Category Archives: Latest news

2019-04-09 (Penrose Care) Quita, Nikoletta and Olga
Latest news, Uncategorized

Promotions of Ms. Garcia and Mrs. Makouli

Belsize Village, London, UK: Today Penrose Care is pleased to announced the promotions of Ms. Olga García Gómez to manager from deputy manager and Mrs. Nikoletta Makouli to manager from deputy manager.

Penrose Care provides home care services for people with physical disabilities, mental health conditions, acquired brain injuries and health issues relating to ageing, such as dementia and impaired mobility. The company has especially excelled at service to clients in end of life situations, helping people live full lives far past their original prognoses. Penrose Care is highly acclaimed for its innovations in ethical working conditions in social care. Both Ms. García and Mrs. Makouli have especial expertise in servicing private client / ultra high-net-worth individuals with complex needs.

Following the promotions, Penrose Care managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron made the following statement:

“Ms. García and Mrs. Makouli have been the backbone of our management infrastructure for a number of years and it is right and well deserved that they are both now made managers of Penrose Care. Penrose Care is special because it strives to put the dignity of the human person at the heart of everything we do. Ms. García and Mrs. Makouli understand Penrose Care’s values and culture, have helped clients transform their lives for the better, managed complex staff situations with grace and patience, and have overall been a pleasure to work with for these past years. Both have also appeared on national media outlets and have attended domestic and international conferences. Ms. García and Mrs. Makouli are well suited to both manage internally and promote Penrose Care’s special mission as ambassadors externally. Congratulations to both of you. Well done.”

With respect to Ms. García promotion to her new manager post, Mr. Stephenson-Padron made the following statement:

“Olga García Gómez has been the logistical backbone of Penrose Care for some time, managing our rota impeccably well. On the frontline, Olga has long specialised in servicing the demands and complexities of the private client segments, including knights, renowned academics and field-changing physicians. In one complex case, she put together an emergency care package for a mental health patient in less than 24 hours, a package attributed by clinical staff as likely saving this person’s life. Her excellence and heroism is well summed up by a compliment given by an acquired brain injury care case manager, which refers to her work: ‘You are the most flexible, accommodative and amazing care provider I have ever dealt with.’ Well done Olga.”

With respect to Mrs. Makouli’s promotion to her new manager post, Mr. Stephenson-Padron made the following statement:

“Nikoletta Makouli has been the embodiment of our belief that a caring ethos leads to effective care and excellent outcomes. She has, for some years, been the lead on a complex private client with advanced staged dementia who was given 8 weeks to live in 2017. Through incredible management of a home care team to this client, certain of this client’s neurological abilities have been restored and their palliative designation removed. This client is still alive to this day. A well renowned palliative medicine consultant physician has commended her heroic work, ‘It is a miracle you guys have achieved in keeping [the patient] alive. I have withdrawn my view and no longer believe [s/he] is a palliative case. You should be so proud.’ Well done Nikoletta.”

ENDS

Media Contact

Penrose Care

Robert Stephenson-Padron, Managing Director

robert.padron@penrosecare.co.uk

0207 435 2644

About Penrose Care

Penrose Care is an ethical provider of home care services in London, United Kingdom to adults with disabilities such as acquired brain injury and elderly persons including those with dementia.  The company operates upon a fundamental belief that to promote a caring workforce, the organisation itself must be caring. As the pioneer of ethics in home care in the UK, Penrose Care in 2012 became one of the first four providers in the United Kingdom to become an Accredited Living Wage Employer and in 2013 the first independent sector provider to be compliant with Citizens UK’s landmark Social Care Charter. Penrose Care was named the Living Wage Champion for the London region in 2016 and for Industry Leadership in 2018 by the Living Wage Foundation. Penrose Care’s ethical social care framework has garnered international acclaim, resulting in Penrose Care receiving research delegations from Canada, China and Japan. Penrose Care is rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission, the highest rating given by England’s health and social care regulator.

Penrose Care’s ethical approach promotes higher quality social care workers and low staff turnover which in turn results in excellent care.  Penrose Care is headquartered in Belsize Village, north London – between Hampstead, Belsize Park and Swiss Cottage / Finchley Road – and was founded by Robert Stephenson-Padron, a healthcare research analyst, and Dr. Matthew Knight, a hospital physician.

