Live-in Carer Frequently Asked Questions

• Corinium Care is recognised as one of the most professional live-in care agencies in the country, as reflected in our numerous awards and many testimonials.
• Our training is first class and we pride ourselves on our high standards and attention to detail.
• All successful applicants attend a free introduction-to-caring training programme before being registered with our agency. This ensures that all new applicants are adequately prepared for their role as live-in carers and feel confident working with our clients. We then provide ongoing training for all our registered carers.
• We employ our carers directly, ensuring that you have paid holidays, full protection and excellent terms and conditions.
• We pride ourselves in personally assessing both our clients and carers which enables us to match the individual needs of the clients with the particular skills of the carers. In addition, we have a 24-hour support system in place should an emergency arise.
• Most importantly, we look after our carers, as well as our clients, recognising that the wellbeing of both is essential and mutually dependent.

Please include a full and up-to-date CV with your application. You will then be contacted by a member of our recruitment team to discuss your application further. You will need to complete the Data Protection and Home Office disclaimer.

All carers are legally required to undergo an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS) with the Disclosure and Barring Service including a DBS Adult First check.

If your application is successful you will be provided with all the necessary forms and further information will be provided on the documents we will need to see in order to send it off. The current fee that the UKHCA requires for the check is £63.20. This will be refunded if you work for 12 weeks with us.

The DBS now offers the option to join an update service which allows certificates to be kept up-to-date and transferred to different agencies/employers via an online system. The fee for this service is £13 per year and can currently only be applied for online at www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

British and EU passport holders are able to work in the UK without restrictions. If you are applying from outside these countries you will require a work permit. If you are a Commonwealth citizen and have a grandparent born in the UK you are entitled to an ancestral visa.

We recommend that you approach your local British consulate who will be able to advise on the type of visa you require. You will then need to send all the relevant forms and documents to the British consulate office in your home country. This can take some time so please allow for delay.

We also accept applications from those who are married to a member of an EEA national (spousal visa), have Indefinite Leave to Remain, Right to Abode, have been granted asylum, or have qualified for a visa on the UK points-based system.

Please note that we will need to see all original relevant work permits and Home Office letters before you are able to register with Corinium Care.

On receipt of your completed application form and the relevant documentation we will contact you to discuss your application, letting you know if further information or documents are required. Before we can process your application we require three satisfactory responses from your referees. It is advisable to provide email addresses or fax numbers to speed up the process. Then we will conduct a telephone or Skype interview.

If we receive suitable responses and approve your application, we invite you to attend our induction and training course .This is a five-day course generally held once a month at our offices in Gloucestershire. Please bear in mind that we cannot book you on to the training programme until we have completed all your paperwork. You will only be registered on our list of carers if you successfully complete the five days of interview, induction, training and assessment.

Our induction and training course and assessment is held over five days and is an introduction to Corinium Care, how we work and preparation for work with our clients.

Applicants are required to complete a number of questionnaires, practical assessments and scenario tests to assist the Corinium Care team in understanding more about your approach to the caring process. It is an intensive course and homework is supplied on most evenings.

Our courses are generally held one week per month, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm, and we recommend you secure your place on a training course before making your travel arrangements.

Included in the Corinium Care training and assessment course are Moving and Handling and First Aid, which are both very physical, so you need to be fit. Practical tasks include kneeling on the floor and getting back on your feet so you must feel confident in your ability to do this.

You are required to sign a disclaimer stating that you have no serious back or neck problems and that you are not pregnant. These are both essential sections of the course, and failure of one or both of these modules will result in a carer not being put forward for work.

We also use the training week to complete any paperwork.

Please note: we are required to see originals of at least three of the following documents: passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate, driving licence (UK), utility bill or bank/landline phone statement. We provide further guidance on what you need to provide if you are invited on to a training course. Certified copies are acceptable pre-course, but the originals must be brought to the course.

We are able to provide carers a space in our luxury accommodation facility “Railway House Apartments” which is directly next to the office. For the heavily subsidised rate of £15 per night, this includes breakfast and dinner provisions.

Once your application has been approved we will send you instructions on how to book accomodation for the e course if required.

We recommend you arrive at Railway House Apartments on the Sunday night. Alternatively, if you have friends or family who live nearby and choose to stay with them, by all means do, but please note you will need to organise your own transport to and from the office each day.

