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Saint Cecilia’s Care Group has joined up with a local shop chain to provide vouchers and a discount card to help current staff and as an incentive to new recruits.

Saint Cecilia’s Managing Director, Mike Padgham said: “Staff are our most important asset and we want to do everything we can to support them through the current cost of living crisis.”

When new staff join the company, they receive £250 worth of One Stop vouchers, whilst existing staff have received £100 worth.

Saint Cecilia’s Care Group Director Aaron Padgham and Steph Harbron, Deputy Manager at Saint Cecilia’s Care Group, with some of the shopping vouchers and the recruitment message vehicles.

All staff receive a discount card to get 10% off in any of the One Stop chain of 17 shops.

Saint Cecilia’s hopes the shopping scheme will help it to find new staff during a recruitment crisis in social care.

There are 165,000 care staff vacancies across the country and care providers are finding it difficult to compete with supermarkets.

“In common with other care providers, we are struggling to recruit staff,” Mr Padgham added. “We have launched a recruitment drive and hope our cost of living incentive will also help us to add to our workforce.”

To spread the word, Saint Cecilia’s has wrapped a van with a recruitment message and also added the message to one of its minibuses.

The company has held recruitment roadshows in Scarborough and has one planned at Whitby Coliseum this Friday.

“We are really pleased to be working with One Stop to offer the vouchers and discount cards – it is great to have two local businesses supporting each other

to get through challenging times for everyone,” Mr Padgham added.

“The vouchers and discount card provides some help for our existing staff with the current cost of living crisis, whilst adding an extra incentive to people to

join our wonderful team.”

Saint Cecilia’s has a nursing home, two care homes and a day care centre in Scarborough, a nursing home in Whitby and a care home in Pickering.

It has already increased pay for its 200+ staff in recent months and regularly rewards its staff with gifts like food hampers. It previously ran a recruitment campaign to attract nursing staff by offering a car and a holiday as part of the Package.

Scarborough care group helps their staff with Cost of Living crisis