About Olga García Gómez

Olga García Gómez, Manager
Penrose Care

Ms. García is an expert in the logistical operations of a home care provider and the social care servicing of private client / ultra high-net-worth individuals. Prior to joining Penrose Care in 2014 as a support worker, she worked in various hospitality, media and marketing roles. Ms. García was made a senior support worker in August 2016 and deputy manager in May 2018. Ms. García became a manger at Penrose Care in May 2019.

Ms. García has appeared a number of times on the BBC Two’s Victoria Derbyshire. She was the company’s primary delegate, via invitation, to the Prague European Summit 2018 held in Prague, Czech Republic.

Ms. García holds a Licenciate in Journalism from the Universidad de Navarra, Spain. Ms. García also holds a QCF Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care and Children and Young People’s Services (Adults’ Management) (England) from Highfield Qualifications and a Higher Level Apprenticeship in General Adult Social Care from the Federation for Industry Sector Skills & Standards.

About Nikoletta Makouli

Nikoletta Makouli, Manager
Penrose Care

Mrs. Makouli is an expert in end of life care and home care for persons with advanced dementia, focusing especially on the social care servicing of private client / ultra high-net-worth individuals. Prior to joining Penrose Care in 2015as a support worker, she was a manager in the hospitality sector. Mrs. Makouli was made a senior support worker in August 2017 and deputy manager in May 2018. Mrs. Makouli became a manger at Penrose Care in May 2019.

Mrs. Makouli has appeared on the BBC Two’s Victoria Derbyshire. She is the company’s primary delegate to events of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation.

Mrs. Makouli holds a Bachelor in Public and Business Administration-Marketing from the University of Cyprus and a MSc in International Hospitality Management from the University of Brighton. Mrs. Makouli also holds a NCFE CACHE Level 2 Certificate in End of Life Care.

2018-04-09 (Penrose Care) Management - Olga Garcia, Robert Stephenson-Padron, Nikoletta Makouli 02 15p THUMBNAIL
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Penrose Care rated Outstanding by regulator

Belsize Village, London, UK: Today the health and social care regulator of England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), announced that it had rated Penrose Care Ltd (PCL) Outstanding overall for being caring and effective, following a routine regulatory inspection carried out in February 2019.

Penrose Care provides home care services for people with physical disabilities, acquired brain injuries and health issues relating to ageing, such as dementia and impaired mobility.

In a statement, the CQC noted it found in its inspection that “People’s outcomes were consistently better than expected and PCL was described as exceptional and distinctive. People using the service, relatives, staff and external professionals provided consistently positive feedback about the service.”

Following the announcement, Penrose Care managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron stated:

“The health and social care regulator granting its highest inspection rating to Penrose Care is a testament to our pioneering work of ethical social care. The CQC’s Outstanding rating is an accolade attributable to only 2% of home care providers in London and 3% nationwide. Penrose Care shall however remain humble, hard working and continue to put the dignity of the human person at the forefront of what we do as this drives continuous improvement. To my colleagues: well done. To all our friends: thank you.”

Penrose Care is known for its innovations in ethical labour practices in social care which include paying the London Living Wage, paying at least the minimum wage for sleep-in shifts, guaranteed minimum working hours (so no zero-hour contracts), travel time between clients, training costs and time fully funded, private medical insurance via Vitality Health, taxies home if working late, funded annual dental check-ups, an occupational sick pay scheme, and normal employment which provides statutory holiday entitlements and pensions. As a relative of a client told the CQC inspection team, “”We are very happy with the company, they pay a living wage so retain staff longer so there is more continuity.”

Dr. Matthew Knight, non-executive director of Penrose Care and consultant respiratory physician with the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, congratulated the company following this news:

“The rating from the CQC is a testament to the hard work, dedication and, above all, care that our entire team at Penrose Care put in to looking after all who use our services. I am extremely proud of all our staff.”

Debbie Ivanova, CQC’s Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, said: “I am very pleased to see continued improvement at Penrose Care Limited. At CQC’s previous inspection the service was rated Good overall and now it has moved up to Outstanding, our highest rating.

