per year to remain on the update service annually to keep your DBS live.
What to expect when working in Homecare
What do caregivers do? Right at Home Medway CareGivers provide care for adults needing help in the comfort of their own home, including:
- Companionship (hobbies, interests, walks, trips out, shopping, restaurants etc)
- Medication assistance
- Personal care including washing/showering and dressing
- Dementia care
- Accompanying to appointments
- Meal preparation
- Light housekeeping and laundry
- Help and support with everyday tasks and daily routine
- And much more...
At times you won’t feel like you are at work. CareGivers can monitor and spot problems early on and we will refer medical needs as required. In the video Lisa tells us the best part of being a CareGiver:
Lisa | Recruitment Coordinator"It’s the relationship you build up with clients and knowing you are doing something worthwhile. It is really rewarding, you can go to anyone in the office and you don’t feel like you can’t ask a question, you are never on your own. "
I am unsure about assisting with Personal Care Personal care can be anything from helping a client brush their hair or wash their back. Most of the time only a little assistance is needed and it is not as daunting as you think. We like to think we are helping someone whilst maintaining their dignity.
Do I have to wear a uniform? No, you can wear your own clothes, you might take a client out for lunch so wearing your own clothes will be much more discreet, so our clients feel they are out with their family or a friend. By not wearing a uniform we are not signposting vulnerable people in our neighbourhood.
What will my working week look like?
How many hours do I need to work? We have a different approach; we take your availability and match it to our clients. We aim to allow our CareGivers to have a great work-life balance. If you are returning to work after some time off (e.g. maternity, study, travelling etc.), we can assist you to gradually integrate back into working life with our flexible hours. Our earliest care calls start at 7am and the last call ends at 10pm. You will let us know your availability and we will try to fill your hours. Your contract with us is zero hours and you will gradually build a portfolio of clients.
Do I need to work at the weekend? Yes, all of our CareGivers either work alternate weekends (every other), or if you prefer there is an option to work every Saturday or every Sunday.
How long is a care call? Most care calls are one hour or more. Our care calls are longer than most other companies because we provide quality, person-centred care for a minimum of one hour or longer. We don’t offer less than one hour as we don’t want our clients or CareGivers to feel rushed. We also provide live-in home care in Gillingham, Rochester and Chatham where our live-in CareGivers stay in a client’s home.
Where will I travel in Medway? Our care work is delivered throughout the Medway area which is approximately 15 miles at the furthest points.
Do you need to drive? Ideally yes. We aim to plan your care calls as efficiently as possible, therefore a car is usually required. Some of our CareGivers use alternative methods of transport by cycling to clients (you don’t need to carry lots of equipment – a light bag of PPE is provided).
What training and career progression is offered?
What training do you provide? All new recruits attend three days of paid induction training at our Gillingham office with up to five other trainees. The course content includes medication, moving & handling and basic life support. Following this, our new CareGivers will meet clients by shadowing experienced staff for an average of eight hours. You will then have access to paid online learning, annual refresher training as well as opportunities to study for an NVQ in Care. NVQ courses are fully funded by Right at Home, and provision is given for study time.
Is there a career pathway? Yes, many of our staff have joined us as CareGivers and have progressed to either Senior CareGiver roles, or have trained for office-based roles such as Care Coordinator, Recruitment Coordinator, Field Care Supervisor and Trainer - see our Careers in Care brochure.
Will you send me to a client on my own who I have never met before? No, we organise a paid Meet & Greet introduction to Clients and CareGivers every time you meet a new Client. This will help you read their care plan in advance, learn the layout of their home and where things are kept. This initial ‘Meet and Greet’ training will be part of your continued ongoing professional development and you will continue to take part in shadowing training whenever you meet new clients throughout your career with us.
Homecare benefits
How much can I earn? Our current rates of pay are £12.25 per hour weekdays daytime, £13.25 all weekend and weekdays after 7pm. All non-care tasks such as induction training/shadowing/meetings/training/online training are all paid at the National Living Wage rate which is currently £10.42 per hour. A CareGiver working 20 hours a week could earn in excess of £1,000 each month.
Do you hold any social events? Yes, we are like one big family and like to gather for social events. For example we hold a summer BBQ, Christmas events, we also like to get together for birthdays and anniversary meals.
What is your cash bonus referral scheme? Our Refer-a-Friend scheme rewards CareGivers for recommending people just like you. Once working with Right at Home Medway you can recommend people you know and think will also make great CareGivers. We will reward you £50 for your recommendation once their training and shadowing are complete.
Want to know more about working in care?
If you have any questions that we haven't covered about working in care in Medway, please call us.
Some people ask if we offer sponsorship? Unfortunately, we are unable to provide sponsorship to overseas candidates at the moment. We can only accept applications from within the UK with valid 'Right to Work' documentation.
Watch to learn more about us View our video and meet the Recruitment team, learn more about our On-Call support, how we are an equal opportunities employer and learn much more about joining us at Right at Home Medway.
Please like and share and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn! Give us, your local Employer of the Year (2022 for 50 plus employees) a call on 01634 979000.
