Information for applicants

Wellbeing

Choice Support recognises the importance of positive health and wellbeing for all our employees:

Annual leave - Time off for you to spend how you wish, to relax & recharge, to spend with family and friends. Plus statutory bank holiday entitlement.

Employee assistance programme - Free confidential advice and counselling for all employees and your immediate family.

Eyecare scheme: Regular eyesight test for employees who use a PC & if eligible contribution towards new glasses.

Cycle to work scheme: a salary sacrifice to assist you with purchasing a new bike that you can use to get to/from work whilst also keeping fit and improving your wellbeing.

Health & wellbeing strategy - We hold monthly group sessions & have appointed health & wellbeing ambassadors.

Family friendly policies- To help achieve a greater work life balance our policies include flexible working, carers leave & shared parental leave.

Financial Wellbeing

Your financial wellbeing is important too:

Pension- All employees who meet the legal requirements for auto-enrolment will automatically be enrolled into an auto enrolment pension provider selected by the organisation.

Access to earned pay- Provides you instant access to up to 40% of your salary, without needing to wait for payday! For every day and the unexpected, having instant access to the money you’ve earned, puts you in the driving seat.

Employee discount platform- Discounts on your weekly food shop, gym membership, wellness products, travel & much more!

Blue Light card- Working in the health & social care industry you will have access to purchase the Blue Light card giving you even more discounts! For just £4.99 providing 2 years access.

Attendance & training bonus- An opportunity to earn an additional £600 per year (pro rata for part time)*

Life assurance - 2 x annual salary after one years continuous service.

Refer a friend scheme - We always need great people to join us! We offer a unlimited £500 for each successful appointment made*

Other benefits that we think are worth a mention:

Long service awards - we celebrate our employees when they reach certain milestones with us!

Choice rewards - Great work deserves to be recognised. One-off cash payments that managers can make to their
staff, to acknowledge exceptional work and demonstrating our values in a way that is worthy of special praise.

Discounted or free event tickets - Access to a website that gives away free and discounted tickets for music, comedy, theatre, and sports events across the UK.

Business mileage - We pay 45p per mile should you need to use your own car for work purposes*

Driving lessons - If the service you work in requires drivers and you want to learn we will contribute towards up to 20 lessons*

*Terms and conditions apply.

Please note some of our benefits are only applicable to permanent staff.

The work can sometimes be demanding, but it is always rewarding, with the satisfaction that comes from helping someone else get the best out of life.

A support worker's role is never dull as there are never two days the same. The work you do is whatever the person you are supporting wants or needs to do. One day you might be supporting someone with their personal care, medication, shopping and housework, and then supporting someone to call their family via an online call (Teams/Zoom etc).
. Another day you might be accompanying someone to the cinema or a club, or helping them make dinner for friends.

If your role is to help people into work, you'll be focused on helping them to achieve their goals and overcome barriers to employment. Your support could include helping people to submit job applications and prepare for interviews.

Choice Support offers all our staff and volunteers opportunities to embrace our values and purpose, and bring these to life when working with us. Our purpose is to create opportunities for people to be happy. Our values underpin what we do and help us to be the best we can be. They provide us with strong foundations and are reflected in our policies and procedures and comprehensive training to better support people. Our values are:

We care

We care about people and stand up for what is right.

We respect

We are open and honest and value people for who they are.

We learn

We listen, we work together and we continue to improve.

We lead

We are experts at what we do and make good ideas happen.

We are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion and taking action to address inequality. We particularly welcome applications from anyone who is from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background, anyone who considers themselves to have a disability and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Read more about our approach to diversity, inclusion and belonging here.

Ban the Box campaign

We are pleased to consider applications from people with criminal convictions. Most convictions do not present an obstacle to employment with us. We have signed up to the Ban the Box campaign and will only ask for details of criminal records later on in the recruitment process.

Disability Confident

Choice Support is Disability Confident, which is a scheme run by the Department of Work and Pensions. As part of our commitment we operate a Guaranteed Interview Scheme - all candidates who declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be guaranteed an interview.

The Halo Code

Choice Support is delighted to be adopting the Halo Code and joining the fight against race-based hair discrimination. We recognise the cultural, ethnic, racial and religious importance of Afro-hairstyles and we promise members of the Black community the “freedom and security to wear all afro-hairstyles without restriction or judgement.”

Find out more about the Halo Code.

Care Leavers Covenant

Choice Support is delighted to have signed a commitment to the Care Leavers Covenant to encourage more young care leavers to start a career in social care. We are working in partnership with the Covenant as part of the Government’s ‘Keep on caring strategy’ to support young care leavers (aged 16-25) to help them to secure work and live independently.

Leonie Brooks, People & Performance manager, is our lead for the Care Leavers Covenant. Watch this video from Leonie or contact her directly if you are a care leaver wanting more information.

Mindful Employer

The Mindful Employer Charter is a national initiative, and becoming a signatory demonstrates our public commitment to promoting positive mental health in the workplace. We provide support and make adjustments for job applicants and staff who tell us they have a mental health condition. As part of this support we offer all colleagues the benefit of the AXA PPP Employee Assistance Life Management support programme.

Menopause Workplace Pledge

We recognise that for some people going through the peri-menopause and menopause, the symptoms can have a big impact on their day-to-day lives. Given that we all spend a lot of our time at work, we wanted to make sure that we are doing all we can to support our colleagues at Choice Support who are experiencing peri-menopause and menopause.

Find out more about the Menopause Workplace Pledge

The Stand With Trans Pledge

Choice Support are proud to support our trans, non-binary and gender-diverse colleagues, volunteers, and people who use our services. We want the people that we support and those who work for us to feel safe and that they belong, regardless of their background or gender identity.

Find out more about the Stand With Trans Pledge

The Stephen Lawrence Day Pledge

For the 30th anniversary of Stephen Lawrence's death, Choice Support pledged to continue being part of the global movement of change to reject racism and make sure the next 30 years look different from the last.

Find out more about the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation

Click to read some recruitment FAQs but if you have any other queries please feel free to send us a message.