“Staff and management at Penrose Care work hard to ensure that people they care for are encouraged to live as independently as they possibly can. Evidence gathered from people using the service, their relatives and other health professionals shows they were impressed with the care and would not hesitate to recommend it to others.”

ENDS

Media Contact

Penrose Care

Robert Stephenson-Padron, Managing Director

robert.padron@penrosecare.co.uk

0207 435 2644

Care Quality Commission

Ray Cooling, Regional Engagement Manager

020 7448 9136

About Penrose Care

Penrose Care is an ethical provider of home care services in London, United Kingdom to adults with disabilities such as acquired brain injury and elderly persons including those with dementia.  The company operates upon a fundamental belief that to promote a caring workforce, the organisation itself must be caring. As the pioneer of ethics in home care in the UK, Penrose Care in 2012 became one of the first four providers in the United Kingdom to become an Accredited Living Wage Employer and in 2013 the first independent sector provider to be compliant with Citizens UK’s landmark Social Care Charter. Penrose Care was named the Living Wage Champion for the London region in 2016 and for Industry Leadership in 2018 by the Living Wage Foundation. Penrose Care’s ethical social care framework has garnered international acclaim, resulting in Penrose Care receiving research delegations from Canada, China and Japan.

Penrose Care’s ethical approach promotes higher quality social care workers and low staff turnover which in turn results in excellent care.  Penrose Care is headquartered in Belsize Village, north London – between Hampstead, Belsize Park and Swiss Cottage / Finchley Road – and was founded by Robert Stephenson-Padron, a healthcare research analyst, and Dr. Matthew Knight, a hospital physician.

About the Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. The CQC makes sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and it encourages care services to improve. The CQC monitors, inspects and regulates services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety and the CQC publishes what it find to help people choose care.

Penrose Care’s management team from left to right: Olga Garcia, Robert Stephenson-Padron and Nikoletta Makouli.
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Penrose Care raises care worker pay for Living Wage Week

Belsize Village, Hampstead, London – Penrose Care, the UK’s pioneer in the ethical provision of home care, has today announced that the new London Living Wage rate of £10.55/hour announced by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan this morning is effective immediately at Penrose Care for all staff. This is an increase of the prior London Living Wage rate of £10.20/hour and compares to the current national minimum wage rate for persons 25 and above (the mis-named “National Living Wage”) of £7.83/hour.

Robert Stephenson-Padron, managing director of Penrose Care, commented, following the pay increase:

“We are proud to be increasing our care workers’ pay in line with the cost of living in London so that all our colleagues can continue to work and live with dignity. Our ethical framework is essential to ensuring that the home care we deliver is excellent day in and day out. Our Living Wage commitment is the bedrock to other ethical labour practices at Penrose Care such as the payment of travel time between clients, complying with the minimum wage rates for sleep-in shifts, an occupational sickpay scheme, private medical insurance with Vitality Health, and free taxi rides home if ending work after 9pm. I wish all our staff a wonderful Living Wage Week 2018!”

Penrose Care with Living Wage chair and director

Penrose Care’s senior support worker Egle Viskantaite, managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron, Living Wage Foundation chair Stuart Wright of Aviva, Living Wage Foundation director Katherine Chapman and Penrose Care support worker Alica Mikitovičová at the launch of Living Wage Week 2018 at the Barbican Centre, London, UK. November 5, 2018.

Aya Khazaal (Pivoine) and Bob Padron (Penrose Care) with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan

Penrose Care’s managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron with Aya Khazaal of aspiring Living Wage employer Pivoine Nail Spa of Belsize Village and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan at the launch of Living Wage Week 2018 at the Barbican Centre, London, UK. November 5, 2018.

