Lifeways Group Employee Reviews
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United Kingdom1,108 reviews
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Rewarding job staff and managment always supportive and dedicated,definitely need a higher rate of pay as it can be very challenging at times and stressful
This is short and sweet..... AVOID!! Management are nothing but bullies, all stick together and bully all the staff into leaving. They are a care company that do not care!!!
Pros
Service users
Cons
Management
Absolutley awful place to work managers are bullies and all cover for each other .long hours for minimum wage . No support or duty of care to staff. Always breaching confidence HR are a complete waste of time when raising concerns .Stay away if you value your sanity
Pros
Service users
Cons
Everything about the company
Official response from Lifeways Group
26 February 2021Morning, we are sorry to hear you feel this way. Pay and hours are typical for the sector, specifically during the pandemic. If you saw any issues with care or confidence breaches, it is vital our colleagues report this.
I have worked in a number of care facilities, some good, some not so good. This one is is on another level, it is by far the worst. The place is an absolute shambles. Management, senior management, all utterly clueless. This 'care ' facility should be closed. The residents deserve much better.
Pros
Leaving
Cons
Shambolic management, poor patient care
Official response from Lifeways Group
23 February 2021Morning, we are sorry to hear you feel this way. We urge anyone who has an issue with management to speak to HR. It’s so important that we have colleagues, including management who enjoy what they do and want to make a real and positive difference to the lives of the people we support.Â
I have found it different from the other care job that I’ve done and it’s rewarding as well on line training and friendly staff as you get to work with a lot of different types of disabilities
Well where to start? I have been with lifeways for a while now and there have been ups and downs. I feel valued with the colleagues I have worked with and the people we support have been a pleasure to support but management are poor. It feels like any grievances are pushed to one and they expect too much of you. The pay is good but you are expected to work alot of hours. If shifts need covering (which are alot) you will be made to feel pressured to work them even on your days off which you will get continous calls from higher up practically begging for you to come in. Overall a very poor company to work for!
Pros
People we support, pay
Cons
Management, long hours, feeling pressured
Official response from Lifeways Group
18 February 2021Hi, we are sorry to hear you feel this way. We are glad you feel valued by your colleagues and enjoy supporting our service users. We are currently running sessions on our grievance policies on Workplace. As a current employee, we also urge you to speak to your HR manager. We are grateful for the extra shifts you have put in, times are tough during the pandemic and the hours may have gone up.
Have worked for lifeways previously and enjoyed my job my colleagues the people we support training managers are accessible and easy to get on with and support you in your job
Official response from Lifeways Group
16 February 2021Morning, thank you for the 5 star review. We are glad to hear you had such a positive experience with Lifeways. It's great that you had a good relationship with your colleagues and were supported by management.
Worst care company.. They put profit before care they have no concern for service users or their quality of life.Constantly put staff at risk of harm due to placing service users in the wrong environment for their needs. Underpaid and over worked.. Loved the service users and enjoyed trying my hardest to support them with little support from management DO NOT WORK FOR THIS COMPANY IF YOU HAVE VALUES MORALS OR DONT WANT TO SEE SERVICE USERS ABUSED ON MANY LEVELS
Pros
Had some amazing hard working colleagues
Cons
The company
Official response from Lifeways Group
12 February 2021Morning, We are sorry to hear this. It’s so important that we have colleagues working for us who enjoy what they do and want to make a real and positive difference to the lives of the people we support. Our focus is the care of those we support. If you believe there is an issue, we hope you raised this to HR. The pay is also standard for the industry.
Absolutely love my job with this company worked for Lifeways for nearly 4 years. the service users are an absolute delight to support and make it all worthwhile. However There are ups and downs shifts always need picking up and you end up being stuck at your service. on call is a joke and doesn’t answer 95% of the time at times you do feel as if you are treated badly by higher up management this can be very stressful and make you feel down about yourself. but I would recommend working for this company as the people we support are an absolute pleasure to spend time with and support. the company it self just need to respect the staff a lot more I think they are very poor with how they treat staff and it’s very annoying and disappointing. Overall love my job I’m in this job for two things only offer a high standard of support and to promote independence for service users.
Pros
Service users
Cons
Management and higher up management
Official response from Lifeways Group
10 February 2021Morning, We are glad to hear you love your job! Thank you for such a positive 5-star review. We appreciate that the role is not for everyone and can be stressful so thank you for all the hard work you and your team put in each and every day.
One of the worst companies to work for. Management are all for themselves and because they know you’re below them they know they can treat you however they want. The managers only care about them and the other managers and they are very selfish. I loved the residence and what I did but honestly I would advise anyone to just not do it! It will feel like a great job for a while but the managers will start to belittle you and they will just up and move you to another service without no warning just because they feel like it. Also the money is not worth it at all! It’s so so bad for the amount of work you have to do!
Pros
None
Cons
Horrible place.
Staff and service users lovely. Management terrible wages never right, rota changed daily. The list is endless and has for HR they don’t care just like area managers
Pros
Lovely service users and staff
Cons
Management
Through my years at LW I have learnt that unless you are at the top, you are just another number to them and are certainly replaceable! Not always listened to or respected, certainly underpaid for the amount of work that is expected of you and the amount of pressure your under, its not all bad though, SOME of the colleagues you work with are genuinely lovely and others you should avoid like the plauge, but I guess that's life in supported living.
