senior care assistant

night manager

deputy manager

residential manager

front of house manager

Ideal Carehomes

This company place absolutely no value on the people who work for them. There is a very conscious hire and fire culture where people are routinely sacked for no obvious reason leading to massive job insecurity. Couple this with a board that will increase workload without warning or consultation on the back of knowing if you ever spoke out it’s likeky you’d be sacked. I’ve seen colleges sacked for actually speaking out about the conditions the residents are left in and how they treat the staff, staff often miss breaks and Coppice Lodge management say it’s okay as we get paid for our breaks. I’ve witnessed colleges ill and still made to come in to work as they’ve been told they will get a counselling and even sacked if they don’t come in and are also told that they are leaving the residents vulnerable, NO MANAGEMENT ARE LEAVING RESIDENTS VULNERABLE as they keep getting rid of decent staff, employing staff who don’t really care and so many staff have left and are leaving due to the working conditions and the way the residents are being left. They mess with your wages if you’ve worked certain shifts ie Xmas/new year/ bank holidays if you call in sick and stop your double pay. Trust me, everything looks pretty on the outside but in reality is nothing like how they portray, always the same residents who go on the trips or who are featured in their Facebook posts. Really can’t wait to get another job so I’m out of here, it’s the residents I feel sorry for. Management and Head office all know what’s going on but pretend everything is hunky dory, what Care home runs out of essentials for the residents?

I work for this company in batley for a few years at first it was great and great working with all the girls that work their had a great team work great careers that look after the residence but when it comes to the manager and the deputy manager is a totally different is all about image and money and when you have a concern about a certain carer that is on drugs as you can smell this on this person and the manager and the deputy knows all about this but for some reason there cover all this up and especially when this lady is a senior and give out medication to the residents how can this company let it go on there seemed to hide at lots of things which I witnessed on a few times talking about the staff how some of them are rubbish and if your face fits well you will be ok but if it doesn't you know about it. If you have a problem and ask for help all you will get is stored in out your self the manager doesn't care about the great staff there have got and you wunder why staff leave and always asking for new staff and your stated time is 8AM but you have to be there at 7.45.7.50 so you can have the hand over and you do not get paid for this and if you clock in a 8am you will get told to be here at 7.45 and your fishing time is 8 pm you never get of there on time it can be 20.20 most off the time and yet again you don't get paid for it. The best thing I did was to leave and don't miss this place no more so if you do get a job there watch your back.

The Interview was quite good, the management seemed nice then and explained how the company can help you progress and everyone is very supportive.

Had to do a 7 Day induction training before being allowed to work in the home, which you may have to travel miles away to do; what a waste of time, half the stuff the trainer went on about could`ve been done in 3 days and was just simply a waste of everyone`s time, they went on and on about stuff which personally was not relevant, she just liked the sound of her own voice.

When I got to do my first shift in the home, it was absolute chaos, there was no organisation skills, no one knew what floor they were working on as there was no allocation, Senior`s have not got a clue about to how run a shift, half the Senior`s don`t know how to care plan and how to use the software that is used for the care documentation; The day Senior`s are often having to do the medication round for the night Senior`s because they will take hours and hours to complete it. There`s a massive lack of communication too, no one seems to know what is going on from one day to the next...

Management will hound you for stuff and expect you to do things on your day off and drop everything like they own you.

They put a lovely hidden clause in your contract that if you leave within a set timeframe all your induction training you have to pay for out your wages, which is not right as it is mandatory to do the job and none of it is is transferable.

The pay is not worth the duties you have to perform.

At first you think it's an amazing place to work, lots of great training and lovely people to work with, BUT you soon realise that it's all a smoke screen. You're fine and have job security if certain staff at Hepworth like you, but if they don't they'll do everything they can to make things uncomfortable for you until you leave and management is always on there side and you're unable to defend yourself basically because they're not interested in what you have to say. Staff turn over at Hepworth is shocking. In training they tell you that if you leave before your 6months probationary period is up then you have to pay back over £500 for the training they've given you, which since leaving i've been told by another company they're not actually legally allowed to do. Certain residents they bend over backwards for and others they can't even be bothered to cater for the diet needs and residents are too scared to complain in case they get told off. When visitors are around staff are putting on a show to make it look like everything's ok and everyone's happy to be there. This is not all the staff, there are actually staff there that are amazing at their job and go the extra mile for the residents, but the management team just care about certain staff and residents and the money they can make for the investors. Even residents who have been there from the start will tell you how bad it is.

