Case Study
Consulting with employees
Providing expert HR services to West Heanton Residential Home
West Heanton Residential Home are a family run business, offering both residential care and care in the community. We have a longstanding relationship with West Heanton. Coming onboard as a client member back in 2014, West Heanton have developed a close partnership with our team of experts and work closely together with them.
We support West Heanton Residential Home operationally with casework, but also with their HR policies and processes for the business. One of the first projects we managed was the development of their handbook and policies. Since then, we have made sure that the content of the handbook is always up to date and in line with current legislation.
We also update West Heaton about changes to employment law and offer commercial advice about how to change their practices to ensure legal compliance.
West Heanton have a fantastic relationship with their main point of contact, Vicki Ellis, who has been working with them since 2016. This continuity has really enabled West Heanton to entrust us with their ongoing projects.
A large piece of work Vicki supported them with was in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic. Care homes were greatly impacted during the pandemic and legislation in this area was often a movable feast. Vicki was able to take ownership of the HR operations and guide the management team effectively, minimising any potential risks.
Why West Heanton chose us
West Heanton value the option of having an onsite HR presence. Our local consultants regularly spend time at the care home to support and often lead with casework. This enables the line managers to focus on what they do best and can rest assured that HR matters will be dealt with quickly and in a legally compliant way.
“We’ve worked with Fitzgerald for many years now, they not only help us with day-to-day HR situations but also with more complex issues like disciplinaries and grievances. What’s important to us is that we get support quickly when issues arise, due to the nature of our business it is vital for the safety and welfare of our residents that we deal with any issues that raise in an efficient manner. We have built a great relationship of trust with Fitzgerald knowing that they will always do the right thing for us.
Some work we have done with Fitzgerald includes consulting with all of our employees on the compulsory Covid vaccination legislation. They managed the whole process for us from writing to the employees and notifying them of the requirements to holding the consultation meetings and confirming the outcome of each consultation meeting. They were there to advise us each step of the way and ensure we were aware of any risks that were involved.
Fitzgerald are always great to work with, our HR consultant is professional, friendly and proactive. For us, one of the biggest advantages is that Fitzgerald have really got to know our individual business, there are far too many services out there that give you general advice, but Fitzgerald give the personal touch, it enables them to really understand how we operate and as a result we receive advice that truly is tailored to us.
Their HR consultants go the extra mile, are available to attend face to face meetings and are always on the end of the phone when we need them. Overall, the service that Fitzgerald provides is invaluable and helps us to free up time to focus on caring for our residents and not become consumed with managing staffing matters.
To ensure we’re doing the right thing by all employees, the key things we are looking for from an HR partner is up to date legislation and, specifically, guidance on how it applies to the care industry. We definitely get this from Fitzgerald HR who provide a high level of expertise coupled with an excellent understanding of the care industry and the challenges involved. We would definitely recommend them.”
Tom Bond
West Heanton Residential Home
