In April this year, Abbeyfield will provide a pay increase to all staff, and will be increasing its overall pay wage bill by 15% for frontline staff, bringing salary ranges into the upper quartile in England. It is also enhancing annual leave for long serving staff.
Abbeyfield will also be enrolling all staff in Medicash, a group medical cash-back scheme, which allows employees to reclaim a variety of medical expenses. This will be fully funded by Abbeyfield and includes up to four dependent children under the age of 24.
This will bolster Abbeyfield’s already comprehensive benefits package, which includes the opportunity for staff to progress their pay as they develop new skills, the provision of a generous and fully funded group life assurance plan, a competitive company pension scheme and enhanced sick pay.
Abbeyfield recognises that staff’s overall health and wellbeing is fundamental to having a well-balanced work and home life. As such, it provides helpful guidance, support tools and access to a mental wellbeing evidence-based app to prevent and manage stress, anxiety and related conditions.
It recently launched a new suite of wellbeing and inclusion training courses and promotes regular Financial Fitness Friday webinars to support financial wellbeing – something that is particularly important for staff in the current climate – with its employee assistance programme giving staff 24/7 access to expert advice, information and a personal support system of trained counsellors.
Last year Abbeyfield was delighted to achieve official accreditation as a menopause friendly employer and is dedicated to supporting female employees through what can be a very difficult time in their lives.
The organisation also offers an employee discount scheme thorough it Benefits at Work portal, which includes discounts at a range of retail outlets, hotels, cinemas, Uber and more. Furthermore, it offers charity worker discounts, gym membership discounts, savings on car, home and travel insurance, an e-voucher rewards scheme, subsided eye tests and a generous £500 recommend a friend staff referral scheme.
In addition, Abbeyfield is committed to investing in education, training and development, with a first-class accredited leadership development programme and apprenticeships available to all staff. This gives staff an enriching environment and clear trajectory in which to learn and develop their careers within the social care sector. It also runs staff recognition schemes such as Team of the Month to recognise and reward outstanding performance.
"As we all know, the past few months have been unprecedented, with a cost of living crisis, fuelled by rising inflation, high energy bills and the war in Ukraine. This is putting a lot of extra pressure on our workforce and affecting their lives both at home and at work. Alongside this, our sector is experiencing huge recruitment and retention challenges, with record numbers of vacancies in health and social care. We are committed to supporting our loyal and hard-working staff through this current cost of living crisis and beyond. We truly value our staff’s significant contribution to Abbeyfield and our residents, and hope that our competitive pay and benefits package will make a difference in these challenging times. We are keen to attract and retain the best people and encourage them to stay and develop their careers with us, and will continue to invest in further initiatives to support our employees.”
Gail Manley, HR Director
Abbeyfield was recognised as being one of the best large companies to work for in the UK in 2022 by Best Companies, and was recently ranked sixth in a list of the best UK social care companies to work for in 2023.
The latter rating was compiled by Breakroom, an online community platform that helps users to find more about a whether a company they are considering working for would meet their needs and expectations.
Through a unique survey of front-line shift workers, a profile of each company was built based on factors including pay, hours and flexibility and workplace environment.
Gail added, “We believe that our pay and benefits package is an attractive offer and hope it will attract new talent to Abbeyfield and a rewarding career within the social care sector”.
Learn more about working at Abbeyfield
What is it like working at Abbeyfield?
Working at Abbeyfield has many benefits and has again achieved 'one to watch' status from Best Companies. Here we have many stories from our wonderful members of staff explaining what it is like working at Abbeyfield.
Jobs at Abbeyfield
At Abbeyfield, we believe that great care starts with great people. We’re committed to providing a high standard of care, accomodation and companionship to our residents and we’re always keen to hear from people who share our commitment to enhancing the lives of older people in the UK. From carers to house managers, activities coordinators to cooks, plus roles in our head office, Abbeyfield has a varied range of career options available.
About Abbeyfield
For over 60 years, everyone is welcome at Abbeyfield. Wherever you find us, you’ll find we’re warm, open and friendly. Community is at the heart of Abbeyfield, where people come together to share meals, company, and enjoy life. Abbeyfield is more than a home, it’s a neighbourhood, a community, a family.