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WELCOME!

Firstly, we would like to thank you for choosing Care By Us! This information pack
will begin to introduce our company, Care By Us and the philosophy by which we
work.
We pride ourselves on our high standard of care and top quality training. As a
vibrant and constantly growing company, we want you to aim higher and achieve
more. At Care By Us, your efforts do not go unnoticed; we believe in rewarding
those who go the extra mile and encourage your growth within our company.
We look forward to you joining our team of elite Care Workers.









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Table of Contents

Benefits Of Working with Care By Us

The Interview Process

Training

Mentoring

Our Recruitment Process In a Nutshell

A Day In The Life Of A Carer

Rates Of Pay

FAQs

Directions











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Benefits of Working With Care By Us:

As a family run company, we understand that a good support network is essential.
We are here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365
days a year. If you have any problems or concerns when you
are out caring, please know that you are not alone; there is
always someone here to help. We will also set you up with a
Care By Us email so you can access your rota immediately and
keep in touch with us at all times.

Here are some other reasons why we believe Care By Us is a good company to
work for.
Reward Schemes
We value our Carers and believe in rewarding those who go the extra mile; this is
why every year we arrange the Care Worker Awards. We ask all our Service
Users and staff to vote for the Carer they believe has continuously stood out
throughout the year. Once we have collected all the votes, the Carer who has
received the most votes is given a generous bonus. We also give an additional
bonus to the runners up. At Care By Us your hard work does not go unnoticed.
Excellent Training
Training is an integral part to becoming an excellent Carer. That is why the training
we provide is first class. You will spend a week in the classroom
learning about issues such as Moving and Handling, Medication
and Personal Care. We have now extended our training to
include a Specialist Dementia course. We make sure you leave
the classroom feeling confident and enthusiastic about Caring,
ready to begin your Mentoring programme. In addition we are


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introducing a Taster Day. This will involve you going out with one of our carers on
a shift at the time you have specified you can work so that you can get a real feel
for what the day in the life of carer is truly about. If at this stage you decide
that caring is not for you then you can walk away knowing you have tried and
given it your best shot.
Longer and More Interesting Care Calls
The national average duration of care calls is just over 15 minutes, compared to
ours which is over half hour. This enables you to spend more quality time with our
Service Users and deliver exceptional care. We offer Service Users a variety of
calls which also makes your day more interesting. For example not only do we offer
personal care calls, but also
- Medication
- Out and about in the community
- Shopping
- Companionship sits
- Meal preparation

Room To Progress

All our job vacancies are advertised first in our weekly newsletter; The Grapevine,
so if you would like the opportunity to move into an office based role or Senior
Care role, we encourage you to apply.

Flexible Work

When you start with Care By Us, we ask you what days and work load is convenient
for you. Once we have mutually agreed your base availability and the area in which
you would like to work, you will be assigned your planner who will be in charge of
allocating you your rota around your availability.



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Friendly Team

At Care By Us we believe in creating a positive and energetic environment where
you can feel welcome to come into the office if you have a spare half hour between
calls and make yourself a coffee, have a chat and catch up with your colleagues.
Great Pay
Your pay is based on our Call Monitoring system. All our carers are required to log
in and out of every call, this means that you will be paid for the actual time you
are with the service user not the scheduled time.





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The Interview Process

When you are invited for an interview with Care By Us, it will consist of two stages
which will last for approximately an hour and a half in total.
Stage One: An interview will be carried out by a member of the Care By Us team
which will last approximately 45 minutes
Stage Two: If you are successful at Stage One; Stage two will be the DBS check
Enhanced DBS checks are a legal requirement for anyone
working in the care industry. Please note that having a
criminal record does not automatically exclude you from
working for us but having a criminal record and not
telling us during the interview would automatically
exclude you.
The cost of a DBS is 55. We ask that you bring 20 to the interview (cash or
cheque only) so that if you are successful you can put a deposit on your DBS and we
will deduct the remaining 35 from your first full months wages. DBSs typically
take 2-4 weeks to process.
In order to process your DBS, we need to see certain documents and therefore we
will ask you to bring the following with you to the interview;
Passport and Visa to prove you are
eligible to work in the UK
Your Driving License (both the paper
and the card)
The following must be the originals have been issued within the last three months.
Bank Statement Utility Bill
Council Tax P60 or P45
Plus:
- Your in date car insurance and MOT documents.



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In order to be able to employ you we need at least one professional and one
personal reference.
We therefore request that at interview you will need to bring all the relevant
information to enable us to take up references on you. This includes:
Professional Reference Personal Reference
- Full name of person to contact - Full name of person to contact
- Company Name - Full Address
- Company Full Address - Occupation
- Your relationship to above person - Your relationship to above person
- Email Address - Email Address
- Telephone Number - Telephone Number

If you are successful at interview stage we will need to start contacting the
references that you have provided. Employment with Care By Us will be conditional
on receiving one professional and one personal reference.
If you are successful at interview you will need to contact your references and let
them know we will be in touch with them.



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-
Training

Training takes place at our Head Office in Bishops Stortford and is thorough and
comprehensive. Your training will run from Monday to Friday, classroom hours are
8:30 am until 4:00 pm. Included in the Training is a taster day (Thursday) which
will involve you going out with one of our carers on a shift in order that you can get
a real feel for what the day in the life of a carer is truly about. Please be aware
that also on the Training you will be expected to carry out some additional
homework in preparation for the next days training. Then after your Training
you will return to the office to meet with HR for your first Mentoring Meeting.
This is your chance to ask any questions you may have at this stage. You will then
meet with your Planner to discuss when you are available for your mentoring shifts,
and also finalise your base availability. Once you have agreed to your base
availability we do ask that you stick to these hours so we can start building your
rota.
Your training will cover:
Common Induction Standards
Health and Safety
Moving and Handling
Basic Food Hygiene
Infection Control
Personal Care
SOVA/SOCA
Medication
Specialist Dementia
Enablement



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Mentoring
Once you have completed the week in the classroom, we
will arrange for you to shadow one of our Mentors on their
care calls. You will be given a mentoring form which you will
work through with your mentor until you are competent in
all aspects of care and you feel confident to get out there
on your own. The duration of the mentoring programme can
last anything up to 2 weeks, depending on the individual.
Our Recruitment Process In A Nutshell
Step Explanation

Interview
Come in for your interview and if all goes well we will
start processing your DBS

Training
We will book you on the next available training course in
an office closest to you
Taster Day
(You will be offered a taster day in
the middle of your training course)
Your time to decide whether this is the role for you. If
its not for you, and you let us know after your taster
day, you will not be charged for the training.

HR Meeting &
Mentoring
After your training we will ask you to come in and sign
your contract, give you your uniform and set you up with
your mentoring shifts
Mentoring You will go out mentoring with your mentor according to
the planned shifts


Start Work
You need to return youre completed and signed
mentoring form back to us and if we have you DBS and 2
references including one professional back, you can start
work.


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A Day In The Life Of A Carer

Below you will see a profile for the day in the life of a carer. Within in the day
there are natural lulls were you wont have as many calls and you may have gaps,
Care By Us will try and fill these gaps with other calls if there are calls available.
A Profile for the day in the life of an Hourly Carer




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Day of an Hourly Carer
A Profile for the Day in the Life of an Hourly Carer



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Rates Of Pay
HOURLY CARER PAY RATES
Hourly Care Hourly rate
Hourly
Weekdays
7.00
Weekends
9.00
Bank Holidays
13.00
Mileage
0.30
Sleep
Overs
Weekdays
40.00
Weekends
50.00
Bank Holidays
60.00
Waking
Nights
Weekdays
72.00
Weekends
78.00
Bank Holidays
90.00


LIVE IN CARER PAY RATES
PACKAGE Per Week
Bank
Holidays

Standard Package 414.96 59.28
High Package 433.44 61.92

You will receive your pay on a monthly basis. The pay date is the 10
th
of each month
and will be for the period of the 1
st
-31
st
of the previous month.
We also pay mileage at 0.30 per mile (this is calculated from your first call to
your last call by the Finance Department). This is paid into your wages each month.
The software we use calculates your mileage based on the postal codes of where
we have sent you on your rota; therefore you do not need to do anything!


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FAQs:

- I already have a DBS- can I use it?

We have to ensure that your DBS is checked to work with both Children and Adults
and to the ENHANCED level. If you have not been checked to cover both criteria
then you will have to have another DBS check. However, if you are checked to
these two criteria then you can apply to join the DBS Update Service at a cost of
13.00. Then Care By Us will be able to track and check your DBS and you will not
require to have another full DBS check. This DBS Update Service is very new and
if you have any further queries with regards this matter please do not hesitate to
discuss more at your interview.

- What Insurance do I need on my car to work with Care By Us?
We will need you to have a reliable car with proven MOT and BUSINESS
INSURANCE. It is very easy to change your policy to business use, simply call up
your insurance company and let them know you will now be needing business cover.
This should be free, or with a very minimal charge.

- How much holiday am I entitled to?

As an hourly carer you will be entitled to 28 days holiday
including Bank Holidays per annum. As a Live-In Carer you
would have 39 days holiday including Bank Holidays per annum.
Our holiday year runs to and from your start date and we
maintain a Use it or Lose it policy whereby if you do not use all your holiday
entitlement for that year, you will not be paid the remaining days and we cannot
carry the days over to the next year. We also maintain that you can either have
Christmas OR New Year off but not both due to it being one of the busiest
periods.


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- Is there a probation period?
Due to our high standards of care, we need to ensure you are as committed to
providing the best service you can as we are. We have a 12 week probation period
from when you begin working with Care By Us. During these 12 weeks, we assess
your reliability and overall performance. Being reliable is hugely important in care
due to the vulnerable Service Users who will suffer if you do not turn up to a call,
or arrive late. This is why we must take it very seriously.
- What if I wish to withdraw after my taster day on the Induction
Training Programme?