Pros
Peer support
Cons
Two faced back stabbing people
Official response from Lifeways Group
8 February 2021Morning, we are sorry to hear you feel this way. The current pay at Lifeways is typical for the industry. We try to adopt an open-door atmosphere so anyone who is feeling they are not being listened to, should speak to their area HR manager.
My experience of lifeways was very mixed. Overall I think the company values/ethics are terrible. However I did enjoy my job most of the time. I really liked all the clients and staff I worked with including the management. I think there is just no internal structure/guidance which means its not a person centered care for the clients. There is lots of employees with lots of lovely qualities but they just end up with either not enough training/not the right training and then no official guidance, add that to long hours, minimum wage, complex/challenging behaviour and staff shortage. Just not a good mix which leads to apathy, Compassion fatigue, inconsistent experiences. Such a shame. Especially as it doesn't require previous experience so you don't know any better. However personally for me it was also a good starting place as I gained confidence in myself and met lovely colleagues and clients.
Pros
Flexible working times
Cons
Inconsistent, not person centered.
Official response from Lifeways Group
8 February 2021Morning, We are glad to hear you had a positive experience with your colleagues and those we support. For any additional training, this is available on our training platforms and you can request training from your manager.
I worked there for 6 months and in this time I was underpaid 2 times and they constantly changed the hours I was working without so much as a phone call. Furthermore, they refused to book off holidays and lied about the reasoning. Also, the management is very poor and complaints off both residents and staff were never addressed even though they were being brought up for the entire time I worked there
Pros
Staff were very nice
Cons
Long hours, poor pay, bad management
Official response from Lifeways Group
8 February 2021Morning, we are sorry you feel this way. We always try to ensure that all 11,000 colleagues are paid accurately and on time. On occasion, we have had a situation where this has not been the case for a very small number of people. However small the number, we recognise that this can cause an impact on those colleagues and we immediately put this right.
I can't speak for all areas as they're run by different managers, but the area I worked in was appalling. The managers didn't care for the staff, especially the residents that we had to look after. Very upsetting at times, they really didn't care. They make you feel guilty if you don't come in to do an extra shift, they say they'll give you money for fuel, or extra pay because you came in last minute, they never did. I'd never be paid correctly, their rota system was appalling as well. Awful company, I really wished I had read the reviews before on indeed before joining them, I hope they go bust one day. Future homecare and lifeways are the same company by the way.
Pros
Senior manager was lovely
Cons
Long long hours, neglect from managers for staff and residents and never paid correctly.
Official response from Lifeways Group
3 February 2021Morning, we are sorry you feel this way. For our colleagues who believe they are having issues with managers, we encourage them to speak to the HR manager. We also have resources on our internal platform. We always try to ensure that all 11,000 colleagues are paid accurately and on time. On occasion, we have had a situation where this has not been the case for a very small number of people. However small the number, we recognise that this can cause an impact on those colleagues and we immediately put this right.
15 hours days working on a 3 week rota. Working 2 days a week for 2 weeks and 3 days for 1 week. In total only working 7 days every 3 weeks. The bad thing is that if you did a night shift you had to work by yourself while a day shift you were supported by another member of the team.
Pros
Getting time off for other things
Cons
Long hours
Friendly environment staff and people. Made me feel very welcome. Gave me a very positive vibe. Can't wait to get started in my new career.
Pros
Full training
Cons
Long hours
I haven’t started yet, had my interview and the masher was really nice and friendly over the telephone and answered all my questions. The recruitment process is easy to follow and is a good and they keep in contact with you during the whole process. I am really looking forward to starting with Lifeways.
Lifeways is an awful company, very poor management and doesn’t treat their employees with any value or respect. I worked for Lifeways for more than a year, during my time I have witnessed the most incompetent set of employees/management of my entire life. Lifeways always made mistakes with the payment, when I started I didn’t even get paid for the first 2 months, then they made the mistake of confusing my NI number with someone else’s so for about 3 months I was receiving somebody else’s payslip. Furthermore, lifeways gives their employees no support at all. They just let the residents get away with awful things without any consequences. No stability no structure at all, at my branch we didn’t have a proper management for 6 months. I highly recommended anyone thinking of applying for a job there to reconsider and work somewhere else.
Pros
Nothing at all
Cons
Poor management, bad payment, incompetent, no support for employees.
Official response from Lifeways Group
1 February 2021Morning, we are sorry to hear this. We encourage our team to progress in their career and develop within Lifeways. Colleagues should talk to their area HR Manager if they do not feel supported. We always try to ensure that all 11,000 colleagues are paid accurately and on time. On occasion, we have had a situation where this has not been the case for a very small number of people. However small the number, we recognise that this can cause an impact on those colleagues and we immediately put this right.
I was given a really warm welcome when I stared my job with SIL. Their services are amazing and the staff who work for them are equally brilliant! I look forward to going into work every day and I feel very much supported to carry out my role.
Pros
Supportive management
Cons
Poor pay
Job application and interview was really quick heard within 2 days since applying. Employers are super friendly. Lots of benefits if you want to develop in career and skills in Health and Social care.
Pros
friendly staff
Cons
none
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