support worker

registered nurse

team leader

deputy manager

service manager

Leonard Cheshire



I have been employed at Leonard Cheshire Disability Company for the past year, and I'd like to share my honest thoughts and experiences working here.

Understaffed and Fast-Paced Environment :
One of the significant challenges at Leonard Cheshire Disability Company is the chronic understaffing issue. The workload can be overwhelming due to the shortage of personnel, which often results in a fast-paced and stressful work environment. Balancing the needs of residents with limited resources can be extremely challenging.

Ostracism Culture
Unfortunately, I have observed a concerning culture of ostracism within the workplace. There seems to be a lack of inclusivity and teamwork, which can make it difficult for new employees to integrate into the team. This culture can contribute to feelings of isolation and dissatisfaction among staff members.

Disrespectful Behavior by Some Carers
 It is disheartening to acknowledge that some carers at Leonard Cheshire Disability Company display disrespectful behavior towards the residents they are meant to care for.  This not only undermines the quality of care but also creates an uncomfortable and distressing atmosphere for both residents and staff.

In conclusion, while Leonard Cheshire Disability Company is dedicated to supporting individuals with disabilities, there are critical issues within the organization that need to be addressed. The chronic understaffing, fast-paced environment, culture of ostracism, and instances of disrespectful behavior by some carers are concerning factors that impact the overall work experience and quality of care provided to residents. It is my hope that these issues are acknowledged and steps are taken to improve the work environment and the quality of care for the residents.

The work is extremely physically and mentally demanding so be prepared to be shattered after every shift with no praise! Although a few staff are supportive, the rest are back stabbers. I guarantee you'll hear gossiping and you'll experience spontaneous arguments in inappropriate circumstances. 

Management is terrible. Regardless of your job role, there will always be someone who believes they have the authority to tell you what to do (even if they are in the same role as you). It's a competition to get the most work done, and the most quickly. The service users aren't prioritised as they should be, as unfortunately so many staff don't realise they have a duty of care. Manager hasn't stepped in and sorted this.

Communication is poor; messages aren't passed on beyond one person. Emails aren't replied to, and calls rarely answered. Nurses aren't clued in to what the support workers know and there is a lack of good flow in handovers. 

The 10 minute paid break is not enough, especially because I never really got it. This would leave just the 30 minute unpaid lunch break. Pay is generally good, but for the amount of strenuous work including other duties unrelated to the support worker role and a great deal of personal care,  I'd expect at least £11 per hour. 

Staff are shamed for absences. I've personally experienced harassment via text from one of my colleagues regarding this. Regardless of circumstance, even if perfectly legitimate, staff are expected to bend over backwards and abandon what commitments or illnesses they may have.

Manual handling training lasted about 5 minutes, nothing much covered. Trainer couldn't be bothered and wanted it signed off. 

Previous temporary management made several staff members distressed/cry. Luckily this person left.

Incredibly understaffed, regularly asked to do overtime, even when working 35hrs plus.

As a Registered Manager my staff teams are the best - huge respect to the quality of care they provide; their dediction to the workplace and their compassion & care of our clients. 
Sadly, the same praise cannot be showered on regional management upwards. They are totally money driven - yes social care is in crisis - but salaries in Senior Management seem very fine thank-you-very- much, certainly by the high spec. cars that occassionally role up at our local offices!
Senior Managers have improved pay for Support Workers who are now paid just above the National Living Wage & as our services are small most of our night care is done through Sleep-permitted Night care shifts (used to be referred to as 'sleep-in') and these are paid at the NLW rate & are not contracted hours. 
Time-squeeze is a culture at LC, i.e. same amount of work (sometimes higher work load) but done by less & less people! Yep! You & I can see the result - more tiredness & stress in staff and more sick leave! But Senior Managers have put in place very aggressive sick leave policy which includes a raft of letters that threaten staff with dismissal from the second time they are  off sick in 12 months, whether one is off for one day on each occasion, or months!!!
So we have great grassroots care teams and wonderful long term clients, but the senior management is remote and like most of Britain's senior management, where ever, look after their jobs first, then throw the scraps to the people actually PRODUCING THE SERVICE of CARING for people!!!

This workplace is defined by a profoundly toxic culture that prioritizes cliques over professional standards. If you are looking for a collaborative, inclusive, or supportive environment, you will not find it here.
The Hard Truths
• Exclusionary Culture: The workplace is dominated by a specific demographic that frequently converses in their native language. This creates an environment of "us vs. them," where communication is stifled, cliques are the norm, and anyone outside that circle is effectively sidelined.
• Substandard Care: Because the culture is so fractured, the quality of care has plummeted. It is heartbreaking to see standards slip, but there is little accountability when the focus is on internal politics rather than the people we are meant to serve.
• Management Failures: Leadership is shockingly cold and disconnected. Rather than addressing the toxic dynamics, they remain indifferent to staff well-being. There is no mentorship—only a rigid, unfeeling administration.
• Rigid Policies vs. Low Pay: While the pay is at the bottom of the industry scale, the company is incredibly pedantic about breaks. You are forced to take them at specific times regardless of the workflow, yet you aren't compensated enough to make the stress worth it.
Advice to Management
Break up the cliques and enforce a universal language policy for professional settings to ensure safety and inclusion. Invest in empathy training, or better yet, hire leaders who actually care about the staff and the quality of service being provided.