Should you find at this stage the role is not for you then you can walk away from
the rest of the recruitment process. We would, however, ask that you meet with a
member of the Recruitment or HR Team to explain your decision in order that we
can make any improvements, amendments to our process



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- Do I get paid for training and mentoring?
You will not be paid and will not have to pay for your training and mentoring, Care
By Us covers the cost of this.

Once you have been signed off from mentoring and you start to go out and work
you will begin to get paid.

- When can I go out caring by myself?
Once we have received your DBS, and two references including at least one
professional reference, proof of your business car insurance and you
have returned your signed mentoring form, you are then able to
begin your single calls. You will need to have a SAT NAV when you go
out alone so you feel confident in how to get to and from Service
Users houses.

- Are we provided with uniform?
You are provided with one tunic prior to mentoring. Once you have completed
mentoring, depending on the hours you will be working tunics will be distributed
accordingly. Any additional tunic you would want can be purchased for 12.
You will be provided with a Tabard /ID Badge for the Taster Day
You will be required to provide your black trousers and black shoes.





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- Do I get to participate in a Pension Scheme?
Care By Us will offer NEST as our workplace pension scheme to meet our employer
duties and help employees put money aside for their retirement. NEST is a
government sponsored, straightforward pension scheme that gives you one
retirement pot for life; and which our employees can join from 01 February 2014.
We will start automatically enrolling people who are eligible to be enrolled from 1
st

April 2014.

For new employees, it is our policy to defer your automatic enrolment (where
applicable) in the pension scheme for 3 months after your start date.

Any of our employees wanting to become a member of NEST before 1
st
April 2014
will need to let us know by submitting notification in writing to our Finance
Department.

For those of our employees whom we automatically enrol in accordance with
current legislation; and who wish to opt out of the pension scheme, NEST offer a
simple opt out process.

Please note that Care By Us or their staff are not authorised to provide any financial
advice.
You should seek proper Independent Financial Advice from a Financial Advisor









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Directions
To Bishops Stortford - By Car

From Harlow - drive through Sawbridgeworth following the A1184, and continue
down the A1184. At a large roundabout go straight over (B1383) and follow the
road toward the town. At the roundabout (with Shell garage in front of you), take
first exit. Then on your right just after a small Car sales
centre, take the turning right into the Rhodes Arts
Complex.
From the M11- Exit at junction 8. At the roundabout,
take the exit, signed Bishop Stortford (after the services)
onto Dunmow Rd/A1250. At the roundabout take the
1
st
exit following for Bishop Stortford. Continue on this road over two sets of
lights of lights and two small roundabouts & continuing to follow the signs for the
Town Centre until you reach a set of traffic lights, (known as the Hockerill lights)
with the Cock Inn to your right, turn left onto the A1060 London Road. At the
next mini roundabout take the third exit to stay on London Road, heading towards
Sawbridgeworth. Continue on this road until you see Baan Thitiya (Thai
Restaurant) situated on your right, take the next turning right into Southmill Road.
As you come to the end of this road you will see a white building on your right,
followed by a brick building. . Care By Us is situated in this brick building at the
end of Southmill Road.
Please note, there is very limited car parking spaces available and therefore you
may need to leave a little extra time to allow for this.
**please read details regarding parking before you travel**
Opposite Care By Us is the Rhodes Arts Complex.
Park anywhere in the spaces along brick wall on the right as you drive in to the
back of Rhodes Arts Complex. Do NOT park in the horseshoe shaped car park at


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the front of the building. Then walk across car park towards the front of the
Maltings Building.
To the right of you, you will see a big old building with two big black chimneys. This
is Millars three. You will see some double doors-Enter building here and follow
signs up to Care By Us Ltd- up one flight of stairs and we are the first door to
your left with the sign, Care By Us Ltd. Please let someone know your name and
that you are here for an interview.
By Train:
Walking from Station:
Leave the main entrance of the station, turning left to walk through the
station car park. Stay left and walk towards the car park exit (when in
the car park, ahead/slightly to the right, you will see Bacchus
nightclub).
Turn left and back on yourself into the adjoining car park, and walk diagonally
across it to the silver bridge over the river. Go over the bridge.
Walk straight ahead in roadway between the buildings (with Chinese restaurant on
your right at foot of bridge). The main entrance is on your left double doors, two
thirds of the way along the building.
To Borehamwood - By Car
From the M25 At Junction 23, take the A1081 exit to
A1(M)/Hatfield/Barnet/A1/London (NW). At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit
onto the A1 ramp to London (N)/London (C). Merge onto Barnet Bypass Rd/A1.
Exit onto A5135. Turn right to stay on A5135. Turn left onto Elstree
Way/A5135 and then a sharp right to stay on Elstree Way/A5135.
Please note that there is no parking in the Elstree House Car Park.
If you have any further questions, please call us on 01279 755 875 and we will be
more than happy to answer them.


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Thank you for taking the time to read our information pack, and we look forward to
meeting you!