Posted 05 May 2022 - 10:00
Posted 05 May 2022 - 10:00
News
Bonuses of up to £5,000 offered to nurses for joining care homes
The ‘welcome’ bonuses are part of a recruitment drive by some care home providers to attract much-needed staff
The ‘welcome’ bonuses are part of a recruitment drive by some care home providers to attract much-needed staff
Nurses are being offered ‘welcome’ bonuses of up to £5,000 to work in care homes for adults with complex needs.
National care operator Exemplar Health Care is offering the bonuses to registered nurses and nurse managers as part of a recruitment drive.
The move comes amid severe shortages of registered nurses in adult social care settings, with employers who can afford to do so offering incentives to attract much-needed staff.
Five homes run by Exemplar, which specialises in providing care for adults with complex and high-level needs, are offering welcome bonuses of either £3,000 or £5,000 to nurses.
Successful applicants will also have access to a range of rewards and benefits including discounts on shopping and services, a car salary sacrifice scheme, access to wages before payday, well-being support and in-house training.
Care home seeks adult, mental health or learning disability nurses as well as nurse managers
A £5,000 bonus is available to nurses who join the Ribble View care home in Preston, which is looking to recruit registered adult, mental health or learning disability nurses as well as senior nurses to work as unit managers.
Home manager Shannon O’Dea said: ‘We already have a fantastic, close-knit team and we are looking to bring people on board who share the same values and commitment to provide the very best care for our residents.’
She said nurses who joined the team would get full training as part of their induction and be supported by a buddy for the first few weeks.
Other care homes offering signing bonuses include:
- Meadowcroft Care Home in Sutton in Ashfield – £5,000
- Church Walk care home in Rochdale – £3,000
- Thames House care home in Rochdale – £3,000
- Otterburn care home in Birmingham – £3,000
A government survey of nearly 9,000 adult social care settings in England last autumn found many were struggling to recruit nursing and other key staff.
Employers said the top reasons for staff leaving included better pay and terms and conditions outside the care sector, as well as concern about mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations – a policy that has since been scrapped.
Last month the government announced that £5.4 million from its new social care levy would go towards boosting recruitment and retention of adult social care staff, including providing professional development for nurses.
It has also pledged to work with the university sector to create additional practice placements in care settings to encourage more nursing students to enter the sector when they qualify.
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