I'm a cook, next in line to the kitchen manager. There are 4 people l working in the kitchen and I work 3 shifts on 3 shifts off opposite to the kitchen manager. We both have a assistant cook who work alongside us. We cook for 60 residents, breakfast, lunch and dinner and also cater for any special events such as Christmas, birthdays etc. We bake all our buns, cakes and puddings from scratch. We also use fresh ingredients for meals. I have taken over the kitchen managers role while she has been on long term sick, that is ordering the food and looking after the day to day running of the kitchen. I love the baking section  because we decide what we want to bake. I also love the feeling that our residents have the right to choose what they would like for meals and if they don't like anything on the menu that day then if they tell us what they would like then we'll try our best to cook it for them. The hardest part of the job for me would be when we're catering for a special occasion, we don't really have that much space to keep food on once its finished so we have to do a lot of food last minute which we do get  done but then a lot of the time we can't go to the event because we are trying to catch up cleaning the kitchen. I love cooking but I don't like it when a resident passes away, especially when you've come to know them well.

Strong bullying culture at ideal care homes. Particularly at fairway view where I worked. Managers to happy to listen to the issues I was facing even involving racism but nothing was done about it. Staff turn over extremely high nearly all the people hired the same time as me left before I did bar 1 and there was 6/8 new starters. It just says it all really. Current staff not willing to let new people in even though they need the help desperately due to being dangerous understaffed.

Bullying, name calling, racism, not been made to feel welcome and just a few of the things that I experienced at fairway view and I will never work for this company again. 

The fact that I left due to racial discrimination was bad enough but I did not once receive a call from my manager to see how I was doing. They just simply do not care. 

After I left there was a staff meeting where the care home manager stated that she doesn't know why the staff turnover is that high even though she said to me in our meeting that if SHE HAD EXPERIENCED WHAT I DID SHE WOULD HAVD LEFT TOO??!! Such a shame really and I feel more sorry for the residents. I pray they will be okay new staff popping in and out every few weeks but it's no way to work or live!

On a good day it was lovely, friendly staff, everyone pulling together ..however this was rare, I got shouted at by a Senior when I was new for not doing something but I hadn't got a phone because there weren't any when I went to get one, they never apologised to me....
I've learnt that management and supervisors don't know everything and are quick to judge from the comfort of their seats. No help from other staff(all out for themselves, rushing to be fed, when it should be the residents first), or very few staff will help you, the workplace culture " get 'em(the residents) up, get 'em out" Even if they don't want to ...having to rush with a resident when you really want to take your time with them and treat them 'with care'  ...hardest part of the job is pleading with staff for help or management when things aren't going well and it falling on deaf ears....the most enjoyable part of the job? Sitting and chatting to the residents and their families, helping someone who can't help themselves and knowing you've made a difference. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The company are a waste of time, high turn over of staff and management, managers do not listen to you especially if you work night shifts and favour day staff .

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Not enough staff ratio to residents, especially in the morning when getting everyone ready for the day and trying to get everyone breakfast, personal care of residents and toileting very difficult during the day as lots of residents require 2 staff

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Work environment cheerful but only because of staff teams depending upon which senior your on shift with 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Extremely busy, 3 staff per floor often down to 2 staff at medication time when seniors have to go giving medication.

Ideal Carehomes is a thoroughly unpleasant company to work for. It’s fair to say that there are plenty of great staff working hard against all odds in their homes, but the way head office operates is beyond belief.

Firstly they place absolutely no value on the people who work for them. There is a very conscious hire and fire culture where people are routinely sacked for no obvious reason leading to massive job insecurity. Couple this with a board that will increase workload exponentially without warning or consultation on the back of knowing if you ever spoke out it’s likeky you’d be sacked. 

There is no leadership and plans change in a whim it would seem. Decisions seem to be taken which affect large numbers of people without regard for their welfare. As a result of this, staff morale is very low and people leave if they aren’t sacked first. 

If you have any self respect, skills and talent, do not let these people exploit you. There’s so much better out there!

I was so excited after the interview to start working for the company and thought the training was great, so much fun. Unfortunately this changed within a few weeks and I saw reality. 
Some great hardworking staff here that truly care about the residents but they have so much to do they don’t have time to spend quality time with the residents through the day. 
Social media is made to look like it’s full of activities every day but the reality is it isn’t as staff are so busy with no support from management and nothing is ever good enough, always wanting more. 
The most enjoyable part of the job is the lovely residents but the hardest part of the job is trying to speak to management if you have concerns. You are quickly shot down if you dare have an opinion. 
Management have zero compassion for staff unless their face fits. 
Only interested in profit and saving money where they can.
Don’t work here if you want to stay sane



Top Job Titles	Average salary
Senior care assistant 54 salaries reported	£13.72 per hour
Night manager 11 salaries reported	£14.81 per hour
Deputy manager 5 salaries reported	£14.75 per hour
Residential manager 1 salary reported	£37,500 per year
Front of house manager 1 salary reported	£19,075 per year

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