Staff Matters June 21, 2019 Issue 210 Week 51
CARING ABOUT OUR STAFF
WAGE INCREASE FOR ALL STAFF! As an Employer of Choice, Afford is always looking for ways to reward staff achievements, recognise exceptional staff efforts and PLOYER celebrate success. EM The Fair Work Commission has applied a 3.0% increase to modern awards and the minimum wage, effective the first full pay period of July 2019. Whilst this increase applies to award rates only, Afford have decided to not only apply an increase to all staff but an EXTRA .5%!!!!! This means a 3.5% increase to the wages and allowances of ALL staff. Afford prides itself in being an Employer of Choice and is very excited to pass this increase to our staff.
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In This Issue 1
Wage Increase For All Staff! Joke of The Week
CHOICE
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Afford Awards! Farrah Takes Steps With Allied Health Welcome New Appointments
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All Terrain with Allied Health!
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Afford Supporting Men's Health Reminder Upcoming Events Selfies of the Week
This is another way for Afford to show gratitude for staff going above and beyond to truly make Afford the best disability service provider in Australia. Well-deserved team! Keep striving for your best!
REMINDER
Don’t forget to send your clients’ achievements, good news stories and photos to Marketing@afford.com.au
www.afford.com.au
Staff Matters
STAFF PROFILE NAME: Karyn Cavanagh POSITION: Lifestyle Assistant LOCATION: Southport, QLD FAVOURITE SONG? Perfect by Ed Sheeran FAVOURITE MOVIE? Titanic FAVOURITE HOBBIES? Swimming, BBQ with friends & walking FAVOURITE FOODS? Cheesecake & vegetables IF YOU COULD BE AN ANIMAL WHAT WOULD YOU BE? A cat WHAT IS YOUR DREAM HOLIDAY DESTINATION? Bali IF YOU HAD THE POWER WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT THE WORLD? Stop racism IF YOU HAD TO TEACH SOMETHING WHAT WOULD YOU TEACH? To be respectful SOMETHING NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT ME? My vaules on life are exceptional
June 21, 2019 Issue 210
AFFORD AWARDS!
It is the Afford Way to recognise our colleagues who go above and beyond to provide exceptional customer service. We love to read about our success stories and support each other to succeed. This is reflected in this month’s record number of Customer Service award nominations.
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CHOICE
A big congratulations to our Central East customer service winners. We are so proud to have the best staff in the sector. Well done team!! May 2019 Winners: Central East Winners: 1st Place: Emma Hunter, District Manager - Central East 2nd Place: Medhat Soryal, LSA - Canley Vale 3rd Place: Jelena Bekic, LSA - Canley Vale
FARRAH TAKES STEPS WITH ALLIED HEALTH Farrah is a seven year old little girl who has a world of enthusiasm for life. She began working with Afford's Allied Health team and with the support of therapists has taken her first steps in over a year! Occupational Therapist, Sarah, has been supporting Farrah to develop her movement and physical independence. Her progress has been consistent and she is showing great promise. She recently had the opportunity to take steps on her own using a walker with amazing results. This is an uplifting story which highlights the power of genuinely understanding the unique needs of every individual we support to achieve their goals under the NDIS.
We would like to congratulate the following Affordians on their new appointments: • Tahier Matthews - Maintenance Handyman, NSW • Kathryn Thompson - Internal Recruiter, NSW
www.afford.com.au
June 21, 2019 Issue 210
Staff Matters
ALL TERRAIN WITH ALLIED HEALTH! Life’s a beach – achieving Sharlene’s goals with OT support! Afford’s Occupational Therapists are qualified health professionals who work with people of all ages and capabilities to improve their ability to do the things they need and want to do in all aspects of life, such as taking care of oneself and others, working, volunteering, participating in hobbies, interests and social events. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the occupations of everyday life. Recently this dream came true for one of our Queensland South Allied Health clients, Sharlene. Sharlene has received professional services from Nicole Liedke, Occupational Therapist in Queensland South. When Sharlene first met Nicole, Sharlene discussed her goals and ambitions with her. “I would like to be able to go to the beach with my family as I have always had to miss out due to accessibility issues.” – said Sharlene. The process then involved an assessment, a trial of beach wheelchairs at Southbank Beach in Brisbane and Nicole scripting a custom DaVinci beach wheelchair. The DaVinci Beach Wheelchair is the only self-propelling beach wheelchair that meets Australian Standards. As Sharlene is extremely independent, it was important for her to have a self-propelling beach wheelchair as this gives her more freedom to enjoy access to the beach on a hot summer’s day and on her own terms. Following this, Nicole completed a Complex Assistive Technology report which was sent to the NDIS for approval. Once this was reviewed, Sharlene was advised her application was successful and the beach wheelchair is now being built specially for Sharlene! “I'm excited and looking forward to trying it out for the very first time, to enjoy time at the beach. And not having to be a bystander watching everyone else enjoy themselves in the water.” - Sharlene Is owning a beach wheelchair something your clients may have always dreamed of, or do you know someone who may benefit from Occupational Therapy? You can encourage your clients to reach out to your site’s team leader to see how Allied Health can help make this dream a reality.
www.afford.com.au
June 21, 2019 Issue 210
Staff Matters AFFORD SUPPORTING MEN'S HEALTH
After Men’s Health Week last week, this is a great opportunity for us to promote and show our support for men’s health and well-being. Men are far less likely than women to seek help, both from friends and professionals. While there has been progress, we are yet to break the ongoing stigma around men asking for help. As an Employer of Choice, Afford offer all employees support and services through AccessEAP. AccessEAP are working at breaking down the stigma and are suggesting ways in which we can better support men to manage their emotions in a more positive way. They have offered some tips and suggestions for if there is a man in your life you have concerns about: • Normalise Emotion. Emotion is a natural part of the human condition and is neither good nor bad. Make sure you allow men in your life to experience and express emotions the same way others would. • Don’t Enable Substance Abuse. If a man you are concerned about is drinking heavily or taking drugs, make sure he knows you are worried about him and don’t join him in these activities. • Take Threats to Himself Seriously. If he is getting aggressive or threatening harm to himself or others, get professional help. It can be easy to think “he won’t do it” or “he’s just letting off steam”. Statistics tell us he might just act on it, and it’s better to be safe about the situation. If you need advice or support services contact AccessEAP on: 1800 81 87 28 | (02) 8247 9191
Reminder! Staff are reminded about the importance of reporting incidents. Staff Must:
An important thing to remember is that you are making a difference to somebody's life, what can you do to make sure that you are doing your job properly?
• Protect the wellbeing and safety of clients and any incident of abuse or neglect needs to be reported immediately.
SELFIES OF THE WEEK
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Pawsome Fajardo, LSSelfie Above: Dave and Cookie.A with fur babies Co co
UPCOMING EVENTS DATE:
EVENT:
17-29 June
World Continence Week
28 June
Red Nose Day
30 June
Social Media Day
7 July
AIME Hoodie Day
7-13 July
National Diabetes Week
www.afford.com.au