FAQ's

No essential qualifications are necessary for the roles of Support Worker, Relief Support Worker and Night Support Worker.

On the job training will be provided within your probationary period which includes the care certificate as appropriate, and the necessary training required to support our customers. This can include training around our values and also more practical training such as first aid, and moving and handling to name but a few.

The training and support won’t stop during your probationary period and will be supported by regular supervisions (we call them SDS’) with your line manager to support you in your role.

One of the benefits of working for The Trust is being paid 4 weekly. This means you are paid 13 times a year instead of the usual 12.

If you are required to have any vaccinations, namely Hep B as part of your pre-employment checks, the Trust will pay for these for you. More information will be available for you as and when this is needed.

Any other vaccinations, will be looked at depending on the service you are providing support within.

No. The Trust will provide a DBS check for you as part of your pre-employment checks. We also provide 3 yearly renewal checks, again paid for by The Trust.

We also accept Transferrable DBS certificates, also known as the update service, if the original DBS certificate was checked against the adult workforce.

We are unable to accept transferable DBS that include the children’s workforce on them.

We provide all the training that you would need throughout your role

Don’t worry, we provide all the training that you would need throughout your role. When you first start with the Trust you will be shadowing other members of the team to learn the role.

In the first 12 weeks of employment all Support Workers are required to complete The Care Certificate which is provided by the Trust.

You will have regular reviews and Staff Supervision to support you within the role, and if any further training is needed we will look into this and provide the skills that are needed.

After the closing date for the role, all applicants will be contacted for a recruitment call, this helps us with the shortlisting process, and helps gather more information about the role and the Trust too. After the recruitment call, if you are successful at this stage you will be invited into a panel interview.

During the recruitment process there may be opportunities to meet different members of the team or some of the customers you might be supporting, if they want to be involved in the recruitment process.

Depending on roles we’re looking for the recruitment process may change a little bit but this gives you a fairly good idea of what to expect.

If you are successful after this has been completed we will contact you to start completing our recruitment checks.

Regardless of whether you are successful or not you will be contacted to be informed of the outcome.

A recruitment call is informal and gives both the recruiting manager and you a chance to talk about the role. It gives the recruiting manager the opportunity to ask further questions regarding your application form and you an opportunity to ask more information about the role they have applied for.

If you are successful at this stage you would then be invited to a panel interview.

The Wilf Ward Family Trust is an equal opportunities employer and recruits staff on their ability to do the role.

We are looking for great people to work for the Trust and to support our customers.

If you are successful, the amount of time it takes to recruit is dependent upon receipt of satisfactory pre-employment checks and if you have to give any notice periods.

We are regulated by external bodies and are obliged to ensure that we carry out our pre-employment checks thoroughly, these include:
- Satisfactory medical clearance
- Satisfactory written references, received and verified
- DBS check and Adult first checks, dependant on the role
- Completed evidence seen of your right to live and work in the UK

Further information can be found on our recruitment journey page (link here)

Not all roles will require the successful candidate to drive, this is dependent on the needs of the service/department where the role is based, if a driving licence is required then it will be detailed in the advert.

Our Support Workers are contracted to the region, you will have a main work base, but can be asked to work across several services within the region.

We select all candidates based on their skills, qualifications and experience, if you do have a criminal record this does not automatically prohibit you from working with us however it is something we will need to investigate with you in order to support us making the appropriate decision.

We require applicants to be open and honest with us throughout the recruitment process regarding any offences or other matter that might be relevant to the role.

All successful candidates are required to complete an appropriate level DBS as part of our recruitment process.

Yes. The Wilf Ward Family Trust is an equal opportunities employer and we are committed to the fair treatment of our employees, regardless of physical or mental disability.

As part of the pre-employment checks, all successful candidates are asked to complete a medical clearance form which is completed with our occupational health providers to determine if any reasonable adjustments are required for the role they have been offered.

It may seem like a lot but we need to make sure that the people we support are safe at all times and by doing this we need to follow safer recruitment practices which includes having satisfactory pre-employment checks.

We are regulated by CQC and have to ensure we meet the requirements of Schedule 3 of Regulation 19 of the Health and Social Care Act.

For further information, please see our recruitment journey page on the careers site.

We provide all the training that you would need throughout your role

As a Support Worker, the hours are based around the customer’s needs so there are no fixed hours of work. The hours of work are on a shift basis with support schedules (Rotas) in place.

If you would like to discuss a working pattern, or believe that you need flexible working arrangements these can be discussed with your line manager. We consider all requests for flexible working arrangements and we do our best to accommodate these where we are able to maintain the support our customers and the needs of the Trust.