The Company may from time to time require you to undertake additional or other duties as necessary to meet the needs of the Company on a short term basis e.g. holiday or sickness cover.
Probationary period
New employees join the Company on a three-month probationary period.
During and/or at the end of your probationary period you may be asked to attend employment reviews to discuss your overall work performance and conduct. This may include consideration of your absence record, competency, timekeeping, attitude, and interactions with colleagues, service users and visitors. If the Company is satisfied with your overall work performance and conduct, including gaining the Care Certificate, your continuing employment will be confirmed.
If the Company is not satisfied with your overall performance and conduct, or you have failed to gain the Care Certificate, your employment will be terminated with the required notice.
The Company reserves the right in borderline cases to extend the probationary period, in the hope that during any further periods, your work performance and conduct will reach a level that is satisfactory to the Company. After such further period, a subsequent employment review will be held and a decision made. Your continuing employment will then either be confirmed, terminated with the required notice or the probationary period could be extended.
Right to work in the UK
You must notify the Company as soon as you become aware of any changes to your personal circumstances that may affect your right to work in the UK. The Company reserves the right to conduct periodic checks and/or request documentation in relation to your right to work in the UK as appropriate, at any time.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
Your employment is conditional upon a satisfactory DBS check and you are expected to cooperate with us in obtaining this. Failure to do so will result in the termination of your employment.
You may have to pay the cost of DBS check (maximum £55) initially and the Company will reimburse you for the cost of your DBS check on successful completion of 450 hours or 40 shifts whichever comes first.
You can register for the update service your full version DBS online within 28 days from issuing date by visiting https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service and it costs you £13/year.
A more detailed explanation is contained in the Employee Handbook.
Uniform& ID Badge
You will be provided with free pairs of Tunics or Polo shirts after completion of recruitment process and training. However, additional uniforms will be charged as follows.
Tunic - £25, Polo Shirt - £10
Transportation
We will provide limited transportation facility for those who facing difficulties to reach workplaces and we will charge £10/shift (both ways) for this.
If you are using own transportation, you can claim 0.25p/mile from home to workplace and return, wherever applicable. However, we will not be liable to pay any travel expense if we do not charge the same to our clients.
Place of work
Your normal place of work will be from various sites as assigned.
You will not be required to work outside the UK.
Pay arrangements
Your rate of pay is Weekday;£10.50, Weekends £11 an hour.
Payment is made Weekly, in arrears, directly into your bank/building society every Friday.
Payment is made weekly, in arrears, directly into your bank/building society on or around Fridays of each week.
If a mistake is made in the payment of any amounts due, the Company expects to be notified immediately. The error will normally be corrected at the next available opportunity.
Hours of work
Your employment is based on zero-hour contract.
This an agreement between Newcareroots ltd and yourself that we may be asked you to perform work for us but there is no minimum set contracted hours.
Newcareroots Ltd (The employer) is under no obligation to offer work, and subject to the terms of the contract, zero hours you (the staff) are often under no obligation to accept the work and you will be paid only for the hours you actually work.
Timesheets
You are required to complete timesheets on a daily basis to confirm the number of hours worked. These must be submitted to the Office no later than Monday of each week for the previous week’s work. Failure to adhere to this procedure will affect wages paid for that week, as an estimate will be made based on a minimum number of hours. Any shortfall will only be corrected at the next pay period following production of a valid timesheet.
Work-based training:
It is essential that you are kept up to date with the ongoing changes and skills required in respect of your position. Therefore, it is a condition of employment that time is spent undertaking work-based training that ensures compliance with Regulations. You will be paid to attend any training where this falls outside your normal working hours or alternatively you will be granted time off in lieu.
Staff meetings:
There are regular staff meetings which you are required to attend. They are normally held at a time which is convenient for most employees to attend. You will be entitled to pay for your attendance where this is not within your normal working hours or alternatively you will be granted time off in lieu.
Training
The Company will provide you with all the necessary training required by your core duties and will meet the costs involved.
Holiday entitlement
The holiday year runs from 1 April to 31 March. Full-time employees are entitled to 5.6 weeks' holiday a year calculated at the rate of 1/12th of the annual entitlement for each completed month of service in the current holiday year.
During your first year of service, however, your entitlement to take holidays will accrue on the first day of each month of that year at the rate of 1/12th of the annual entitlement. Where the current accrual includes a fraction of a day other than a half-day, the fraction will be treated as a half-day if it is less than a half-day and as a whole day if it is more than a half-day.
You will be required to work on any bank/public holiday that falls on your rostered working days.
If you are required to work on a bank/public holiday you will be paid at a rate as communicated in advance.
Part-time employees are entitled to pro-rata holidays.
A more detailed explanation is contained in the Employee Handbook.
Holiday pay
Payment for holidays will be at your normal basic rate under your terms and conditions of employment for your normal hours of work.
On termination of employment holidays will be calculated in proportion to the full entitlement. If you have taken less than this entitlement the surplus holiday pay will be added to your final pay. If you have taken more than this entitlement the excess holiday pay will be deducted from your pay.
Sickness absence
The Company is required to pay Statutory Sick Pay for certain periods of sickness absence. Payment may be made to eligible employees for periods of absence of four days or more. There is a maximum period of 28 weeks payment in one period of incapacity for work.
A more detailed explanation is contained in the Employee Handbook.
If you receive or are awarded compensation or damages because of your illness or injuries, then any payments that we may have made to you because of the absence must be repaid to us up to an amount not exceeding the amount of the compensation or damages received.
Other leave
Subject to eligibility, as set out in the Employee Handbook, the Company provides the following statutory leave:
- maternity leave
- paternity leave
- parental bereavement leave
- parental leave
- shared parental leave
- adoption leave
Further details can be found in the Company’s Employee Handbook.
Disciplinary procedure and rules
Should your conduct or performance fall below the standards required then disciplinary action may be taken. This procedure is designed to help and encourage employees to achieve and maintain the Company's standards of conduct and performance and should be looked upon as a corrective process.
A more detailed explanation of the procedure and rules is contained in the Employee Handbook.
Disciplinary appeal procedure
You have the right to appeal at any stage in the disciplinary procedure if you are dissatisfied either with a disciplinary decision made against you or the level of penalty imposed. You should do this in writing to the Operations Director within five days of receiving your confirmation of discipline letter.
A more detailed explanation of the procedure is contained in the Employee Handbook.
Grievance procedure
If you have any grievance relating to your employment, you should raise it with Management in the first instance. If you want the grievance to be dealt with formally, you must raise it in writing.
A more detailed explanation of the formal procedure is contained in the Employee Handbook.
Pension scheme
Under the current pensions legislation, you will be enrolled into an ‘auto-enrolment’ pension scheme if you are eligible. If you are not automatically enrolled into the scheme you may still be entitled to join. Further details will be provided separately.
Collective agreements
There are no collective agreements directly affecting your terms and conditions of employment.
Notice periods
Notice period to be given by the employee to the employer
Less than one month’s service – nil.
One month’s service to the satisfactory completion of your probationary period – one week’s written notice to the employer.
From the satisfactory completion of your probationary period – one month’s written notice to the employer.
Notice to be given by the employer to the employee
The Company has the right to serve notice of termination of your employment at any time in accordance with the notice provisions below.
Less than one month’s service – nil.
One month’s service to the satisfactory completion of your probationary period – one week.
From the satisfactory completion of your probationary period but less than five years – one month.
Five years’ service or more – one week for each complete year of service up to a maximum of 12 weeks.
General
If you leave without giving and working your full notice, any additional cost in covering your duties during the notice period not worked will be deducted from any termination pay due to you.
The Company may serve immediate notice on you to require you to take some or all of any outstanding holiday entitlement that you may have during your notice period. This clause amends the obligations to provide notice of taking holiday under regulation 15(5) of the Working Time Regulations.
Deduction from pay
If during or on termination of your employment, and after investigation, it is deemed reasonable for you to reimburse the Company for financial losses incurred, you agree that the Company has the right to deduct this sum from your pay or any other monies owed to you. By signing this contract, you expressly consent to any such deduction/s pursuant to part II of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996). Examples of deductions which may be made by the Company include, but are not limited to the following:
- The amount of any overpayment of pay, commission, or bonus.
- Any holiday pay relating to leave you have taken in excess of that which you have accrued at the point of termination.
- Outstanding loan or pay advance repayments.
- Over-claimed or disallowed expenses.
- Any cash floats not repaid by you at the end of your employment.
- Any other sums owed to the Company by you.
- Costs incurred through Company Credit Card and/or Fuel Card misuse.
- Cost of any unauthorised personal phone calls/data usage or personal fuel.
- Cost of replacement or repair of equipment or uniform not returned lost, stolen, or damaged due to your negligence during or after your employment.
- Other costs reasonably incurred in connection with equipment not returned, returned damaged or unusable during or after your employment (e.g. replacement of locks where keys are not returned).
- Any insurance excess payable by the Company as a result of damage caused by your negligence or lack of care.
- An amount equal to our reasonable loss or the extra cost of covering your duties should you fail to work your full contractual notice. This applies when you leave employment early without agreement.
- Any fines, penalties or losses sustained that is the result of your carelessness, negligence, deliberate vandalism, dishonesty or a breach of Company rules.
- Any monies paid or payable by the Company to any third party due to any conduct undertaken by you for which we may be deemed vicariously liable.
- Any damages, expenses or other monies reasonably payable by us to a third party for your act or omission.
- Any deductions elsewhere under this contract in relation to which the reserved right to deduct applies.
