Employee Handbook - Newcross Healthcare › sites › default › ... · When we set up Newcross Healthcare back in 1996 in Torquay, Devon, we were driven by a strong belief: there

Employee HandbookFor office staff

2 | newcrosshealthcare.com

A Warm Welcome to Newcross Healthcare

About NewcrossHealthcare

2.1 What We Do

2.2 Our Mission and Philosophy

2.3 Our Journey So Far

Newcross Healthcare and YouPolicies and Procedures

ContentsSection One

Section Three

Section Two

newcrosshealthcare.com | 3

A Warm Welcome to Newcross Healthcare

A message from the founders…

We are delighted that you have made the decision to join Newcross. We have chosen you because we believe you have something special to offer us, and possess talents that will support our business. We are confident that this career opportunity will provide you with all the challenge, rewards, development and attainment that you are seeking from an employment setting.

You have joined an elite team of professionals, all of whom share passion and commitment to succeed. Likewise, we are committed to providing you with the very best working experience. You will find many opportunities to develop and broaden your skills, abilities and effective behaviours, and we will actively encourage you to do so.

When we set up Newcross Healthcare back in 1996 in Torquay, Devon, we were driven by a strong belief: there must be a better way for care homes and individuals to find compassionate healthcare professionals who have the right qualifications and are dedicated to providing care.

With our respective backgrounds in nursing and IT solutions, we built a business that combined the very best in nursing practice and management information systems – and the rest is history. With a branch network stretching across the UK, much has changed since the early days, but our core values of trust, expertise and empathy remain the same.

Your happiness, wellbeing, performance and motivation are all important to us. We always welcome your feedback, so please get in touch with us if you have any concerns, issues or ideas on improving our business.

May we wish you a long and happy career with Newcross Healthcare.

Michelle GorringeManaging Director, RN

Stephen PattrickCEO

Section One


All new employees take part in a comprehensive induction programme, in which you will be shown your job tasks, how your role fits into the wider business, and how our systems can support you. We would ask that you pay close attention to your induction training as it will provide the springboard you need to achieve high quality, more effective working.

You may find that at Newcross we operate differently to your previous employers, but we hope that you understand our management style and methods are all fully integrated towards achieving the very best service and delivering excellence in all we do. The road to your future career with us starts here… the rest is up to you.

2.1 What We Do

Newcross Healthcare Solutions Ltd is a leading national employer of some of the UK’s most highly qualified and compassionate healthcare professionals.

Through our extensive network of local business centres, we place our nurses, healthcare assistants, support workers and care workers with private and public sector clients, as well as individual households, whenever they are needed.

2.2 Our Mission and Philosophy

At Newcross Healthcare our mission is to dominate the market through excellence.

Our philosophy Our human approach to healthcare means the following:

For our patients and service users • We provide them with the highest standards

of care. • We help enhance their quality of life and

maximise their potential. • We preserve their dignity and self-respect,

which includes taking into account their cultural and religious needs.

• We recognise that the right to privacy includes the need to respect the confidential nature of information relating to the individual, their family and friends.

For our healthcare and Complex Care professionals • There is access to support 24/7. • We give ongoing guidance and support to

all of our clients and staff via a free telephone number.

• We work in a collaborative and co-operative manner with all health professionals, community, social and other care workers involved in the provision of care, and recognise and respect their contribution within the care team.

About Newcross HealthcareExciting Times Lie Ahead for You!

Section Two

Our values make us stronger

Teamwork Honesty Listening Knowledgeable Inventive Conscientious Flexible Passionate


About Newcross Healthcare

2.3 Our Journey So Far

1996 Newcross is founded by Michelle Gorringe and Stephen Pattrick.

1998 We achieve ISO 9000 Quality Standard Accreditation.

1999 Our flagship branch opens in Torquay. Over the following five years, Newcross rapidly expands to become one of the leading providers of healthcare staff across the South West, also opening branches in Scotland, the South and South East, Bristol and Liverpool.

