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PROFESSIONALS AND INSURANCE Engagement in Care! Carers and Personal Assistant Insurance from Surewise.com The Care organisations have been under great pressure in recent years, from facing the uncertainty that goes with Brexit to a variety of NHS cuts, hoping to weather the storm awaiting better times. A key issue has always been recruitment and retention of staff. With cashflow being squeezed to the extreme, making significant financial awards to staff can become an intolerable expense. Whilst there is some light at the end of the tunnel, the key questions remain: How to I attract the right staff; and Once I have recruited them, how do I ensure they stay? A changing industry has brought a change in the mindset of the workforce, which Care organisations need to recognise and adapt to, by evolving their brand image and employee engagement. Key issues behind recruitment include the perceived unattractiveness of the industry, unsociable hours and low pay. The truth is that such issues cannot be tackled overnight or even eliminated solely through investment. The only way to evolve is to show potential candidates why your Organisation is worth working for, demonstrating an attractive culture and a focus on engaging staff and developing them. Whilst it might still be true that for a lot of workers, the priority is still to earn money to survive, an increased number of employees value their development and
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true employer engagement just as much. Implementing positive performance management is a good starting point, by holding regular review meetings with staff that go beyond simply ticking boxes, showing your employees that you are vested in their progress. Providing quality training, which can be cost-effective and online, provides certified training that expands your team’s skillset and develops your people. Finally giving access to “out of the box” benefits can be a great driver for engagement. The advantage of this over traditional “bonus” payments is that longer term benefits are constantly visible to the employee, providing a sense of belonging. Ideas include team building days, social meals, or discount clubs providing money off shopping, travel and everyday expenses. The incoming President of the Healthcare People Management Association (HPMA), Dean Royles, identified the key issue – a sector filled with high quality and skilled personnel, but undervalued financially. If those providing the care are struggling and feeling disengaged, what hope do the recipients of the care service really have? Evolving is the key to bringing back quality candidates to a thriving industry. If you wish to know more or need some direction on these areas, contact us at the Policy Company – we would be more than happy to assist you! See the advert on page 44 or call us on 0203 011 4070 or email enquiries@thepolicycompany.co.uk. For more information about us, visitwww.thepolicylibrary.co.uk. Zameer Nazarali Managing Director and Employment Lawyer
Nursing & Residential Home Specialist Agency Eddie Dribble - the best known name in the private care industry
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Emanuel A Dribble 26 Arthur Road New Malden Surrey KT3 6LX Tel/Fax 020 8942 0852
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Surewise.com are dedicated to helping and protecting their customers against unexpected events, providing insurance to help them to live life confidently. They also believe in the crucial role carers play in our society and their aim is to protect them with the most suitable insurance cover for the risks they face within their workplace. Carers and Personal Assistant Insurance from Surewise.com covers against a claim in the event of accidental injury, damage to or loss of
property, legal expenses and more. As a carer, you’ll deal with many situations on a daily basis, which can pose a risk to both you and the person you are caring for - so cover yourself today and give yourself the peace of mind that you’re protected at work. If you work as a self-employed carer, they also have a policy to suit you. Covering a variety of circumstances from personal liability to legal expenses, all of their policies aim to protect you against life’s unpredictabilities.
All policies are underwritten by SAGIC, The Salvation Army General Insurance Corporation, and have no hidden charges, and interest free monthly payments. Policies start from as little as £4.92 per month and are available in 3 levels of cover from bronze to gold, for the most comprehensive protection. For further information, please see the advert on the inside back cover.
