support worker

support staff

team leader

nurse

administrative assistant

Praxis-Care

I have worked with Praxis for over a year, both as an admin and support worker, so I have a fair amount of experience with the company in general. 
From an admin perspective, the work-life balance is excellent. The admin contract is generally set at 20 hours per week, and you can pick your days and times (within reason. You can't do 10 hours, 2 days a week).  And there are always things to do as an admin. You will be handling GDPR sensitive data, and you'll also be working directly under the manager, as such, you are given many duties - though nothing an IT capable individual cannot handle. 

As a support worker, things depend entirely on the Service User, you support. 

The job isn't easy and there are various challenges. For instance, you may work with a very reliant Service User one day, and an extremely solitary one the next. It's important that you understand that the job is mentally demanding, and you will need patience in your role as a support worker. 

Some Service Users pose a physical risk to staff. However, full MVA and/or MAPPA training is provided by Praxis, and there is a strong network of support from Praxis, if the incident should ever come up. Staff safety is just as important as Service User safety. 

The work-life balance as a support worker is a mixed bag. Though this is the case with every Support Worker role,and tou should expect to do your fair share of round-the-clock shifts. However, you will never be told to work more than your contracted hours per week. You will be offered overtime. But if you dont want it, just say No, and someone else will cover the shift. 

There is A LOT of paperwork, both as an admin and support worker, but that's just the nature of the job. 

The job itself wasn't well explained in the job description or interview as it had changed from respite to residential. The training I received was me alone on a computer for 3 days, which I understood due to covid. However I wasn't given the MVA training that I wasn't aware was needed, as they didn't state this anywhere prior to me accepting the job.  I was given the wrong information regarding hours and shifts when I asked prior to accepting. I saw staff physically hurt and I wasn't trained in MVA so feared I would get hurt, which I did. Being in a job without the appropriate training and your concerns being disregarded is a common theme. Management were unsure what they were doing, then this filter down to the support staff as they tried their best. But this lack of routine or structure really made the job even harder, as the young people we supported were heightened more over this and more likely to hit etc out. Management really need more work and to listen from feedback from staff. The company overall need a lot of work. My experience there for the short time I was there was awful. Never worked in a company that had so little regard for their staff. So many staff when I started told me horror stories and how people here don't last. The staff I spoke with majority wanted out themselves. So I would avoid this place at all costs. The job itself is so demanding and with the added stress of all this on top of it is enough to drive anyone away. But I hope with time they will see the flaws and fix them to improve the service for the young people and improve the safety and support for staff as there was very little in place. 

The best thing about Praxis Care is working with the people you support. There's such a sense of fulfillment in helping people to live their most independent lives. That's where the job satisfaction ends. 

As a support worker you will earn minimum wage despite the level of responsibility you have for improving the lives of others. Unfortunately, minimum wage rarely attracts the right type of person and as you could earn more as a cleaner or flipping burgers those who ate passionate and caring will soon leave. Turnover of staff is high and recruitment is extremely difficult. You don't even get a lunch break unless you want to take time unpaid and this is not explained at interview. 
Training provided is excellent, extensive and ongoing, however there is a disconnecte between what is expected of you and how you are remunerated. You will have zero  sense of being valued for the work you do, and it will never be enough. Definitely don't expect to ever be praised or thanked for your hard work. You will be pushed to your limits to meet the demands of funding providers, not the people you support. There is a process for everything and none of them is employee-centric. 
In short, if you are passionate about working with people with mental health challenges or learning disabilities, but also value yourself and your  own wellbeing, look elsewhere. As most current staff are doing.

Taking applications for PBS Lead and PBS practitioners - job turned out to be support working and team leads. Others and myself left jobs where it was similar to trust roles as practitioners only to be deskilled to work as support. Not to mention leaving a 9-5 job with some ability to make positive change for sevice users, to working sleepovers - which was not covered in my interview.
Requirements, job description and pages rate were sneaky and sold a completely different job. I have a feeling that the role was developed to hit buzzwords for the trust, rather than purposeful use of action.

Management take a punitive and negative approach initially and change tune when staff become demoralised. Tend to be inconsistent and unclear in approach at times. Not keen on making positive changes when presented with options.

The company is shocking, they expected you to work 24 sometimes even longer shifts, without sleep due to lack of staffing. The manager that resided there was absolutely useless and horrible to certain staff. 

A lot of informal complaints went through and nothing got done about it. 

No support for the staff and very little help and encouragement from the management even senior management team. The lost about 4-7 staff in the space of a couple of months because of how badly the service in Birmingham was run. 

The only good thing about the place was the staff that worked there (support staff and team leaders) even then they all left in the end. The Birmingham service was set up in November 2020, all the staff that was hired then left by September 2021, not even a full year working at the place because of how poorly it was run and managed. 

Do not attempt to apply there it will ruin your will to live. 

Manager at scheme level very supportive, but head of operations not so , senior management don’t realise the amount of work being done to keep the service users safe , also from a company that has a head office in Belfast You get a token visit from senior management 1-2 times a year , basically a box ticking exercise ,they never take on Board what  staff say or feeling , far to many on big pay packets at the top , then the workers at scheme level are getting less than shop workers in a job that you are told is a skilled job in care , pay scale is terrible for what you expected to do , be on the floor supporting service users due to crippling staff shortages then being expected to complete office work , which you just don’t have the time or motivation with the terrible pay on offer 

Expected to do every shift under the sun, and when you help out you get no thanks. Punished like school kids. Management is a shambles, everything is done by support workers and higher job roles seem to get away with everything. Management do not deal with any concerns or issues made by support staff, we are looked down on. If you want advice do not work for this company it is terrible. It’s a money making business for the higher people not about the care for the service users. Most of the schemes are in clicks and some don’t make you feel welcome. Everyday you come into work and the support workers are given another job to add to their never ending list of jobs expected to be done and you don’t have the hours in the day to possibly do anything. Most of the schemes are under safe staffing levels it’s ridiculous.

Managment makes all the difference.  It changed over the years.This view may not be the case for all. There were alterations in managment styles in my view. Just different personalities accounts for a lot of that on an immediate level but also higher up decision making filtering down. Eg emphasis on a punishment type approach to mistakes changing to a more holistic approach later. Salaries adjusted to the downside, and reajusted, I imagine on account of recruitment problems.
Overall, the corporate managment is excellent. But in an organisation that has a mission of care, I believe, supportive human relationships should be the real deal and not for diplomatic purposes. 
I wish the organisation all the best.

Best part - relating to the service users.

Supporting adults with learning disability in a supported housing unit. Tasks included transporting tenants to their day centres and sometimes supporting them there. Supporting the tenants in their daily living as set out in their individual support plans. These include shopping, budgeting, socialising, cooking and cleaning. It also included supporting tenants to go on holiday.
 The most important lesson I learnt was to plan, but not to be disappointed when the plan did not materialise.
The hardest part of the job was being physically attacked.
The most enjoyable part of the job was working outdoors with the service users in the gardens.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Being with the service users , made great friends, had a few managers

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Doing several peoples work , some lazy workers got the praise, good workers got the most workload

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
There is none, staff put under pressure , lazy managers never there 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Sitting at the computer or making phone calls, while massive workload still put on you, multiple task load,  not supporting the service users as no time due to  consistent paperboard, working overtime, can't get through to managers in call

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Support worker 3 salaries reported	£21,132 per year
Support staff 22 salaries reported	£26,048 per year
Team leader 9 salaries reported	£25,930 per year
Nurse 14 salaries reported	£20.01 per hour
Administrative assistant 15 salaries reported	£19,192 per year

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