Helping Hands Home Care Reviews

Pros

At Helping Hands I have always felt fully supported and my personal development is always recognised and encouraged. This is something I also pass down to my team. I have the most fantastic team of dedicated carers and everyone works to the same vision and values.

Cons

There are no cons for working at Helping Hands, they are by far one of the best care company's I have worked for as they actually do care from the top down.

Advice to Management

# Outstanding is the new good!

Pros

Once upon a time, it used to be a fairly organised agency, which made sure that staff members were supported in delivering the person centred care that clients deserved to receive

Cons

I once worked for Helping Hands Homecare as a live-in carer, for 4 years. It is not the best paying agency, but it had a fairly streamlined process for recruiting carers and training them. It also appeared to be an agency which most of the time would gather enough accurate information on clients in order for the placements to go smoothly. I had had a few placements where Helping Hands had not really demonstrated a... willingness to support me, but on balance, it had been an enjoyable enough experience, not least thanks to the generally decent customers and their family members who filled the gap. Fast forward 7 years, and I joined one of their North London branches in Archway/Highbury and Islington as an hourly carer. The preliminary stages of interview/registration/in-house training went fairly well, apart from a few hiccups. Recruitment contacted an agency I had never worked for, in what appears to have been a moment of negligence, therefore delaying my registration process. Before you start working with clients, you have to attend a branch training, and I was asked to attend this training without being sent the appropriate online training package you are supposed to read beforehand. I still made allowances for those mistakes and hoped going out to clients would be well organised. I was sent for shadowing somewhere with a client who was having a lot on his plate and therefore felt uncomfortable having an extra carer in his house on that day. Therefore, my initial shadowing shift of 6 hours turned into an hour and a half. Instead of booking me for another shadowing in order to make sure I could see a full shift, I was then signed off to go on with new clients who had never had a carer before. One of them had a pet, according to the care plan I was handed as I went in. I called the agency to let them know in case they had not read it before, that I did not work in households with pets, especially dogs. The manager I spoke to told me there was no pet, which was true as the client's pet was staying away temporarily. She did not seem to know that there was any mention of a pet in the care plan, which could have created an uncomfortable situation. This client was about to be potentially diagnosed with a serious illness, which I duly decided to inform the agency about as this could become a change in their condition. I was promised a call back to update the care plan, which never came. The second client I was sent to who was also a new customer, her care plan was riddled with mistakes, not least in the area of her appetite and medication, and how to gain access to her property. The fact that I arrived with the wrong information about her created initial confusion that the agency could have avoided both for me and the family members. The second week, I was given a straight 6 days booking, even though I had always said that I only wanted to work part-time. I decided to help the agency, but this is where I was booked in a manner that ended up being a sign of the lack of consideration for staff member. The contract is vague about transport. I assumed that because of the particular industry I was in, transport would be paid from my place to any workplace and thereafter. It turns out transport only gets paid between your first placement and the one before last. On a Sunday, which I had already chosen as a day I would rather not work, I was sent for a couple of hours shift somewhere 6 miles away from my house. This was the only shift I was booked for on the day, meaning I get no transport on that day. The following day, which is also a day I had initially crossed out in my availabily, but decided to work so as to show flexibility when I can help, I was sent before 9 30am, which is much more expensive in London, 8 miles away to start my shift, meaning paying a hefty transport fee initially only for an hour shift, somewhere I was still not given details about the client. I would only be told by text message, after requesting information: they just need the toilet, or they just need companionship, no more than that, no background information, special requirements, age, medical condition. From that placement, I was sent somewhere 4 miles away, meaning Helping Hands only pays me 4 miles, and then another 2 miles away. I believe this was done deliberately, as Helping Hands will shorten your travelling time when they have to pay for your transport and send you further away when they don't have to pay you. It also became clear that travelling times between clients were not organised with realistic expectations. I had to explain to managers that Transport for London own estimates made their bookings impossible to keep up. This would no doubt lead to frustrations from clients. The last straw was when I was sent to a client who lived with a dog, albeit a puppy. I was expected to lift the puppy and take him for walks throughout the long shift I was there. I called and asked for someone else to come. I had texted the day before to ask specifically what the condition of the client was, and whether they had pet. I had received no satisfactory answer to either request, which ended up causing an uncomfortable situation with the daughter of the client, and the need to send someone else to take over, and me losing the potential income on that day when I had had to wake up extra early and travel without compensation before the 9 30 am mark. After all these clear episodes of total incompetence and disregard for the welfare of the staff member I am, I left Helping Hands and I shall never return to this company. I have every faith that her chickens will one day come home to roost in a big way.

Pros

Lovely customers Good pay Always work available

Cons

Long hours If you’re young and have no responsibilities outside of work, they will try to get you to do long days, every day Change Rotas a day before Hard to communicate with office Often favouritism

Advice to Management

My specific branch had no regard for its younger carers. Often favouritism. Should treat those who don’t have kids the same as those who do, needs way way more work/life balance.

Pros

Its a job! Meet some nice people, but that's the customers!

Cons

Left in the middle of nowhere with no support! Hh didn't let me know that the customers weren't here,they were in a home til Mon. I arrived on Fri. I had no food in the house. My area manager ordered me some,luckily enough. She was an angel. But its a rural location and I don't drive. But when the couple do return, what meds do they need? where is all the bedding? I've looked all over and I can't find any! If hh had... been honest I would never had taken this job!

Advice to Management

Sort out your communication!! And get some honest staff!

Pros

Person centred, High Quality care

Cons

There were no cons for me

Pros

Flexible working - variety of work.. Friendly colleagues. Good on line training. Hourly rate of pay good.

Cons

Sometimes have to travel quite a distance, and they have a stingy mileage allowance.

Advice to Management

Increase the mileage allowance - 19p a mile is ridiculously low.

Pros

Good pay and good support from manager

Cons

Only 2 hour breaks

Pros

Company covers travel costs to clients Holiday Pay and Bank holidays paid

Cons

Minimum wage Client pays for 24 hour care but employee gets paid for 9 hours of work even though you stay 22 hours with customer. Managers take long to answer to emails