Notting Hill Genesis – Finalist 2024, Best for Carers and Eldercare
Notting Hill Genesis are committed to helping carers navigate the significant challenges they face in balancing work and care. Their range of initiatives are designed to bolster carers so they feel valued and empowered and can achieve personal and professional goals.
Carer-friendly policies
The broad definition of ‘carer’, in line with the NHS definition, enables people in a wide range of circumstances to self-identify and receive the support they need. Earlier this year they launched their first Carers Leave policy, sitting alongside their other carer-friendly policies which allows colleagues to take up to three paid days each year to carry out caring responsibilities for dependents. Meanwhile, the flexible working policy is explicitly inclusive of carers and caring responsibilities are included on diversity inclusion impact assessments, ensuring any new policy, procedure or change considers any impact on carers, whether positive and negative.
Support for carers
There is an outstanding package of support available for carers in the workplace aimed at supporting their wellbeing as well as equipping them with skills and resources. Carers have access to a mentoring programme for working carers and one-to-one support with a specialist life coach, which is particularly helpful in dealing with the Care Quality Commission or when completing carer assessments. A dedicated Carers Network is open to all staff who have current and previous caring responsibilities, and a Carers Passport helps facilitate conversations between managers and employees. A Carers UK hub provides e-learning courses, toolkits and articles on managing care and work, while for managers there are toolkits on how best to support employees who are carers. Employees have access to a support line to discuss caring responsibilities or concerns they have around becoming a carer, and regular workshops for carers are available on everything from building resilience to understanding your rights or completing a carers assessment.
Driving change
Notting Hill Genesis prioritise raising awareness about the carer experience through a resource page for people without caring responsibilities, while carers share stories in a ‘My Life as a Carer’ series on the intranet, to not only demonstrate how colleagues can juggle care and work, but help others to identify themselves as carers and access the support they are entitled to, as it can take someone up to two years to recognise themselves as a carer, the NHS has identified. Within the social housing sector, Notting Hill Genesis have signed Harry’s pledge which is focused on four key areas, including ensuring support is in place for carers in the workplace. Their significant work in this space has led to Harry’s Pledge writing two articles on their work with Notting Hill Genesis and using them as best practice in their sector. Since caring responsibilities were included in staff surveys in 2021, declaration has increased by 349%. Looking toward the future, plans include offering workshops on a broader range of topics for carers, upskilling managers and working with the Carers Network and the wider staff team to gather further insights and amplify the voice of carers.