Media Contact

Penrose Care

Robert Stephenson-Padron – Managing Director: robert.padron@penrosecare.co.uk

Landline: 0207 435 2644

***

Living Wage Foundation

John Hood – Media Manager: John.Hood@LivingWage.org.uk

Mobile: 07507 173649 Landline 0208 017 2936

About Penrose Care

Penrose Care is an ethical provider of home care services London, United Kingdom to adults with disabilities and elderly persons, including those with dementia.  The company operates upon a fundamental belief that to promote a caring workforce, the organisation itself must be caring. As the pioneer of ethics in home care in the UK, Penrose Care in 2012 became one of the first four providers in the country to become an Accredited Living Wage Employer and in 2013 the first independent sector provider to be compliant with Citizens UK’s landmark Social Care Charter. Penrose Care was named the Living Wage Champion for the London region in 2016 by the Living Wage Foundation and in 2018 received a national Living Wage Champion Award for Industry Leadership.

Penrose Care’s ethical approach promotes higher quality social care workers and low staff turnover which in turn results in excellent care. Penrose Care is headquartered in Belsize Village, north London and was founded by Robert Stephenson-Padron, a healthcare research analyst, and Dr. Matthew Knight, a hospital physician.

About the real Living Wage

The real Living Wage is the only rate calculated according to what people need to make ends meet. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that choose to take a stand by ensuring their staff earn a wage that meets the costs and pressures they face in their everyday lives.

The UK Living Wage is currently £9.00 per hour. There is a separate London Living Wage rate of £10.55 per hour to reflect the higher costs of transport, childcare and housing in the capital. These figures are calculated annually by the Resolution Foundation and overseen by the Living Wage Commission, based on the best available evidence on living standards in London and the UK.

The Living Wage Foundation is the organisation at the heart of the movement of businesses, organisations and individuals who campaign for the simple idea that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. We recognise and celebrate the leadership shown by responsible employers who voluntarily choose to go further and pay a real Living Wage based on the cost of living, not just the government minimum. There are currently over 4,700 accredited employers.

2016-10-31 (Penrose Care) Living Wage celebration
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We praise UNISON for seeking leave to appeal on sleep-in case

Belsize Village, London, UK: Following UNISON’s statement yesterday that it has asked the UK Supreme Court for leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal decision in Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake, Penrose Care’s managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron, a long-time advocate for the ethical treatment of home care workers, made the following statement:

“Penrose Care praises UNISON, the British labour union which includes social care workers and managers, in seeking a leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s morally repugnant decision of 13 July 2018 in the care worker sleep-in case Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake at the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

Since Penrose Care commenced trading in 2013, we have abided by the obvious interpretation of the law that care workers need to be paid at least the minimum wage for sleep-in shifts. We were aware then and have remained aware that many other social care providers have ignored the law, and therefore took on social care contracts priced at rates whereby legal compliance would make them unprofitable. We on the other hand consciously rejected such work and will always reject work that inhibits our civic responsibilities of legal compliance and our moral obligation to respect the dignity of all human persons, especially our colleagues and the vulnerable persons we support.

If a judiciary ignores the law and instead makes decisions based off of the sectoral impacts of their decisions, then such a judiciary is making a mockery of the rule of law and promoting a culture of impunity in society. We absolutely reject such a thing as citizens of a free and democratic society. A culture of impunity also specifically harms ethical organisations such as Penrose Care which not only takes great efforts to comply with the law out of civic virtue, but also goes above and beyond legal minimums to uphold our belief that respect for the dignity of the human person is superior to all other aims.

Penrose Care will continue to abide by the most obvious interpretation of the law which is to pay at least the national minimum-wage / national live wage for sleep-in shifts even if certain of our peers en mass decide to continue exploiting and abusing Britain’s vital social care workforce.

Penrose Care wishes UNISON every success in their appeal to the Supreme Court, should it be accepted, and thank you for standing up for our brother and sister care workers.”

Media Contact

Robert Stephenson-Padron – Managing Director – 020 7435 2644

About Penrose Care

Penrose Care is an ethical provider of home care services London, United Kingdom to adults with disabilities and elderly persons, including those with dementia.  The company operates upon a fundamental belief that to promote a caring workforce, the organisation itself must be caring. As the pioneer of ethics in home care in the UK, Penrose Care in 2012 became one of the first four providers in the country to become an Accredited Living Wage Employer and in 2013 the first independent sector provider to be compliant with Citizens UK’s landmark Social Care Charter. Penrose Care was named the Living Wage Champion for the London region in 2016 by the Living Wage Foundation and in 2018 received a national Living Wage Champion Award for Industry Leadership.