2000 Newcross achieves Investors in People recognition.

2003 We launch our revolutionary online booking system, providing clients and employees complete control over bookings.

2004 Newcross moves from Torquay to new headquarters in Berry Pomeroy, Totnes. Employees start receiving online pay slips and we launch text messaging to staff. Our name changes to Newcross Healthcare Solutions Ltd. We also introduce OCR recognition to timesheets, enabling timesheets to be scanned into our system to automatically invoice clients, reducing our overheads and ensuring cost effective and speedy payment of wages.

2006 Newcross celebrates its 10-year anniversary. We start providing ‘Carer Kitbags’ to all our home carers. These include an alarm, latex-free gloves, an apron, a circuit breaker torch and antibacterial hand gel.

2007 We achieve the Fire Mark Award in recognition of outstanding health and safety controls.

2008 Newcross introduces digital pens for home carers, enabling them to securely record service user notes and timesheet details electronically on our management system. We launch our Learning Disability services and are awarded a ground-breaking NHS contract in the South West of England. We also update our ISO 9000 quality standard to ISO 9001: 2008 and offset our carbon footprint by working with co2balance.com.

2010 Newcross and CrossReach announce the signing of a three-year, multi-million pound ground-breaking agreement to supply and manage all temporary nursing and healthcare staff throughout the CrossReach organisation. Between 2006 and 2012 expansion continues, with new offices opening in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, Isle of Wight, Kirkcaldy, Swansea and Woking.

2012 We introduce our revolutionary iPhone and Android app for availability and booking management. We are also awarded the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard.

2013 Branches open in Cardiff, Chester, Durham, Gloucester, Reading and Royal Tunbridge Wells. We also receive ISO 27001 (Internet Security) accreditation.

2014 Branches open in Bath, Cannock, Canterbury, Colchester, Coventry, Croydon, Dundee, Newcastle, Shrewsbury and Swindon.

2015 Our new staff intranet ‘myNewcross’ launches. Our 40th branch in Ashford opens, plus branches in Ayr, Barnstaple, Eastbourne, Hereford, Norwich and Yeovil.

2016 Newcross celebrates its 20th anniversary. Branches open in Chichester, Colwyn Bay, Ipswich, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, Peterborough, Romford and Stockport. We update our ISO 9001 and 14001 accreditations.

2017 onwards: Branches open in Crawley, Maidstone, Milton Keynes and Southend-On-Sea. Newcross is awarded the Silver Investors in People Accreditation.



Newcross Healthcare and You

Finance and accountsThis team is responsible for all financial transactions within the business and ensuring everyone on the weekly and monthly payroll gets paid. The Director of Finance is ultimately responsible for producing accurate monthly accounts and ensuring successful audits.

Human resources teamThe HR team consists of three separate functions:

Central Recruitment manage the process of engaging new healthcare employees from the moment they make an initial enquiry to the time they start their career.

Human Resources manage the recruitment/retention/performance/engagement of office-based and operational employees.

Learning & Development provide a range of clinical/healthcare/IT systems/management development/induction options to suit all requirements.

Information technology teamThis team is responsible for the booking system, myNewcross, account systems and the iPad Complex Care assessment tool. They are responsible for all IT systems and phones including support issues.

Marketing and communications teamThis team is responsible for all marketing, advertising and communication activities, internally and externally for the company. The Head of Marketing has overall responsibility for ensuring that the Newcross Healthcare brand is consistently applied across all communications, and the reputation of Newcross Healthcare as a sector-leading business continues to develop.

Office policies and procedures for your employmentYou will find all of our employment policies and procedures on the Helpdesk. These are updated annually so that a current version is always available. It is important that you read through and familiarise yourself with them.

To get you started, please find below a brief summary of the key policies that affect your employment, and some general advice on working life at Newcross:

General health and safety, no smoking policy,first aid and fire proceduresOn your first day, it is important that you understand the risks associated with your workplace and ensure you are aware of fire and evacuation procedures. The Health & Safety Policy details all of the procedures we have in place and your participation/responsibility is clearly outlined. Health and safety is everyone’s responsibility; you are bound by our Health & Safety agreement. If you spot a hazard or a potential health and safety risk it is your duty to report it to higher management.

Reporting accidents and incidentsFull procedures can be found on page 11 of POL 012.• The Business Centre Manager (or appropriate

T/L) must report the accident by sending an email to Accidents and Incidents.