You do not need any specific qualifications to become a carer. Caring relies on your attitude and ability to be compassionate, patient and understanding. Certain qualities make a better carer, ie, flexibility, cheerfulness, a good sense of humour and excellent housekeeping skills.

Our preferred criteria are for carers to be a driver, non-smoker, have good housekeeping skills and be good with household pets. Experience can be a major advantage but is not essential and can be gained on the job.

During the training week, you will need to pay for the following: transport to your B&B the day before the course starts; accommodation priced at £15 per night (subject to change); DBS fee, £63.20 and evening meals/drinks.

Your DBS fee of £63.20 will be refunded to you following successful completion of 12 weeks work with Corinium Care.

Public transport in the UK is on the whole very reliable and stress free. Information is available online and at local Tourist Information centres.

All bus and train stations supply free timetables and information. Alternatively the website addresses and telephone numbers below should assist you in making travel arrangements.

With regards to travel costs, if you can plan more than a week in advance you will find the fares considerably reduced.

• National Express coaches: 0871 781 8178
• Rail enquiries: 03457 48 49 50
• Traveline: 0871 200 22 33

The clients pay travel expenses to a placement up to a certain amount, but they are not expected to pay homeward travel.

For new carers travelling from South Africa and Zimbabwe, you will probably arrive at Heathrow Airport, Terminal 5. Please see our ‘Arriving in London information‘ on this website.

If you are coming directly to us in Gloucestershire for a training course there are a couple of travel options from Heathrow airport:

• by train: take the shuttle from the airport to Paddington Railway Station. Trains go directly from Paddington to Stroud;
• by bus: take the X25 bus from Heathrow Central bus station (stop 11) to Reading train station, then catch a train to Stroud.
• When you reach Stroud, catch the bus to Nailsworth. Buses number 63/63A/69 travel hourly from Stroud to Nailsworth. Please see https://www.stagecoachbus.com/ for specific timetables.

We do suggest that overseas carers try to allow a few days after arriving in the country to organise bank accounts, mobile phones, sim cards and travel arrangements, etc. Although Nailsworth, where Corinium Care is based, has most amenities, shops and businesses are only open between 9am and 5pm which is when the course is taking place.

If you want to start work with the minimum delay we recommend that you sort out the above before the course begins.

A mobile phone is something we would highly recommend because carers are not always based in the same place. Having a mobile phone means that both Corinium Care staff and your family will always be able to contact you. It can also severely reduce stress on handover days when delays can cause problems and good communication is of the essence.

Carers from abroad will need to buy a new sim card for their phone and possibly a new phone. The Co-Op shop in Nailsworth sells Sim cards. Or you could try a pay-as-you-go arrangement with the following companies:

• EE
• Virgin Mobile
• Tesco Mobile
• Vodaphone

If you use your own car to drive the client or use your car during your stay, please ensure your insurance policy covers you for business use. Contact your own insurance company to check.

If you intend to use your own car we must annually have a copy of your driving licence, insurance policy and MOT certificate for your file before you can work with a client who requires a driver.

As an agency we cannot guarantee work to anyone. Due to the nature of live-in care work our situation can change from day to day, eg, clients may go into hospital unexpectedly, etc. However, we work very hard to match your caring skills with the client’s needs.

We advise that it is essential to have enough funds to cover your own accommodation and living expenses for at least 1-2 weeks during and after the interview and training process.

We work hard to ensure our clients and carers are well matched which limits stress and upset to all parties. For this very reason, however, it may not be possible to place you immediately after the training course.

Carers are placed for a week at a time. However, we like our carers to commit to a work period lasting several weeks or months. Most of our carers work for three to six months before taking a break. This allows our clients greater consistency of care and our carers a more settled work environment.

Our working week generally runs from Wednesday to Wednesday and the minimum placements are usually for one week or longer. That means that if you want a couple of days off you need to take a full week off. We will happily put you on the standby list for emergency work if you find yourself available for a few spare days.

You are paid directly by Corinium Care, 4 weekly in arrears directly into your nominated bank account.

Yes, it is absolutely essential that you have a base address in the UK. This is for two reasons. First, work is never guaranteed and we cannot promise that there will not be weeks where work is not available and you will need somewhere to stay. Second, it is easier to obtain a UK bank account when you have a UK address.