Leading the Charge for Positivity in Insurance Insurance, overall, has a poor reputation. Whether people perceive that they pay large premiums and get nothing back from them, or that greedy insurers do their best to avoid claims or minimise payments wherever possible. I would suggest that this reputation is well deserved when it comes to insurance providers in the social care sector. Insurance premium have been high in comparison to other sectors, cover has not been generous and providers have not been known to be generous or fast in their insurance settlements. So why is this? There are many reasons, but the overarching one is a lack of understanding from the insurance market. This lack of understanding has led to a lack of support for the sector. As we all know a lack of competition does not drive forward innovation and drive down costs. The industry is growing at a phenomenal rate and yet the market has not been responding. So how to bring about change? The only way for the industry to shift is for experts to influence from the inside. When I joined the industry 20 years ago my background was as a carer. To this day I am an advocate for this individual and arrange care for family members. I soon merged my interests of insurance and social care and specialised in helping care providers with their insurance needs. I then discovered the lack of choice and product. Since then I have dedicat-
ed my career to influencing change for the benefit of my clients – launching more competitive insurance schemes, introducing innovative covers and bringing new insurers to the sector. Whilst I am proud of my achievements, there is still much more to do and I need the help of the sector to do it. So what can you do to help influence change in the market? There are a few things that people in the care sector can do to improve the market. Examples include: • Reward the right providers – there are well known insurance providers that offer insurance that doesn’t meet all of the needs of providers. I often hear providers say that they would meet the shortfall themselves in the event of a claim. This goes against the whole idea of purchasing insurance and is not rewarding the insurers doing the right job (and therefore motivating their long term involvement). • Share your ideas and frustrations – innovation most often comes from those that are disappointed in the products on the market not meeting their needs. Without you sharing your ideas on improvements we can never • Talk to your colleagues – had a good experience with insurance? Tell someone else about it! Recommend the best. Let’s lead the charge for positivity in the market and drive change together. Glenn Trafford is a Risk Manager with InsureWithCare, a specialist provider of insurance and risk management solutions to care providers. See the advert on page 45 for further details.
5 Tax Entitlements Healthcare Workers Could Be Missing Out On Healthcare workers including nurses, ambulance staff, dentists and pharmacists to name but a few – represent a group of employees who are eligible to claim extra tax relief for certain expenses they pay as part of their job. Here’s a simple guide to what tax relief you could be missing out on: 1. Professional memberships Many workers in the healthcare sector must pay registration fees to a regulatory body to do their job and these payments are tax deductible. If you’re a member of a professional body like NMC, HCPC or RCN for example and pay the subscription fees yourself, you can make a claim…worth 20 percent to a basic rate taxpayer. If you have not claimed previously, you may be able to make a claim for the last four years. HMRC usually make any adjustments needed
through your tax code for the current tax year and they will also apply any tax relief to your pay going forward, so you typically only need to claim once. 2. Uniform maintenance If you wear a compulsory uniform at work or during off-site visits, you could be due a oneoff rebate for the upkeep. This can be backdated to the last four tax years and received as a single payment, while any future claims will be paid in wages. Uniform allowances in healthcare are generally higher than in other sectors as HMRC recognises the need to use a hot wash to stop the spread of germs. It only takes a couple of minutes online to check what you could be entitled to using an online calculator. 3. Mileage allowance For those healthcare workers making off-site visits or travelling to temporary places of work, a tax rebate could be due. If you use your own vehicle to travel to different locations for work and receive less than the standard 45p per mile from your employer
Global Business Finance Global Business Finance was established over 29 years ago by the firm’s present senior partner, Mark Widdows, and since then has arranged over £1.8bn in loans for healthcare clients. The firm works exclusively in the care sector providing a very personalised service, as the firm knows every client is individual with individual requirements. Mark and his team spend time getting to know each of their clients in order that they can ensure all needs are met
By Tony Mills, Director, Online Tax Rebates in expenses, you can claim tax relief on the difference. Be sure to keep any travel or fuel receipts to make an expense claim via your employer first and foremost. 4. WAT scheme If you’re an NHS employee who took part in the Widening Access Training scheme after 1999 you could be entitled to make a claim because national insurance and income tax shouldn’t have been taken from your wages. However, there is a lack of definitive guidance on who can claim this back. It’s worth asking HMRC but claims have a high rejection rate and some claimants have had to return their refunds, so exercise caution. 5. Finally, stay safe… Don’t fall victim to fraudsters who are sending fake emails and text messages promising tax rebates. Never hand out any personal or payment details to companies you haven’t approached personally before or to HMRC who will only ever contact you via post or your employer.
and the loan facility tailored to their client’s individual requirements. Global offers national coverage and with the support of email, fax, regular telephone conversations and face to face meetings the firm are able to put together a professional and comprehensive bank application. The bank managers that Global work with are all specialist healthcare managers who have extensive knowledge within the sector and fully understand the requirements of the clients that Global introduce. With over £1.8bn in completed care home loans you should strongly consider Global Business Finance to represent you for your next loan application. Reader Enquiries - Tel: 01242 227172