News
HC-One tackles recruitment and retention challenges with new pay and reward offer
The UK’s leading care provider HC-One to make its biggest ever investment in pay to ensure its experienced and trained carers can earn above the Real Living Wage. From early 2022, every HC- One carer who has two years of experience will be paid more than £9.90 per hour regardless of their age. The final rates are subject to consultation with the GMB, the recognised union for HC-One’s care workers.
In addition, new starters will receive a pay increase after they have completed their first six months with HC-One, in recognition of the learning and experience gained. Colleagues in London will receive above the London Real Living Wage rate of £11.05 per hour after six months to reflect the costs of living in the capital.
Carers in Scotland will continue to be paid at least £10.02 per hour in line with the national Real Living Wage and the new national minimum hourly rate. Standardised, fully transparent pay scales will meanwhile be introduced across all HC-One homes from early 2022 to allow staff to see how
Anchor lifts occupancy rates to hit target ahead of schedule
Anchor said it has seen occupancy rates at its care homes recover strongly as it reached a year-end target six months ahead of schedule. The London-based provider’s occupancy
rates rose to 84.1 per cent as of 30 September, a rise of nearly six per cent from 78.2 per cent at the end of March.
The sixth largest residential care home
operator in England said the rise in occupancy and operating margin – up to 13.7 per cent at the end of September from 8.8 per cent in the year ending 31 March – is in line with its Covid-19 recovery plan.
As part of this, its occupancy rates in care
homes have reached the March 2022 year-end recovery target. Anchor has meanwhile committed to Living Wage Foundation rates of pay across all current National Living Wage roles across the group from 1 December and commit to
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gaining Living Wage Employer Accreditation by May 2022. “We recognise that our achievements
would not be possible without the efforts of our skilled and dedicated colleagues, and I would like to thank them for their continued work,” said Anchor chief executive Jane Ashcroft. “Availability of a suitably qualified and
experienced workforce is crucial to achieving quality services for residents, high levels of regulatory compliance and occupancy and therefore a sustainable and successful business,” she added.
they can develop their careers at the provider. The pay scales will take into account
different regional costs of living, being divided into three zones across the UK: London, Scotland and the South East, and the rest of the UK. With the new scheme, an
investment of over £17m, HC- One aims to incentivise new and existing staff to continue their career development in the sector,
and to recognise the dedication and skills of longer-serving carers. “Our new pay and reward offer is designed to help us to attract and retain the very best people to provide high quality, kind care to our residents and to help us achieve our mission to be the first choice for families, colleagues and commissioners in the communities we serve,” said chief executive James Tugendhat (pictured). “We look forward to continuing to work closely with commissioners and our local authority partners to further recruitment and retention initiatives, building on the welcomed support of the government including the £162.5m Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund in England,” he added.
Target Healthcare REIT completes 18-home acquisition spree
Target Healthcare REIT has completed the acquisition of 18 operational care homes as part of a £173m spending spree in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The portfolio is spread across eight tenants, three of which are new to Target, including Barchester Healthcare and two regional operators. Representing in excess of 1,200 beds, the acquired 18-home portfolio has an average age of approximately 11 years. All of the properties are purpose- built care homes with modern facilities including 100 per cent ensuite provision, 96 per cent of which benefits from full wet rooms.
In a related development, Target
revealed construction has started of a new care home in Weymouth. The development is being undertaken
on a fixed price contract with the developer LNT Group and Target will earn interest on capital deployed through the construction phase. Upon reaching practical completion
scheduled for June 2022, the care home will be leased to regional operator, Chanctonbury Healthcare, on a 35-year, full repairing and insuring lease. Following the acquisitions, Target’s portfolio rises to 98 assets and to 32 tenants once the Weymouth scheme becomes operational.
“The acquisition of the 18-care home portfolio increases the size of the group’s existing portfolio by approximately 20 per cent and demonstrates the group’s ability to undertake transactions of scale,” said John Flannelly, head of investment at Target Fund Managers. “On completion next year, the
Weymouth asset will be a best-in- class care home in a location which demonstrates favourable demographics, whilst we are also pleased to be further diversifying our tenant base by partnering with a new, experienced operator in Chanctonbury Healthcare,” he added. “We have a number of other
transactions at advanced stages of due diligence and expect to be in a position to make further announcements in due course.”
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com January 2022
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