I'm a former employee  and what I experienced was beyond disgusting. Lets start with the manager she is the biggest moaner you could ever work for doesn't give anything for  how she speaks to her workers as long as shes shouting or having a go that's when shes only happy. she leaves midday when shes in all she does is nag nag nag at you. when I was working there she would talk to you as if she was more superior than everyone else you couldn't even talk to her and say hello without her saying "did I tell you to talk to me or work less talking more working that's what im paying you to do" is what you will hear all the time another problem is she believes her own lies couldn't stay at this place. The work life is great the residents are lovely very welcoming. the pay is amazing despite the poor management. Now on to the other workers around 5 percent of them are decent people the rest are complete low life people who bully,abuse,smoke,gossip about others its like some of them don't care and when told to do something on your own its against policy but they don't care at all. sorry the worklife is absolutely boring all you do is walk around all day in a circle waiting for somebody to mess up so that you can work its a complete mess apart from early mornings lunch and dinner when you actually get to do something. easy money. 


most enjoyable thing about the job was the pay and the residents nothing else.

You can go above and beyond for this company, you can work for almost a year every weekend, 4 and 5 wake night shifts per week. You can show up early for every shift but they will never respect, value you or consider your well-being!!!

When you are genuinely ill or your car breaks down you will be abused for it, even if you only have what equates to around 7 days off in a year.

If you have worked 4 or 5 wake night shifts per week and staff don't show up in the morning when it is time to clock off, you are expected to stay which is totally inhumane.

The pay is exploitative, even more exploitative for weekend wake night staff as a sleep-in staff member would get only pence less.

Management promise career progression but deliberately take months to mark a simple social care workbook, which in turn delays the process of even becoming a registrant or allowing staff to make any progress.

If any health issues arise with the service-user (which often they do) you are expected to work overtime, even if you have worked all night and even travel to the hospital with no mileage refunded.

The family home environment and service-user were lovely to work with, this was the only positive thing about the job, everything else was beyond the joke disrespectful.









I have worked for Leonard Cheshire for many years, overall I would say it is a good company to work for, the big downfall is salary wages in London barely over the minimum wage and no extras for working nights or weekends. 
Staff are constantly told Saturdays and Sundays are part of the normal working week but they will try to make you work more weekends and have days off through the week. 
Management would think nothing if it suited them to change your shifts or your hours without any notice, day shifts have been cut In our service from 8 hours to 6.5 hours now leaving staff down on contracted hours and a few years ago staff had money shaved of the hourly rate which put some staff into financial difficulties.
higher management seem only to be bothered about the budget and there is no money in the pot for leisure activities meaning the poor residents have no social life.
Although being stuck in most days the residents are cared for and well looked after and quite often staff will use their own money or time to try and do activities with the residents 
Leonard Cheshire is run more like a money making organisation then a charity and the bosses at the top on huge salaries while poor support workers are barely earning a crust for all their hard work, it is definitely the wrong way round.

I started working at Greenhill house with my eyes open
At the interview I was told it’s 32 hours a week over 7 days
Well what they don’t tell you is that weeks clash and unless you complain you can be working 7 or 9 days without a day off
Generally residents are ok apart from a couple who I was advised will lie about people to get them into trouble if they don’t get their way
You will work a mix if shifts between 730 and 2130
You will not get suitable rest periods day to day if your on a late followed by an early
Some staff can be real moaners and team leaders/deputies also do this
PPE is supplied but this MUST be removed as a so called deaf person complains he can’t lip read this same person complains about noise at night
Some staff especially younger ones are not team players and if asked for help just lie saying there helping someone else when there not
You have to fill out your own time sheets or you won’t get paid
There is a smoker amongst residents who smokes you know what and will try to get you to light it he also lights up when you support him
Security is not the best as doors are left open during summer so anyone can walk in
Currently some residents ignore covid rules 
To sum up unless your a mug dont apply ask questions through at the interview

The clients in the johnstown home are absolutely lovely, as well as 'most' of the staff. It is a fast paced environment so it sometimes helps the day go faster but it is very exhausting. You are literally on the go straight from 7am all the way through til 9pm if you're on a long day, sometimes even missing breaks. Although I had previous experience in care I felt there was minimal training to prepare us. After just a day or two I was left to see to some clients alone, with no idea what their background or current diagnoses were. Had to chase up staff about questions and correcting mistakes as it seemed you didn't get necessities without asking. New staff were chucked in the deep end and left to work together due to staff shortage. Unfortunately a small few of staff members ruined the team by being bullies to new staff and taking about them to others behind their backs. This type of job is hard enough as it is without team work. Then, when some new staff told the manager what was going on and explained we were leaving, she seemed more concerned about making us feel bad rather than getting to the root of the problem. If you can handle the exhausting hours and have thick skin o ignore the two faced people maybe you'll be okay, otherwise working here will destroy you physically and mentally

I am always saying I am lucky because I love my job there are challenges most days at work but everything works out for the best, I left school with no qualifications but since working for Leonard Cheshire Disability I have gained so much experience in this area and had so many opportunities to develope my self and my skills, I work along side my co-workers but I am also their Team Leader I feel there is a good relationship between us and if ever I need assisstance with a difficult situation such as short staffed at short notice I always have volunteers I feel that I can support them in times where they need someone to listen to them. The hardest part of the job is when a service user passes away and when we have been a part of each others daily life for years It is very upsetting, the most enjoyable, well not any one particular thing is more enjoyable than looking after the service users and their families anything from a smile to introducing foods/ fluids to a previous nil by mouth service user an achievement gives enjoyment and a worth while feeling.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Support worker 698 salaries reported	£12.95 per hour
Registered nurse 77 salaries reported	£20.87 per hour
Team leader 89 salaries reported	£14.47 per hour
Deputy manager 40 salaries reported	£20.70 per hour
Service manager 46 salaries reported	£43,874 per year

Working at Leonard Cheshire: company overview and reviews

Leonard Cheshire

Leonard Cheshire ratings

Popular jobs at Leonard Cheshire

Salary satisfaction

Jobseeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected