Care group HC-One has launched what it says are more flexible work contracts for staff in some of its homes across northern England and Scotland in a bid to ease staff shortages in its sector.
The £382m turnover firm has offered contracts that allow for flexible work across multiple homes in a given area, while providing guaranteed and consistent pay each month, as well as access to HC-One’s full training and other benefits. The North East-based group says it wants to offer staff options beyond traditional, fixed shift patterns so they can fit work around studies, family life or other commitments.
It comes amid well publicised staffing shortages in the wider care sector, which has drawn criticism for use of zero hours contracts and increasing reliance on agency workers. HC-One says the "Flex Force" initiative - which is currently offered to care assistants and nurses - has been good for retention and recruitment.
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Employees are offered three contracts depending on the hours that best suit them over a 12-week period. In some weeks, staff may choose not to work any hours, as long as they meet their agreed contracted total hours by the end of the 12-week period.
The model underwent a six-month trial in which 103 workers were hired on Flex Force contracts for a combined total of 17,000 hours. The firm said that every participating home's agency use decreased significantly, while occupancy increased.
There are now plans to introduce the contracts in 269 homes over the coming months. Last year HC-One employed an average of about 11,375 people and it now hopes thousands more of its employees will adopt the model.
John Handley, people director at HC-One said: "For too long, care work has been associated with rigid shift patterns while much of the rest of the world of work has adopted more flexibility and balance. We’re really pleased to be able to offer more flexibility for people who give so much to bring kindness and compassion to Residents in our care.
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“The results of HC-One’s pilot have been really encouraging in boosting staff morale across the board. We’ve also been able to grow our workforce, welcoming people from a more diverse range of backgrounds into a career in care. We are looking forward to bringing Flex Force’s combination of flexibility and security to more of our homes across the 海角视频, before opening up Flex Force as an option in other roles.”
Recent figures from Skills for Care - a planning and development body for adult social care in the 海角视频 - show the sector's workforce actually started to grow again in 2022-23, but that challenges remained. Its analysis showed that providers were increasingly turning to international labour to plug skills gaps and the turnover rate among those overseas recruits was around half that of their 海角视频 counterparts.