Posted on

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.”

Posted on

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 >

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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
Posted on

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.

 

Posted on

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

Posted on

Save the date – Homecare Festival (15-17 June)

This year’s Care at Home and Housing Support Conference will be virtual.

The conference titled the ‘Homecare Festival’  will take place from Tuesday 15 June – Thursday 17 June 2021.

This event will look at the theme of ‘Home First’ and is an important opportunity in recognising the crucial role of care at home and housing support services in supporting our older and vulnerable citizens.

There will be a series of online sessions over this three-day period, bringing together a range of speakers to highlight challenges faced by the care at home and housing support sector and to discuss the future of homecare.

More details will be available shortly.

#homecarefestival  #homefirst
Posted on

Webinar – Infection Prevention and Control for COVID-19 in Care at Home

A series of webinars has been organised for care at home providers and those that provide paid care in client’s homes. The aim of the webinar is to enhance the confidence and knowledge of paid carers and personal assistants to appropriately apply Infection Prevention Control (IPC) measures within home settings. The webinar will include example scenarios applicable to working within a client’s home and will be an opportunity to focus on the practicalities of applying IPC while carrying out tasks within these environments. The webinars will be led by Specialist Advisor-Infection Prevention & Control within ARHAI and supported by the Scottish Government

The ultimate objective is to ensure all current IPC measures are effectively implemented in Care at Home settings.

These workshops will include a section where participants can raise questions and all questions and answers will be complied and published after the sessions.

We encourage all those working within care at home environments to attend the workshops.

Three sessions will be held on the following dates

27 April 2021 – 14:00-15:30

28 April 2021 – 14:30-16:00

5 May 2021 – 14:30-16:00

We recommend joining the session 5 minutes before the starting time due to there being limited spaces.

Please note, the sessions on 27th and 28th April are being hosted by Scottish Government via Microsoft Teams and therefore spaces are limited and are on a first come, first served basis. You can join by clicking the link. Registration for these sessions is not required.

27th April 14:00-15:30

Join on your computer or mobile app Click here to join the meeting

Or call in (audio only) +44 131 376 2847,,67101228#   United Kingdom, Edinburgh

Phone Conference ID: 671 012 28#

28th April 14:30 – 16:00

Join on your computer or mobile app Click here to join the meeting

Or call in (audio only)

+44 131 376 2847,,58698890#   United Kingdom, Edinburgh

Phone Conference ID: 586 988 90#

The session on 5th May is being hosted by Scottish Care. This webinar will be hosted on Zoom and is open to Scottish Care members and non-members. Registration is required and spaces are limited therefore please register early to avoid missing out.

Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cW2Sq_5dQOym7Ero3kRAWA

Once you have registered, you will receive an email invite from Zoom with the details to join this session.

If you come across any issues registering or do not receive an email invite after registering, please contact [email protected].

The session hosted via Zoom will be recorded and it is intended that it will be available for use after the sessions have taken place.

For further guidance on IPC within community care settings can be found: National Infection Prevention and Control Manual: Scottish COVID-19 Community Health and Care Settings Infection Prevention and Control Addendum