Penrose Care’s ethical approach promotes higher quality social care workers and low staff turnover which in turn results in excellent care. Penrose Care is headquartered in Belsize Village, north London and was founded by Robert Stephenson-Padron, a healthcare research analyst, and Dr. Matthew Knight, a hospital physician.

Robert's Story
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Sleep-in shifts judgement is an affront to the dignity of care workers

Belsize Village, London, UK: Following the London Court of Appeal’s judgement in favour of Mencap in Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake, overturning a previous ruling at the Employment Appeals Tribunal in April 2017, Penrose Care’s managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron, a long-time advocate for the ethical treatment of home care workers, made the following statement:

“The London Court of Appeal’s decision today in Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake is a horrific miscarriage of justice and an affront to the dignity of the human person.

I would 100% endorse UNISON taking the case to the Supreme Court. The last time UNISON went to the Supreme Court in R (on the application of UNISON) v Lord Chancellor in July 2017, they won and changed Britain for the better. I expect if UNISON took Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake to the Supreme Court, this would result in a repeat of their prior triumph for justice for ordinary working people.

Penrose Care will continue to abide by the most obvious interpretation of the law which is to pay at least the national minimum-wage / national live wage for sleep-ins even if certain of our peers en mass decide to continue exploiting and abusing Britain’s vital social care workforce. This is the morally right thing to do. Penrose Care has been paying at least the minimum wage for sleep-in shifts since we commenced trading in 2013 as the law was clear then and it remains clear.”

Media Contact

Robert Stephenson-Padron – Managing Director – 020 7435 2644

About Penrose Care

Penrose Care is an ethical provider of home care services London, United Kingdom to adults with disabilities and elderly persons, including those with dementia.  The company operates upon a fundamental belief that to promote a caring workforce, the organisation itself must be caring. As the pioneer of ethics in home care in the UK, Penrose Care in 2012 became one of the first four providers in the country to become an Accredited Living Wage Employer and in 2013 the first independent sector provider to be compliant with Citizens UK’s landmark Social Care Charter. Penrose Care was named the Living Wage Champion for the London region in 2016 by the Living Wage Foundation.

Penrose Care’s ethical approach promotes higher quality social care workers and low staff turnover which in turn results in excellent care. Penrose Care is headquartered in Belsize Village, north London and was founded by Robert Stephenson-Padron, a healthcare research analyst, and Dr. Matthew Knight, a hospital physician.

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Penrose Care – Living Wage Champion!

Belsize Village, London, UK: Last night, Penrose Care was announced as a winner of the Living Wage Champion Awards 2018 award for Industry Leadership.

The 2018 Living Wage Champion Awards celebrate individuals and organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to the Living Wage movement, and are proudly sponsored by Aviva, KPMG and the City of London Corporation.

In 2012 Penrose Care became one of the first four Living Wage accredited care homes. In an industry that has often struggled with low pay, Penrose Care used the real Living Wage as the foundation on which to roll out further outstanding labour standards; including guaranteed weekly hours, payment for travel time, private medical insurance and an occupational sick-pay scheme. These standards have set Penrose apart from its peers, and highlighted the possibility of decent pay and conditions within the care sector.

One of three winners of the Industry Leadership Award, including The Haven Wolverhampton and Unlimited Potential, Penrose Care were commended for their promotion of the Living Wage. Other shortlisted organisations included Curzon Cinemas and Creature.

Robert Stephenson-Padron, managing director of Penrose Care, said:

“Since our founding, Penrose Care has been the UK’s pioneer of the ethical provision of home care. The real Living Wage has been the cornerstone of our ethical framework as it is one of the most credible signs to all our stakeholders that Penrose Care is a genuinely caring organisation that respects the dignity of the human person – client, worker, or any other. We are greatly humbled in receiving the Industry Leadership Award from the Living Wage Foundation. The Living Wage Champion Award will further Penrose Care’s confidence in leading a caring organisation which engenders trust and honesty, two of the qualities needed to provide excellent care consistently.”

