Staff handbook

Welcome to LuxAmor Care

Welcome to the team. LuxAmor Care exists so that people across Scotland can live well in their own homes — with warmth, dignity and the highest standards of care. Our promise is care that feels like family, and you are the person who delivers it: to our clients, you are LuxAmor Care.

Our values are simple and we mean them: Compassionate. At Home. Family Focused. Proudly Scottish. Here for You. They apply to how we treat clients — and just as much to how we treat each other.

This handbook is the plain-English guide to how things work day to day. The formal rules live in the policy library; when you need the detail, each section points you there.

Your first weeks

• Before your first solo visit you'll complete induction training built around Scotland's Health and Social Care Standards and the SSSC Codes of Practice, plus the practical essentials: moving & handling, first aid basics and infection control.
• You'll shadow experienced colleagues on real visits until both you and your manager agree you're ready — this is about confidence, not a race.
• Your PVG scheme membership must be in place before you work unsupervised. If anything changes on your record after you join (any caution or conviction), you must tell your manager straight away.
• You'll need to register with the SSSC (Scottish Social Services Council) as a care-at-home worker within the required period after starting — we'll guide you through applying, and the Hub tracks your deadline so nothing is missed.
• You'll be asked to read and confirm each policy in the policy library. Once the full Hub portal is live, this is recorded per version, so an updated policy asks again.

Your rota, timekeeping & visits

• Your rota is published in advance in the Hub, with visit times, addresses and the essentials for each call. Check it daily — rotas can change when clients' needs do.
• Arrive within the visit window and stay the full planned time. The visit time belongs to the client; leaving early without agreement is a care failure, not a shortcut.
• Running late? Call the office as soon as you know — never just skip or shorten a visit to catch up. We would always rather re-arrange than have a rushed, unsafe call.
• Clock in and out of every visit once the portal is live (it's also your lone-working safety net). Until then, follow the interim check-in instructions from the office.
• Extra hours: open shifts are offered through the Hub's shift board — request the ones you want and a manager confirms. You'll never be pressured into extra shifts, and rest rules (11 hours between shifts, a weekly rest day) are checked in the rota builder.

If you're unwell

• Phone the office (or on-call, out of hours) as early as you can — at least 2 hours before your first visit. It must be a phone call, not a text, so cover can be sorted while you speak.
• Stomach bugs mean 48 hours symptom-free before returning — our clients can't afford to catch what you have.
• Up to 7 days you self-certify; longer needs a GP fit note. Statutory Sick Pay applies from day one of sickness.
• After any absence you'll have a short, friendly return-to-work chat — it's support, not a telling-off.
• The full rules are in the Sickness & Absence Reporting policy.

Holidays & time off

• Everyone gets the equivalent of 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year. If you work irregular hours, holiday accrues at 12.07% of the hours you actually work, itemised on your payslip; contracted-hours staff get the pro-rata entitlement.
• Request leave through the Hub as far ahead as you can — approvals consider who else is off and which visits need cover, so early requests are easiest to say yes to.
• The "Who's off" board shows team availability. Sickness always shows simply as "Absent" — reasons are private.
• Emergencies happen: for urgent unpaid leave (dependants, family crises), phone your manager and we'll work it out like adults.

Pay, mileage & expenses

• Your hours come from your clocked visits, reviewed on a timesheet you can see in the Hub — contact time, training, travel and other hours are tracked separately so you can check you're paid for all working time.
• Time spent travelling between visits is working time and is paid — this is a legal requirement we take seriously.
• Business mileage between visits is claimed at 45p per mile through the Hub's mileage claim, approved by a manager and paid with your wages.
• Query anything on your pay straight away — honest errors get fixed fast, and no question is a nuisance.

Training & development

• Everyone completes our mandatory training matrix — 18 courses covering the legal and practical foundations of Scottish care at home, each with its own refresher cycle. The full list, with what and why, is on the Training page here.
• The Hub shows your personal training record and warns you before anything expires. Completing training on time is part of the job, not an optional extra.
• Certificates are issued through the Hub when a manager verifies your completion.
• Want to go further — SVQs, specialist practice, senior roles? Say so in supervision; we'd rather grow our own than recruit strangers.

Supervision & support

• You'll have regular one-to-one supervision with your manager: how you're doing, how the work feels, what you need. It's protected time — yours, not a performance review.
• Spot checks happen for everyone: a manager observes part of a visit (with the client's agreement) to keep practice safe and give useful feedback. They're routine, not a sign of trouble.
• Once a year you'll have an appraisal looking back and planning your development.
• Between supervisions, never sit on a worry — a phone call to the office is always welcome.

Staying safe

• Almost all our work is lone working, and your safety is a rule, not a preference: clock-ins are your safety net, the Hub has a panic alert, and you are always authorised to withdraw from a situation that feels unsafe — read the Lone Working & Personal Safety policy early.
• Never lift a person's full weight manually, and never use equipment you haven't been trained on (Moving & Handling policy).
• If a client doesn't answer when they should be home, treat it as an emergency until proven otherwise — the doorstep procedure is in the Keys, Key Safes & Home Access policy.
• Report every accident, near miss and incident of aggression the same day. Reporting is how we protect the next person through the door.

Raising concerns

• If you're worried someone is being harmed, act the same day — the Adult Support & Protection policy tells you exactly what to do (and 999 always comes first in immediate danger).
• If something at LuxAmor is wrong — unsafe practice, dishonesty, a cover-up — tell your manager, or go above them, or go straight to the Care Inspectorate. The Whistleblowing policy explains the legal protection you have; raising a genuine concern will never harm your job.
• Complaints from clients or families are welcome and free to make. If one lands on you mid-visit: listen, don't argue, pass it to the manager the same day.

Your wellbeing

• Care work is emotionally heavy. A hard visit, a client's death, an aggressive incident — these are allowed to affect you, and saying so is strength, not weakness. Tell your manager; time and support will be found.
• If you're struggling with anything — money, health, home — you can raise it in supervision or any time. What we can help with, we will; what we can't, we'll help you find help for.
• Out-of-hours listening ear: Samaritans, free on 116 123, any time. Breathing Space (Scotland's mental-health line) is free on 0800 83 85 87, evenings and weekends. Both are on the Useful contacts page.