- Any deductions authorised by any separate agreement into which the Company has entered with you (for example for training costs or criminal record checks).​
Deduction Procedure
We will follow our deduction procedure in respect of any deduction we make. Any deduction is by way of compensation, based on a genuine assessment of our costs. Where relevant and appropriate, we will set out a pre-estimate of losses and this will be provided to you. A deduction will only be made in respect of circumstances entirely attributable to you/your action. We do not use the deduction provision to impose penalties. However, we may separately investigate the circumstances utilising our disciplinary provisions were deemed necessary.
If we are to make any such deduction from your pay or any other monies owed to you then we will give you written notice of this before making the deduction and set out the circumstance(s) that give rise to the deduction. A repayment plan may be agreed where necessary and where insufficient remuneration is due to cover the cost, civil court action may be taken to recover any outstanding debt.
Training costs agreement
The Company may require you to sign a ‘Training costs agreement’ form prior to you undertaking any training. This Agreement will authorise the Company to make a deduction for the cost of the training (on a pro-rata basis) if you fail to complete any relevant course and/or sit and pass all or any tests or exams associated with it, or if your employment ends within two years of completing any training course for any reason except redundancy.
Pay in lieu
Whether following a resignation or a dismissal, it is agreed that the Company may terminate your employment with immediate effect on notification that a payment in lieu of notice is to be made to you. You shall not be entitled to any benefit other than pay in respect of any period for which payment in lieu is to be made.
Garden leave
The Company reserves the right to require you to remain away from your place of employment for all or part of your notice period, with or without work, whether you or the Company gives notice. You must accept that whilst still employed by the Company on notice either at home or on Company premises you must not work for any other company, firm, person or business.
Lay off/short time working
The Company reserves the right to lay off employees or to introduce short-time working should this be required by a downturn in work or other needs of the business. Where short-time working is introduced, pay will be reduced in proportion with the reduction in working hours.
A more detailed explanation of the procedure is shown in the Employee Handbook.
Confidentiality
The Company operates a strict policy on confidential information regarding its employees, its service users and their families. The nature of our business means that our standards and measurement of success depends on information remaining confidential.
This information includes, but is not limited to:
- service users’/relatives’ records,
- personal data relating to prospective, current or past employees,
- marketing policies or pricing information in relation to the Company,
- medical records (internal and external),
- accounts information,
- medical or technical information.
You will not (except in the proper performance of your duties) either during your employment or at any time after its termination for whatever reason without the prior written consent of the Company or as required by law, either directly or indirectly:
- disclose any confidential information to any person,
- use any confidential information for your own benefit or for the benefit of any other person, company or other undertaking,
- knowingly permit or enable any person (including yourself) to acquire or to make use of any such confidential information for any purpose in a manner which may cause loss or damage to the Company.
For the avoidance of doubt, this includes all service user information relating to their activities during their time with us, including their medical, financial or family records.
With respect to any confidential data (including personal data) disclosed to or accessed by you, you must ensure that you notify the Company of any unauthorised or unlawful processing or any accidental loss, destruction, damage, alteration or disclosure of personal or confidential data as soon as you become aware and keep the Company informed of any related developments.
The Company will regard any breach of confidentiality or of its confidentiality policy (see separate document) as a disciplinary offence and serious breaches will lead to dismissal without notice for gross misconduct.
Non-solicitation agreement
You shall not for a period of six months following the termination of your employment (either on your own behalf or for any other person, firm or company and whether directly or indirectly) approach any other employee of the Company who is at the termination of your employment employed as direct care staff (including Management) or who has over 12 months continuous employment with the Company, with a view to encouraging them to leave the Company and/or employing them.
Non-dealing
You undertake that you will not, so as to compete with the Company, during the period of six months after the termination of your employment directly or indirectly, on your own account or on behalf of or in conjunction with any person, firm or company or other organisation accept or by any other means conduct or seek to conduct business with any client with whom you shall have had material dealings in the course of your duties at any time in the period of six months prior to the termination of your employment.
Conflict of interest
During your employment you will be expected to devote the whole of your working time and attention to the Company’s business and to use your best endeavours to promote the Company’s general interest.
If required to do so you must provide details of any relationships with any of the Company’s service users or suppliers and comply with any reasonable instructions given to you by the Company on such relationships.
You agree that you will not during your employment, whether directly or indirectly solely or jointly and whether on your own behalf or on behalf of any other third person, firm or company, be engaged in or concerned with any other trade or business which provides care services.
Private work
You are not permitted to take on private work for any customer or client or prospective customer or client of the Company during your employment, either during or outside working hours. You must not provide quotations for private work, and if approached for such, you must inform management immediately. All queries for work must be directed to management and you should not discuss pricing at any point unless authorised to do so.
Other terms and conditions of employment
Any agreed amendments that materially alter the terms and conditions contained in your contract will be notified to you in writing and shall take precedence over the terms in this statement.