2018-06-08 (Penrose Care) Receiving Living Wage Champion Award

Robert Stephenson-Padron accepts the 2018 Living Wage Champion Industry Leadership Award on Penrose Care’s behalf. Looking on, Stuart Wright, Chair of the Living Wage Foundation. Alicia Lerche, support worker; and Olga García Gómez, deputy care manager at Penrose Care, and event host.

Olga García Gómez, who started at Penrose Care in 2014 as a support worker and now is a deputy manager, said:

“I am grateful to be part of Penrose Care, a company that takes great care of their staff and clients. The company feels more like a family and whereby you always feel supported due to a variety of ethical working conditions including the London Living Wage, and having available a manager 24/7. In addition to all this, you can develop your professional career at Penrose Care as I have. For someone coming from abroad, all these factors are very important in a job.”

Alicia Lerche, home care support worker; Olga García Gómez, deputy manager; and Robert Stephenson-Padron, managing director of Penrose Care after receiving the 2018 Living Wage Champion award.

Tess Lanning, Director of the Living Wage Foundation, said:

“Congratulations to Penrose Care on becoming a Living Wage Champion award winner. Employers like Penrose Care are leading the way in placing dignity and respect at the heart of their organisation. Over 4,200 employers have now signed up to the movement, and their leadership is making a profound difference to the lives of families and communities across the UK. Penrose Care’s work in celebrating and championing the Living Wage has been vital to its success.”

The Living Wage is an hourly pay rate set independently, updated annually, and calculated according to the basic cost of living. Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis.

The awards were judged by an independent panel of business and community leaders.

2018-06-08 (Penrose Care) Neil Jameson Bob Padron Alicia Lerche Olga Garcia Kaneez Shaid

Left to right: Neil Jameson CBE, founder and executive director of Citizens UK; Robert Stephenson-Padron, Penrose Care managing director; Alicia Lerche, home care support worker of Penrose Care; Olga García Gómez, deputy manager of Penrose Care; and Dr Kaneez Shaid MBE, Chair of Trustees of Citizens UK at the Living Wage Champion Awards 2018 at Guildhall, London.

Media Contact

John Hood – Media Manager: John.Hood@LivingWage.org.uk

Mobile: 07507 173649 Landline 0208 017 2936

About the real Living Wage

The real Living Wage is the only rate calculated according to what people need to make ends meet. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that choose to take a stand by ensuring their staff earn a wage that meets the costs and pressures they face in their everyday lives.

The UK Living Wage is currently £8.75 per hour. There is a separate London Living Wage rate of £10.20 per hour to reflect the higher costs of transport, childcare and housing in the capital. These figures are calculated annually by the Resolution Foundation and overseen by the Living Wage Commission, based on the best available evidence on living standards in London and the UK.

The Living Wage Foundation is the organisation at the heart of the movement of businesses, organisations and individuals who campaign for the simple idea that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. We recognise and celebrate the leadership shown by responsible employers who voluntarily choose to go further and pay a real Living Wage based on the cost of living, not just the government minimum. There are currently over 4,200 accredited employers.

What’s the difference between the real Living Wage and the Government’s national living wage?

In April 2016 the government introduced a higher minimum wage rate for all staff over 25 years of age inspired by the Living Wage campaign – even calling it the ‘national living wage’.

However, the government’s ‘national living wage’ is not calculated according to what employees and their families need to live. Instead, it is based on a target to reach 60% of median earnings by 2020. Under current forecasts this means a rise to less than £9 per hour by 2020. For under 25s, the minimum wage rates also take into account affordability for employers.

The real Living Wage rates are higher because they are independently-calculated based on what people need to get by. That’s why the Living Wage Foundation encourages all employers that can afford to do so to ensure their employees earn a wage that meets the costs of living, not just the government minimum.

