Essex County Council is the first to fund a Care England-backed employee assistance programme (EAP) to support its care sector workers.
The EAP will be provided by Perkbox Vivup and will focus on reducing sector-specific workforce challenges.
The care sector has faced major recruitment and retention challenges in recent years, as work-related stress and burnout hit staff, while low pay and the cost of living crisis combined to make things worse. At the same time, the demand for social care is rising as the population ages.
In response to concerns about staff wellbeing and retention, and high levels of job vacancies in the sector, the council said the need for employers to nurture and support social care workers is more important than ever.
The Essex EAP, provided by Perkbox Vivup on behalf of Care England, consists of four wellness pillars — mental, financial, physical and community.
Under the programme, care staff have access to 120 employed counsellors 24/7, 365 days a year; access to secondary mental health support with clinicians, including an online GP service; the use of an early intervention, self-service wellness platform, which includes assessments, recommendations, and signposting to suitable treatment; access to domestic abuse resources; and dedicated menopause support.
Fully funded EAP
Essex County Council is the first council to fully fund and make use of the Care England-Perkbox Vivup partnership for its care sector employees.
John Spence, counsellor and cabinet member for health and social care at Essex County Council, said: “Care sector workers are unsung heroes, providing care for some of the most vulnerable members of our society. They should feel supported and deserve services that help them to manage and improve their own wellbeing.
“I am proud that Essex County Council is the first council to fully fund and use the Care England-Perkbox Vivup partnership for the benefit of our county’s care-sector employees. The investment is testament to the value we place on them: extraordinary people doing extraordinary things so that others can live ordinary lives.”
Heartbeat of the care sector
Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England (main picture, on right), said: “The workforce is the heartbeat of the care sector and our biggest resource, and the challenges faced are well documented.
“Now is the time to think creatively about new solutions which will benefit those in care, as well as those who work in, and provide care. EAPs and wellbeing programmes help employers equip the workforce with the tools they need to build personal resilience and deal with issues before they become difficult to treat or affect workplace performance, presenteeism and negatively impact staff retention or those we care for.
“Keeping staff well and at work is crucial, and our EAP solution provided by Perkbox Vivup helps employers demonstrate their commitment to their staff which helps attract and retain valued members of the workforce. Having a low staff turnover rate also has a well-documented positive impact on people in receipt of care, so it truly benefits everyone.”
Tackle workforce challenges
Essex Care Association chairman Rahul Jagota said: “Our care provider members work hard to advocate for their employees who are the backbone of our sector, and the Essex County Council fully funded EAP solution goes a long way to helping our care provider employers ensure their staff have access to the high-quality support necessary to continue providing exceptional high-quality care across Essex, if we are to make inroads into the workforce challenges we have been wrestling with for years.
“Essex County Council have listened to our and Care England’s requests for more support and acted accordingly, and we look forward to care workers across Essex yielding the results of the services provided by Perkbox Vivup.”
Tristan Rigby, head of wellbeing at Perkbox Vivup, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Care England, providing a valuable service to hard-working care staff who, for years, have been navigating unprecedented sector challenges from low pay, work-related stress and burnout, and more recently, the cost-of-living crisis.
“The wellbeing services will make a huge impact on their professional and personal lives, supporting them through sudden life crises while providing essential early intervention services, reducing absenteeism and ultimately, improving productivity.”
