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Concerts for Carers

We are excited to share a fantastic and brand new benefit with all of our Scottish Care members which we think you will love!

First of all a few questions? Do you love live music? Do you love going to concerts? Would you like to go for FREE?

If the answer to any of these questions is YES then we have the best new benefit for you to sign up for TODAY!

Concerts for Carers is an amazing charity that provides FREE tickets to carers across the country!  All you have to do is register, pick the concert you want to go to, your name will be put in the digital “hat” and if you win, you get to go to the concert of your choice for FREE! The only cost to you is £4.50 for a booking fee and this all goes to fund this incredible charity and gives it the ability to offer this amazing benefit to carers everywhere!

We have an exclusive update for members that Concerts for Carers has just received a large allocation of tickets to the Big Top Edinburgh Series which kicks off this Saturday at Royal Highland Centre. Featuring Madness, 50 Cent, Fatboy Slim and more! The events will be up on the website shortly.You can find out more about Concerts for Carers via the flyer below.

Download flyer

We also recently hosted a webinar with Concerts for Carers and we were delighted to be joined by Harry Gywnne, Events & Marketing Executive, who spoke to members on how Concerts for Carers work and how they can register. The recording of this webinar is now available to view.

Watch the webinar here
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Leadership sessions for senior/strategic leaders in social care

Please see below for fliers from SSSC for two separate workshops for senior/strategic leaders in social care and social work.

The first is an informal two-hour Peer Support and Reflective Practice session which is designed to bring people together to reflect on, and share, their leadership experiences and learning from the past two years, thinking about how this learning can be used to support themselves and others going forward.  Eight of these sessions will be delivered between now and the end of March 2022 and group sizes will be limited to eight to allow for meaningful discussion.  Participants would only need to attend one session.

Download flyer

The second session is a more focussed Leading in a Crisis workshop where participants will be supported to consider in a bit more depth what’s needed to successfully lead with compassion during a crisis and to reflect on personal leadership capability, including strengths and areas for leadership development.  These will be three-hour sessions and they will be delivered in March 2022.  Again group sizes will be limited to eight and people would only need to attend one session.

Download flyer

The sessions are being delivered by Kinharvie, have been funded and commissioned by the Scottish Government, and are being supported by the SSSC.  If you’re interested in attending any of the sessions, please note interest using the email address noted in the fliers and they willl get back in touch to confirm your place and with further details.  The sessions will be delivered online via Zoom.

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Staff joining social care to have fees waived

SSSC registration and PVG checks to be funded.

New staff joining the social care workforce are to have entry costs paid by the Scottish Government until the end of March.

Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) checks and Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) registration will now be funded to help encourage more staff into the profession and address winter staffing pressures.

The scheme starts today and will include staff taking up direct care posts in adult social care, along with comparable roles in children’s social care services and the justice sector.

It has been introduced following discussions with COSLA and will cover local authority, private and third sectors.

Social care minister Kevin Stewart said:

“Care workers have been absolutely critical to our pandemic response, giving vulnerable people the care they need and avoiding further pressure falling on the NHS.

“This trial aims to assist easing winter pressures in this sector by removing any financial barriers that may stop people from applying for a rewarding career in care.

“There are  significant pressures in social care due to high vacancy levels and increased demand. I hope this support will encourage those considering joining this vital workforce to go ahead and do so.

“We will continue to work closely with our partners to identify all possible ways we can assist the social care sector to aid recruitment and retention within the workforce at this critical time.”

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Achieving net zero is the future – actions to take now for a greener business

Net zero. Make it your business.

As we all race to tackle the climate crisis, reducing carbon emissions and achieving net zero is the future – for our planet, and for your business.

Scotland’s enterprise agencies and public sector partners offer a wide range of support, guidance, and funding to businesses looking to begin or progress their journey to net zero.

We all need to take action now, and we’re here to help. Visit netzeronation.scot/business to access all of the resources you need to take the next step.

Take action for a greener business

Here are the top 5 actions your business can take to reduce emissions to help tackle the global climate emergency and work towards achieving net zero.

Find out more >

Funding for your net zero project

Loans up to £100k are available to help you pay for energy and carbon-saving upgrades in your business. You could also receive a cashback grant of up to £20k.

Find out more >

Upskill your workforce

The Green Jobs Workforce Academy from Skills Development Scotland can help people take a greener approach to their careers. Packed full of learning and training resources, it can help your workforce acquire new skills and adapt to greener jobs.

Find out more >

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Financial Harm/Scam updates

We have been sent updates on financial harm/scams that we thought would be useful to share with members/colleagues. Please see below for links to these updates.

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Branch Chairs Documents

We are sharing further information and documents regarding the Scottish Care Branch Chairs ahead of the AGM on Thursday 12 August 2021, which will see the ratification of Branch Chairs. We hope that this information will be useful in letting members see what the role of a Branch Chair entails and how the process works.

Should you have any queries at all, please contact our Membership Support Team at [email protected].

Branch Chair Induction Process Powerpoint
Guidance for Branch Chairs
Branch Chair Vacancy Flow Chart
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Legal Webinar: BTO Solicitors – 23 June

We are delighted to present the second webinar in our Legal Webinar series.

These webinars will feature our Legal Resources Select group, a carefully selected group of law firms in Scotland. Find out more about our Legal Resources Select group here.

This session will take place on Wednesday 23 June at 2PM, hosted by Scottish Care CEO, Dr Donald Macaskill and featuring representatives from BTO Solicitors LLP.

Webinar link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82002823134

Webinar ID: 820 0282 3134

More information on the webinar session below:

Covid Legacy Challenge: Would your organisation pass the Covid health check?

BTO will consider a range of challenges affecting organisations in the post-Covid era. From employment law claims to Health and Safety Investigations/prosecutions, employers must still be wary.  While we hope that the worst of the pandemic is over, there is still much for employers to be aware of.

We will provide advice on how best to manage the ongoing employment issues, looking at, for example, foreign travel and holidays, self-isolation and quarantine, and vaccinations, with a review of some of the Covid related employment tribunal claims that are now, in increasing numbers, coming through the system,

We will consider the continuing health and safety obligations, and how to protect your workplace from claims and Regulatory scrutiny. BTO will consider the challenges that you may face and how best to ensure resilience in the face of emerging risks and longer term aspects of the post Covid era. Q&A for members.

Our presenters are as follows:

Douglas Strang, Associate – Employment Law: [email protected] / 0141 221 8012

Vikki Watt, Partner & Solicitor Advocate – Health & Safety, Regulatory & Criminal Defence: [email protected] / 0141 225 5317.

 

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Effective Voice Survey – Fair Work in Social Care

The Fair Work in Social Care Group aims to improve the working experience of those in the adult social care workforce, working together to progress the recommendations already outlined in the Fair Work Convention report, which have also been endorsed by the Independent Review of Adult Social Care.

Scottish Care is now issuing two short surveys on effective voice (that is, how much influence people can have on their working experience) on behalf of the Fair Work group in collaboration with CCPS.

One survey is for employers and one for employees. These surveys are designed to help the group understand what effective voice looks like for you.

We kindly ask you to complete the survey once, based on your job role – either employer or employee. You may share the employee link with other staff members. Your answers will be completely confidential as the data will be held by Scottish Care.

Employer survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FairWorkEmployerSurvey

Employee survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FairWorkEmployeeSurvey

We would be grateful if you could complete this and thank you in advance for taking part. We look forward to hearing your experiences.

Survey deadline: Sunday, 23rd May, 5pm

Many thanks,

Karen (Scottish Care) & Alison Christie (CCPS [email protected])
The Fair Work in Social Care Group