The judges for the 2018 Living Wage Champion Awards were:

  • Dr Kaneez Shaid MBE, Campaigner and Chair of the Citizens UK Board of Trustees
  • Rosie Gillham, Living Wage employee and campaigner
  • Yvonne Roberts, freelance journalist, writer and broadcaster, The Observer
  • Jane Gratton, Head of Business Environment and Skills Policy at British Chambers of Commerce
  • Matt Sparkes, Head of Corporate Responsibility, Linklaters LLP
  • Tess Lanning, Director of the Living Wage Foundation

About Penrose Care

Penrose Care is an ethical provider of home care services London, United Kingdom to adults with disabilities and elderly persons, including those with dementia.  The company operates upon a fundamental belief that to promote a caring workforce, the organisation itself must be caring. As the pioneer of ethics in home care in the UK, Penrose Care in 2012 became one of the first four providers in the country to become an Accredited Living Wage Employer and in 2013 the first independent sector provider to be compliant with Citizens UK’s landmark Social Care Charter. Penrose Care was named the Living Wage Champion for the London region in 2016 by the Living Wage Foundation.

Penrose Care’s ethical approach promotes higher quality social care workers and low staff turnover which in turn results in excellent care. Penrose Care is headquartered in Belsize Village, north London and was founded by Robert Stephenson-Padron, a healthcare research analyst, and Dr. Matthew Knight, a hospital physician.

2018-06-08 (Penrose Care) Living Wage Champion Family Photo

2018 Living Wage Champions Family Photo.

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Penrose Care shortlisted for Living Wage Champion Awards 2018

Living Wage Champion 2018 Shortlisted

London, England, UK – Penrose Care has been shortlisted by the Living Wage Foundation for the Living Wage Champion Awards 2018.

The awards recognise Living Wage employers and individuals that have made great contributions to communities and industries by implementing and celebrating the Living Wage.

Following the announcement which was made on 19 March 2018, today Penrose Care managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron said: “Penrose Care is honoured to be shortlisted for the 2018 Living Wage Champion ‘Industry Leadership Award’ along with other inspiring employers such as Curzon Cinemas. Penrose Care’s innovation in Britain’s home care sector is to be the first comprehensively ethical employer in the vital industry that supports the most vulnerable in our society remain independent in their own homes. Our innovations of the heart and spirit, rooted in respect for the dignity of the human person, have demonstrated that this is the surest way to deliver excellent social care day in and day out.”

Tess Lanning, Director of the Living Wage Foundation, said:

“I would like to offer huge congratulations to Penrose Care on being shortlisted for the Living Wage Champion Awards. By committing to responsible pay, employers like Penrose Care have changed the lives of thousands of people across the UK, lifting workers out of poverty and transforming communities. We look forward to celebrating again in June when we announce the winners.”

The Living Wage is an hourly pay rate set independently, updated annually, and calculated according to the basic cost of living.

Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis, and almost 4,000 accredited employers have now committed to put respect and dignity at the heart of their organisations by paying the Living Wage.

The awards are judged by an independent panel of business and community leaders, and winners will be announced in June.

Notes to editors

The Living Wage Foundation’s shortlist announcement can be found here. 

Media Contact

John Hood – Media Manager: John.Hood@LivingWage.org.uk

Mobile: 07507 173649 Landline 0208 017 2936

The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The real Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK. Employers choose to pay this wage on a voluntary basis. The real Living Wage enjoys cross-party support.

The UK Living Wage is currently £8.75 per hour. The London Living Wage is currently £10.20 per hour. This figure covers all boroughs in Greater London. These figures are calculated annually by the Resolution Foundation and overseen by the Living Wage Commission, based on the best available evidence on living standards in London and the UK.

The Living Wage Foundation recognises and celebrates the leadership shown by Living Wage employers across the UK. There are currently over 4,000 accredited employers. We are an initiative of Citizens UK. We believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. We support responsible employers to voluntarily go further than the government minimum and pay the real Living Wage, to all their staff, so they can earn enough to meet the cost of living.

We receive guidance and advice from the Living Wage Advisory Council. The Foundation is supported by our principal partners: Burberry; GSK; Aviva; IKEA; Joseph Rowntree Foundation; KPMG; Linklaters; Nationwide; Nestle; Resolution Foundation; Oxfam; Trust for London; People’s Health Trust and Queen Mary University of London.

What about the Government’s national living wage?

In July 2015 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the UK Government would introduce a compulsory ‘national living wage’. This new governmentrate is a new minimum wage rate for staff over 25 years old. It was introduced in April 2016 and the current rate is £7.50 per hour, rising to £7.83 in April 2018. The rate is separate to the Living Wage rate calculated by the Living Wage Foundation.  The government rate is based on median earnings while the Living Wage Foundation rate is calculated according to the cost of living.

