The Carer Company – Home Care
“We care about you”
Having supplied housekeeper / carers for several years through The Housekeeper Company, in 2011 we have formed a specialist division, known as ‘The Carer Company’.
We are able to help clients nationally with full or part time, live in or daily help.
If you are looking for part time hours, I’m afraid that we only deal with positions that offer a minimum of 20 hours per week, as applicants who register with our Agency and are happy to go through our stringent vetting process are usually looking for that amount of hours as a minimum.
We specialize in placing permanent staff and we give our clients and applicants an excellent level of attention and service that has come to be associated with us. We will always go that extra mile for our clients.
Where geographically possible, we are happy to come and see you in person to discuss your requirements.
We aim to put the care back into caring and when recruiting our applicants, if we wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving a member of our own family with that carer, companion or personal assistant, we won’t use them. We are happy to supply help to anyone needing assistance, whether it be a family where one of them has special needs, an elderly person no longer able to live on their own or someone needing a bit of extra help following an operation or hospital stay.
We are also able to give you information on who to contact regarding potential funding that may be available.
At The Carer Company we understand how much better it is for our clients to stay in their own environment and our aim is to enable our clients to retain their independence, living in their own homes and surroundings, supported by competent, caring and compatible help, for as long as they and their families wish them to do so.
Most of our lives we take living at home for granted and if we fall ill, return home from hospital and need to recover, or have a long term condition that prevents us from carrying out everyday tasks and activities, daily life can become difficult and frightening. We also provide home care for the elderly in these situations. We offer a service that is professional, caring and reliable and our aim is to provide daily personal care that takes the worry and stress out of everyday life and its daily activities.
At all times we aim to promote our client’s continuing independence within their own home, encouraging them to perform as many tasks as they are able to by themselves, but with the supervision and support of our Carers. In this way, we provide carers who will help them develop and sustain a better quality of life that will either aid their speedy recovery or improve their overall wellbeing.
We feel it is very important that you and your family have continuity of care, with the same person or people coming in, so you are able to develop a close relationship with your carer(s) and not have a stream of different people looking after you or your loved ones.
We aim to provide a comprehensive, competitive and flexible service to our clients and carers, whilst simultaneously striving to achieve excellence in customer service and satisfaction.
Our Service
We differ from many other care agencies, as we do not employ the carers, you do. In our opinion, this makes the whole thing more personal, improves communication between the family and the carer and strengthens the commitment, on both sides, for the relationship to work.
We feel this is the best way to do things, it means that you can keep the weekly costs right down, as there is no third party taking a cut. It also means that we are attracting a higher calibre of applicant, as they will be able to earn more this way than if they worked through the more conventional caring agency.
Taking on the employment of a carer need not be daunting; we are here to help you set everything up for your carer from providing a draft contract of employment for you to personalise, to recommending a payroll company, called Enable, to assist you with the financial side of employing someone.
We charge a one off agency fee for the placement of the carer or companion and there are no hidden extras. We will provide all the information you require about employing your carer and will sort out with you what days and hours the carer will be working and what duties you required them to do.
We are always available for help, support and advice during the entire duration of the placement, so don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance.
How will I know what type of help I need?
The Carer Company is happy to discuss your specific requirements with you either over the phone or in person and an assessment will made by one of our team, with no obligation to the Client to use our services. We will advise you about what level of assistance is recommended.
In order for us to match you with the right level of help for your needs, it is very important that the person, who discusses what is needed, is open and honest about the true health and mental state of the client needing the care and that the person needing the care is agreeable and happy to have the help.
1. Live in help
We offer different types of care depending on what level of help is required. Our live in staff usually work around 50-55 hours per week over 5 ½ days, and they would normally have one night off. If you require your help to sleep in every night, that can be arranged, but it would be by mutual agreement and there would be an additional amount to be paid to the live in staff. We are also able to provide holiday cover and someone to come and assist when your help is off.
a. Companion / Housekeeper
Predominantly a housekeeping and companionship role, duties including accompanying the client when they want to go out, shopping, running errands, cleaning, meal preparation, cooking, and laundry.
b. Carer / Companion / Housekeeper, (sometimes known as a personal assistant)
All of the above plus personal care, helping with dressing & undressing, as well as assisting if necessary to accommodate limited disability. Giving out & monitoring the taking of medication.
c. Carer
As above, but including clients who cannot weight bear, suffer from incontinence, need help with eating, have severe disability, or mental health problems. The Carer may be required to get up at night with the client and will also be responsible for ensuring that the client retains a good quality of life.
All full time help are entitled by law to take a two-hour break each day and have a good night’s rest.
If the position requires the carer to be up a great deal during the night, then the client will need to discuss additional support for the carer, with the Agency, so that they can make sure they get enough rest to ensure they are able to do their job properly.
2. Daily Help
We are also able to provide permanent or temporary, full or part time, daily or night time help for the same 3 categories as described above. If part time help is required, the minimum amount of hours we would be able to offer is 20 hours per week.
The Carer Company will ensure that the help we provide have the appropriate skills, attitude and experience to provide expert care and companionship for the individual person or people they are taking care of.
The applicants we place will deliver personal and practical care to elderly or disabled clients in their own homes, in a way that maintains and respects the privacy, dignity and lifestyle of the client.
We are happy to assure you that only candidates who meet our strict registration criteria are represented by The Carer Company.
This includes: attending an interview, holding the correct passport or Visa to work in the UK, registration with the Criminal Records Bureau for an Enhanced CRB check, or equivalent, National Insurance Number, obtaining their full employment history, plus letting us have details of their previous employers, so we can check their references, showing us their relevant work related certificates, public liability insurance (where required) and their original passport and driving license (where applicable).
Our applicants possess a range of qualifications, skills and experience, depending on their backgrounds. We will be responsible for ensuring that the experience and qualifications are compatible with the specific requirements of the client.
The Carer Company will ensure that all our candidates are fully versed in their responsibilities and have access to copies of all Government and Carer Company policies, procedures, and codes of conduct. These policies will include the Protection of Vulnerable Adults, Health and Safety, and Data Protection.
We positively encourage the applicants to continually improve and update their qualifications with training, for example being registered with CQC.