• All accidents, however minor, must be recorded in the Accident Book held at each Branch. All accidents will then be centrally logged by the HR Team, and the Clinical Governance Team will identify any incidents reportable under RIDDOR.

• An electronic accident form will then be automatically sent back; this needs to be completed and returned to HR. The Senior Management Team will be immediately alerted to the incident and the Treasurer is also made aware.

Equality, anti-discrimination, anti-bullying and harassmentWe operate a zero tolerance approach to any form of discrimination and/or harassment of any kind, therefore any suspected cases must be alerted to higher management immediately. We work on the basis that everyone in society, regardless of age, being or becoming a transsexual person, being married or in a civil partnership, being pregnant or on maternity leave, disability, race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion, belief or lack


Section Three




of religion/belief, sex and or sexual orientation should be given equal opportunities to succeed with Newcross. Within the care profession there are some exceptions to this ruling, i.e. the sex of a carer can in some situations be selected by the client, and minimum ages are required in certain settings. More details are available from HR.

Disciplinary, capability and grievance procedureWhen conduct and/or attitude are below expected levels we have established procedures in place to help you understand where you need to improve. If we believe you know what you need to do, but just don’t do it, then the disciplinary procedure may be invoked. If, however, there is a gap in capability between your performance and that expected in the role, then we may invoke the capability policy and look to support you with further training. These policies follow the principles of ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service).

When this cannot be resolved through normal communication channels, then you have the right to raise a grievance. Grievances are investigated by a senior person and HR will be involved. Employees who raise a grievance are protected from any form of retribution or ill treatment as a result of bringing a grievance. At Newcross we welcome the opportunity to address grievances as we do not want any employees feeling aggrieved.

Maternity, paternity, time off for dependants, parental leaveEmployees with children need to understand exactly what support is available to help them balance the needs of work and those of bringing up a family. Our policies clearly state time off, notice periods, procedures for requesting changes to working patterns and our position on emergency time off. We are a family-friendly business and will always look for ways to retain employees where possible when childcare/ family needs/problems arise. In every situation the needs of the business will be weighed up against any changes requested.

Time-keeping and absence managementYour start and leave times are detailed in your employment contract and you should be ready to start work at the time stated. If you need to be absent from work due to any reason it is important that you call your line manager by telephone to explain your position (text messages and emails are not acceptable). Sickness absence is monitored by using the Bradford Score (further details in the policy), which tracks absence

by reason across the whole business. If your absence is higher than average you will have a conversation with your manager and, where applicable, occupational health intervention may be sought. If you need time away from work for another reason, please speak to your line manager in plenty of time so that authorisation may be sought.

Access to the employee intranetYou will be given access to myNewcross where you will be able to view, print and download copies of pay slips, your P60 each year and your P45 if you decide to leave us.

Annual leave authorisationThe Company annual leave year runs from 1st January to 31st December. Your entitlement to annual leave will be detailed in your contract of employment. At least a month’s notice for annual leave requests is required; a form for requests is available on the helpdesk. For annual leave of more than two weeks you should seek approval from a Director. Whilst we would like to accommodate everyone’s holiday requests we reserve the right to refuse annual leave requests or ask for them to be delayed should urgent business needs arise.

Passing probation and Performance Management Reviews (PMRs)All new starters are given a Newcross PMR folder. During your first six months of employment, you will participate in a thorough induction and be shown all the necessary tasks and behaviours required for your position. Some people pass their probation within six months, some people need a little longer. Please ensure you talk honestly with your manager about your performance and ask for help if you are unsure. Once you have passed your probation you will enter into our PMR programme, which requires you to undertake a full review every six months. The top performers will then go into our reward programme and will receive a substantial gift.

Achieving targets and deadlinesAt Newcross we operate a ‘high performance’ culture where KPIs (key performance indicators), targets and deadlines are spoken of daily. These important business measures are in place to make sure we deliver ‘performance’ at every level and our business continues to grow.

If you are struggling to hit your targets or are unsure about expectations at any time, please make sure you discuss this with your manager and look for ways to overcome the difficulty.


