Be Caring are pleased to announce the achievement of their long-term goal of paying all their homecare workforce on a shift basis.  

As an employee-owned social enterprise, our mission to achieve better terms and conditions for our Care Workers is now a reality, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to valuing and supporting our incredible colleagues. This is a significant step towards unlocking the full potential of our colleagues and meeting the needs of people and their local communities.  

Our journey began with a clear vision – to move away from the hourly rate of commissioning and create a system that promotes trust, co-operation, and flexibility.  

In 2020, we took a bold step towards implementing shift pay as a pilot scheme in our Leeds homecare service, employing all Care Workers at their contracted hourly rate for the full time at work, which includes all contact time, travel time, and training.

Rather than paying colleagues on a pay per call basis or by the minute, colleagues are now incentivised to stay in people’s homes for as long as needed and to support people beyond the tasks in their care plan. This means our colleagues frequently go Above and Beyond to promote individual wellbeing and have more time to encourage people to do things for themselves, retaining greater independence.  

The success of this pilot surpassed our expectations, it not only enhanced the well-being and job satisfaction of our colleagues in Leeds, but also significantly improved the quality of care provided to the individuals our team supported.  

Building on this, we initiated conversations with commissioners across all our services, sharing the positive outcomes and advocating for new funding models. As we continued to gather valuable data, we successfully launched shift pay across all homecare services, the latest being our North Tyneside branch.  

We believed, and can now demonstrate, that paying colleagues on a shift basis allows them to fully utilise their time to support people to live at home for as long as possible. 

Homecare Beyond Tasks and Time 

By embracing a shift-based payment structure we pave the way for more personalised care and support, focusing on individual outcomes and enhancing the vital relationships between our workforce and those they support. 

Homecare is not a checklist of tasks; it is about building meaningful relationships and providing compassionate support. With the shift-based payment system, we emphasise flexibility in visits, ensuring our colleagues have the time to listen to the wants and needs of those they care for.  

Unleashing the Potential of Our Care Workers 

The transition to paying our homecare services on block has enabled us to recruit and employ our Care Workers on better terms and conditions, ensuring colleagues are paid for the full time they are at work.  

As an employee-owned organisation, the involvement of our colleagues was essential to successfully transitioning colleagues on to a shift pay. As co-owners of the business, we wanted to ensure they understood and were able to recognise that they would benefit from this change to their terms and conditions.   

We engaged colleagues through a series of coffee and cake sessions, answering queries, listening to, and responding to concerns, and clarifying any areas of confusion. Their engagement has played a pivotal role in the success of this transformation. Here is what Amy, our HR Manager had to say about the sessions: 

“We have chosen to move away from ‘Task and Time’ care delivery and implemented a model that delivers positive and meaningful outcomes to the people we support whilst acknowledging the amazing work or our dedicated Care Workers. This comes after a successful consultation period, which included Coffee and Cake engagement sessions, group and individual consultation meetings and regular digital communications. The consultation process was a hugely positive experience, and it was encouraging to hear about all the amazing care and support that our colleagues provide every day.  

At Be Caring, we have ensured that our colleagues will be paid fairly for all of the Above and Beyond activities that they provide, and we continue to support them in finding opportunities to further support our communities.” 

The Future 

Our new model of care has allowed us to demonstrate the added value that shift pay brings, and is ultimately the foundation for change, the base upon on which we can positively shift the culture across the care sector, not just in Be Caring.  

As an employee-owned social enterprise that re-invests surpluses back into our workforce and our local communities, we are driven to make a difference. We are not driven by profit and have no external shareholders or investors to satisfy.  

We have a new model of care that can be scaled and is cost-effective. Our model of care improves terms and conditions of the workforce whilst providing value for money for individuals and local authorities.