HR AND CARE

WIDENING ACCESS

Putting HR on the care agenda

Often regarded as something only needed when things go wrong, if introduced at the right time, proper HR and employment procedures can be of huge benefit to case managers and families caring for a loved one.

NR Times speaks to Cecily Lalloo, managing director of Embrace HR, to learn about the positive difference specialist HR advice can make.

In making care provision for people living at home with complex injuries, many different parties can be involved - carers, case managers, therapists, family members, medical teams, solicitors. But where does HR come in to the equation? Not often considered alongside the therapy and rehabilitation needed to rebuild someone’s life, in its own way, HR can actually be fundamental to this being delivered, because where people are paid to do a job, employment obligations must be met. Through the careful and sensitive handling of defining practices and setting boundaries for those working in a family’s home, the involvement of specialist HR can enable a smooth and professional working relationship between the family and those tasked with delivering care - and often helps to actively avoid the issues which cause litigation to hit problems. “Managing employees is quite different in a home environment because it’s much easier to cross the boundaries. It’s more relaxed, you will get to know the family and client well, which can then make it difficult for the family to talk to someone they know well and address any issues, or start to take action to address issues,” says Cecily Lalloo, founder and managing director of complex care specialist advisor Embrace HR Limited. “The case manager often relies on the staff or family to bring any issues to their attention, as they may not have day-to-day contact with the care package, and they may only find out about things upsetting the family or the carers at a later stage. But really, we should be considering much earlier how HR can help before matters become more difficult to manage. “You're working with families who may never have thought that they would need to have

people employed and working in their homes, it's been thrust upon them by circumstances. And it’s also not your normal, hierarchical organisation, you don't have a CEO, or managing director, or line managers running things - it’s very different, but it is still an organisation in its own right. “Usually it is for the case manager to act as a line manager, or the family member may take on that role or the role of team leader. “But in some scenarios, it can get to the point where those involved are tearing their hair out, and the solution will lead to settlement agreements when that could perhaps have been avoided if we’d have addressed the issues earlier. We could have helped to sort things out differently. “For families, and for case managers, it is about managing people, and this starts with understanding an employer’s obligations, which includes having the paperwork in place to be able to do that, so everyone knows expectations. That can be so very important in the whole people process being a success.” Embrace HR, founded in 2009, has a long and esteemed track record in working with growing numbers of independent case managers, Court of Protection deputies and solicitors in supporting their clients with understanding and making provision for the unique employment relationship built with families. The company’s work in supporting HR and employment procedures in home-based care sees Embrace HR consultants - all Chartered Members of the CIPD - adding an additional level of protection and support for families, with Cecily having written a book on the subject, entitled Employing Care Staff in Your Home. “We follow thorough HR processes, and we realise these can take time, but if you don’t follow this, you put yourself at risk. We advise our clients of risks and will assist them with the best employment outcomes,” says Cecily, who has over 25 years’ experience of advising and supporting SMEs. “It’s important to establish who is the employer in these situations. Very often, people working in private homes don’t realise that it may not be the family member with whom they have most contact, nor the case manager. “In these situations, you’re dealing with somebody’s private home, with access to all of their personal belongings, you’re hearing confidential personal information that cannot go outside of those walls. You need to give the family the assurance around their privacy. “Often, families have been through so much trauma already. We have quite a few young clients and their parents have been through so much, they might struggle with having people in their home 24/7 caring for their offspring. So we can help to put some boundaries and arrangements in place by working with case managers, the families themselves and the support staff.” Ensuring the employment rights of care workers themselves are addressed is also paramount, says Cecily, and is another area of specialism for the business. “There are the issues of managing people so they have rest breaks they need, they might be holding down two or more jobs, so are they getting the holiday they should? Are they working more than they should? It is important that contracts are in place to cover this and families and staff are aware of breaks. It is not straightforward when staff work on their own and they cannot leave the client alone,” she says. “Staff are working variable hours so they’re being paid at variable rates, and there are also different status of employment. You have directly employed staff, and then there are workers who work on an ‘as and needs’ basis (often called ‘bank’ workers) and there are the self-employed. Over time it is possible that workers may gain employed status, by the nature of how they are working. “These are all things that need to be considered and managed, for the benefit of the employer, the case manager, the family, and the staff themselves.” And as well as HR and employment provision for home-based care, Embrace HR supports their clients with recruitment, helping them to add specialist resource to their teams during a particularly difficult time in recruitment for the care sector. Embrace HR also assists deputies and case management companies with other HR processes, such as hearing an appeal or grievance, or helping with disciplinary procedures. “We work with many independent case managers who don't need a dedicated HR service but require HR support to cover a range of tasks for them. Deputies refer us to a number of clients on the strength of the work we do, sometimes these clients don’t have a case manager,” says Cecily. “Recruitment is a challenge across the board in care, but I think with families, it can be particularly challenging because there needs to be that rapport with the client, the case manager, and other colleagues and there needs to be a degree of flexibility. “With a client who is a child, for example, they may need care before school, after school, and during school holidays, as well as night shifts - but it’s not always easy to employ people who can accommodate shifts like this. Hence we rely on teams that are flexible so that when anyone is away, they are able to cover. “We find that in recruitment for particular roles like this, talking directly to the family involved is important, because we find out a lot of information that is sometimes missed. This can help us to understand the type of person the family are seeking, and makes the recruitment process a success. “Sometimes the case managers or family will do the search and selection themselves, and we will support them by confirming or arranging face-to-face interviews, keeping in touch with the candidates, and when an offer is made, carry out the onboarding and other paperwork. While HR and employment advice is often only sought when things go wrong, Cecily is committed to promoting the message that HR support should be considered at an early stage, to put preventative measures in place. “There's always a solution, but it's how far down the line you look for that solution,” she says. “Ideally, this should be considered from the outset, whether it is about employing people in a home or recruiting someone to your team and you’re putting contracts and job descriptions in place. HR is sometimes seen as a hassle and that it is not needed. “It does not need to be a hassle,” says Cecily. “Once it’s understood what the obligations are and why they’re so important and how HR can help to save time, money and stress, we can start putting things in place. “If we can embrace HR at the right time, we can save many potential problems further down the line.”