Computer use, internet and web access, email and data protectionWe have sophisticated IT (information technology) systems for recording data and we will train you to utilise all systems associated with your job. On a personal level, you are bound by our confidentiality agreement and we trust that you will respect the privacy of data you have access to and not abuse it. Personal data about you is kept confidentially within our HR system; you can request access to this by speaking to your line manager. Please be reminded that your work emails, work telephone calls and internet use can be tracked and audited centrally. Any unauthorised use will be dealt with via our disciplinary policy and serious breaches of our procedures will result in summary dismissal.

Social media, employee involvement and charitable activitiesAt Newcross we are proud of our commitment to supporting charitable activity and raising funds for worthy causes. From time to time we hold company events to raise money and awareness of good causes, and we encourage all employees to get involved in any way they

can. Newcross has its own Facebook page: join up today for access to interesting business news and events. In addition, we are proud to operate Nurchat, which is a fortnightly twitter chat to debate the latest changes in healthcare and keep up to date with developments.facebook.com/Newcrosshealthcare; nurchat.co.uk

ConfidentialityNewcross believes fully in the value of shared information, this information may also be shared with healthcare professionals such as doctors and nurses. It can be degrading to an individual to have intimate details of their care discussed with others. It can also be detrimental to their personal security if people who may try to take advantage of the situation know details of their personal circumstances.

Press comments and surveysOccasionally we get contacted by the media or survey companies to give opinions about news items or our business activities. Employees are not authorised to comment to external parties and all requests for this type of information must be passed to the Marketing and Communications Team at Head Office.


Key holders, opening and closing proceduresIf you are asked to be a key holder you will be given an authority form to sign. Please treat this responsibility carefully and ensure that you keep keys and access codes secure. For personal safety, please make sure you are aware of opening and closing procedures at your location.

Quality Assurance ISO9001:2008, ISO 14001 and Investors in People (IiP) accreditationThe word ‘quality’ is at the heart of all that we say, and most importantly, all that we do. External ISO and IiP assessors regularly audit our processes and procedures to make sure we keep up our standards. As part of our team, you too have a responsibility to ensure we not only meet the requirements but continue to improve.

PensionsAll eligible Newcross employees will have the opportunity to participate in our pension scheme provided by The People’s Pension, which came into effect on 1st July 2013. More information is available on the staff Extranet, including the opt-in form.

Contact details for The People’s Pension are:thepeoplespension.co.uk/employees

Changes to policies and proceduresThere is a rolling schedule of updates planned throughout the year to constantly review our policies and procedures. As and when we update or change key policies we will communicate changes to you via email and/or verbally.

Should you have any questions about any policies and procedures, please do not hesitate to discuss them with your line manager or contact a member of the HR Team on 01803 867800.

Your duty to deliver a great Newcross experienceWherever you are located within our business network, you will come into contact with Newcross stakeholders; they may be fellow employees, clients, service users or members of the public. It is important that you uphold our company brand image and treat them in a positive and respectful way at all times.

Positive business relationships help deliver a harmonious working environment and support our reputation. If you should receive a complaint from any individual, please deal with it promptly and efficiently through our complaints procedure.

Being a great colleague is an essential part of your work at Newcross Healthcare. This involves supporting other members of your team and colleagues across the business, being mindful of changing pressures and priorities. Good time management and the prioritisation of tasks are two key skills you will use every day to achieve our common goals.

Once again, a warm welcome to Newcross. We wish you a long and successful career.


Newcross Healthcare Solutions LtdWaterside, Berry PomeroyTotnes, DevonTQ9 6LH

Tel 01803 867800Fax 01803 867218

Email [email protected] newcrosshealthcare.com

Newcross Healthcare Solutions LtdWaterside, Berry Pomeroy

Totnes, DevonTQ9 6LH

01803 867800newcrosshealthcare.com

Unless stated otherwise, all text, photography, data and illustrations © Newcross Healthcare Solutions Limited 2017. All rights reserved.

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Employee Handbook - Newcross Healthcare › sites › default › ... · When we set up Newcross Healthcare back in 1996 in Torquay, Devon, we were driven by a strong belief: there