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- HR Care: A Complete Guide for Employers
HR Care: A Complete Guide for Employers
- HR Policies & Documentation
Peninsula Group, HR and Health & Safety Experts
(Last updated )
Peninsula Group, HR and Health & Safety Experts
(Last updated )
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Since the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare businesses have struggled to regain steady growth compared to other sectors. Economic fluctuations, labour shortages, and inconsistent care quality have impacted all areas within the care industry.
It falls to healthcare employers and HR departments to navigate their businesses through tough times. Through collective efforts, you’ll be able to encourage business continuity, whilst building a quality, loyal, and driven workforce.
From legal compliance to healthy workspaces – care businesses must ensure they follow laws, regulations and legal duties. Any evidence of neglect could lead to serious costs for the business and its reputation.
For more information on care HR, speak to one of our expert HR advisors today. Now, let’s take a look at ways employers can improve their HR services to encourage success in their healthcare business:
Encourage career progress
Research conducted by Skills for Care found that only 8.3% of social care roles were vacant in 2023/24 (which is around 131,000 roles). Whilst this is an improvement compared to previous years; labour shortage rates still leave a massive toll on the industry.
It falls on care employers and their HR department to encourage career progression for their staff. This includes actively evolving their roles, skills, and qualifications – from their first day to their last.
Let’s look at ways care HR teams can help improve their businesses:
Recruitment: HR teams should build solid foundations for recruitment methods. This ranges from finding talented individuals to retaining long-serving ones. Locate valuable employees and work on developing their individual skills-sets. Try making this a definitive selling-point whilst recruiting potential candidates.
Learning and development: The care sector runs on expert skills and qualifications. HR teams should make learning and development a key aspiration for all staff. For example, new employees may be eager to grow their qualifications. Not only does this encourage career progression, but it also leads to business loyalty and retention.
Training: Having the right training qualifications can be a matter of life and death in healthcare businesses. HR teams must ensure workers have suitable training before tending to patients. Provide additional training for anyone missing certain qualifications or credentials.
Present employee management
Research by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that only 26% of NHS staff were happy with their pay in 2024. This is actually 12% points lower than rates before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Statistics like these prove that employers must present positive employee management methods within their businesses. This isn’t about dealing with conflict and disciplinaries; it’s about ensuring an employee’s work life is sufficient, compliant, and safe.
Let’s look at ways care HR teams can help improve their businesses:
Payroll: Having a modern payroll system can help ensure all staff are financially compensated for their work – without room for error. This includes wages, as well as other forms of payment. For example, overtime, commission, bonuses, or piece work.
Schedules: Healthcare businesses often run on a 24-hour basis – helping to meet the needs of vulnerable patients. It leaves HR teams with the daily task of scheduling rotas without overworking staff. Make sure daily breaks, rest days, and sufficient time off is provided. And this applies to night workers, as well as daytime staff.
Rewards: HR teams shouldn’t dismiss how beneficial recognition and rewards are for employees. Not only do work incentives lead to higher levels of productivity and performance, but it encourages business loyalty, respect, value, and retention.
Comply with statutory rights
The UK government’s commitment to improve the social care industry are found in up-and-coming statutory changes. Their efforts include everything, from lifetime caps on personal care expenditures to the passing of the epic Employment Rights Bill 2024.
Employers and their HR teams must ensure their business complies with existing laws. And plan ahead for oncoming ones that may alter their employment rights and responsibilities.
Let’s look at ways care HR teams can help improve their businesses:
Employment rights: From annual leave to paid overtime, healthcare workers have access to a number of employment rights. It means employers must demonstrate legal compliance in all work areas. Any sign of neglect or breach can lead to fines, business closure, and even criminal prosecution in serious cases.
Absence: Sick days, unauthorised absences… It’s important for HR teams to maintain control over absences. Especially when it affects staff rotas, productivity, and continuity. Absence management also helps employers address work-related health issues that staff may be suffering from.
Equality and diversity: Even with Brexit and new immigration laws, the healthcare industry is made up of people from all walks of life. HR teams should champion workplace equality and diversity. Not only does it positively promote your brand, but employees will also appreciate your efforts for an inclusive workplace.
Protect employee wellbeing
According to research by the British Psychological Society, 77% of sickness absences reported by social care workers relate to stress and poor mental health issues.
Occupational health is another area that both employers and their HR department oversee. This doesn’t just involve recognising individual health issues; it also means looking at any physical and mental conditions resulting from work practices.
Let’s look at ways care HR teams can help improve their businesses:
Burnout: Almost every healthcare worker will have suffered from work-related burnout. HR teams must minimise the risk of burnout through safe work practices and conditions. Taking regular breaks, eating well, and sticking to strict work hours can all help avoid burnout from occurring.
Stress: When dealing with a person’s health and wellbeing can be stressful, even for those with healthcare training. HR teams can utilise things like stress risk assessments to help recognise the triggers and minimise the impacts caused to individuals, colleagues, and even patients.
Promote business development
The plans to invest over £3 million to transform the use of digital technology in the adult care sector. This aid will help provide safer access to GP records, as well as provide digital care planning systems – replacing paper record keeping.
Healthcare businesses cannot afford to neglect digitalisation within their sector. Not only does it place them ahead of competitors, but it also helps streamline work practices – easing business continuity.
Let’s look at ways care HR teams can help improve their businesses:
New technology: Technological advancements aren’t just beneficial for client services; they’re also received well by staff. HR teams should invest in using automated HR services, AI training programs, and the latest digital devices… Any one of these types of innovative technologies will help enhance your business from an analogue world to the digital one.
Automating procedures: Sustainability regulations encourage businesses to go paperless as reasonably as possible. That’s where HR teams can benefit from using automated work procedures. The change isn’t just about getting rid of paper logbooks. It applies to an array of positives; from stronger data protection to AI acceptance.
Patient satisfaction: Just like regular customers, patients should receive a satisfactory experience regarding your healthcare services. Remember, your staff are at the forefront when it comes to providing this. Make sure they’re fully training in delivering patient satisfaction; and even more importantly, they should know what can diminish it.
Get expert advice on care HR with Peninsula
In healthcare, employers aim to provide the very best services to all their patients. But this shouldn’t take an unhealthy toll on your workforce. With the right steps, your HR department should be able to protect staff rights, duties, wellbeing, and welfare.
Peninsula offers expert advice on care HR. We offer specialised guidance on HR contracts and documentation – ensuring your healthcare business meets all its HR compliance. Want to find out more? Contact us on 0800 028 2420 and book a free consultation with one of our HR consultants today.
Sources
The size and structure of the adult social care sector and workforce in England | Skills for Care
The health and care workforce | Care Quality Commission
Over £3 million to transform technology in adult social care | GOV
- HR Care: A Complete Guide for Employers
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