2016-09-21 (BBC Radio 4 Today) Robert Stephenson-Padron Penrose Care
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Penrose Care head comments on NAO’s care recruitment crisis report

Belsize Village, London, UK: Following the release of the National Audit Office’s new report on the ongoing recruitment crisis in social care in England, Penrose Care’s managing director, Robert Stephenson-Padron, who has been an outspoken advocate of improving the attractiveness of careers in social care, made the following public statement:

Penrose Care praises the National Audit Office for highlighting the severe difficulties England’s social care sector faces hiring new care workers. We would note the NAO’s history of promoting reform in social care, notably in 2014 when it shed light on poor enforcement of the national minimum wage in the home care sector.

We’re proud that the sad description of care workers as being undervalued with little opportunity for career progression by the NAO report authors does not apply to Penrose Care.

Penrose Care offers its care workers a variety of ethical labour standards – the London Living Wage as a minimum wage rate has been our core commitment since we established in 2012, as well as payment for travel time, overtime for nights, weekends and bank holidays; the minimum wage plus for sleep-ins, the costs of training and criminal checks borne by us not our workers, and the payment of wages for training time. Overtime, working with Citizens UK and informed by research done by Unison, we rolled out further ethical labour standards: an occupational sickpay scheme (substantially over and above what is required by statute), guaranteed minimum hours of work, a pension scheme, and free taxis home for workers leaving work after 21:00 to help ensure their safety and reduce stress.

Penrose Care’s ethical labour standards, with the London Living Wage as an anchor, have in my view allowed us to attract and retain some of the most talented social care professionals in the country.

With respect to the NAO’s concern over difficulties of the sector recruiting registered managers, Penrose Care would highlight that our guaranteeing minimum hours, which brings some front line workers into the office at times to assist, has allowed us to identify management talent from the front line. We’re proud that currently we have two colleagues at Penrose Care pursuing the qualification needed to be a registered manager, and both of them started at Penrose Care as front line home care workers.

However, challenges with recruitment remain. Since the Brexit vote in the summer or 2016, we have had to spend money to find new applicants whereas before we attracted them organically and we have seen a spike in new recruits not passing our probationary periods, demonstrating that finding quality new recruits is even more difficult.

Where organisations like Penrose Care need a cross-civil society togetherness and push is in working to raise the way society sees social care. I absolutely love working in social care. It is the most rewarding and intellectually challenging work I have done in my life. We as a society, and indeed a world, need to get this message out. We can provide good labour standards but that is only part of the solution, we need to build up a profession that appeals better to persons planning their careers and those looking for more rewarding careers.

NOTES

  • On December 8, 2017, Robert Stephenson-Padron spoke about the social care recruitment crisis on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show. Some comments can be found here.
  • On September 21, 2016, Robert Stephenson-Padron spoke abou tthe social care recruitment crisis on BBC Radio 4’s Today program. The clip can be listened to here.

ENDS

Media Contact

Penrose Care

Robert Stephenson-Padron

robert.padron@penrosecare.co.uk

0207 435 2644

About Penrose Care

Penrose Care is an ethical provider of home care services London, United Kingdom to adults with disabilities and elderly persons, including those with dementia.  The company operates upon a fundamental belief that to promote a caring workforce, the organisation itself must be caring. As the pioneer of ethics in home care in the UK, Penrose Care in 2012 became one of the first four providers in the country to become an Accredited Living Wage Employer and in 2013 the first independent sector provider to be compliant with Citizens UK’s landmark Social Care Charter. Penrose Care was named the Living Wage Champion for the London region in 2016 by the Living Wage Foundation.

Penrose Care’s ethical approach promotes higher quality social care workers and low staff turnover which in turn results in excellent care. Penrose Care is headquartered in Belsize Village, north London and was founded by Robert Stephenson-Padron, a healthcare research analyst, and Dr. Matthew Knight, a hospital physician.

Penrose Care Managing Director Robert Stephenson-Padron and senior care worker Nikoletta Makouli following Penrose Care being named the Most Outstanding Home Care Provider in the World.
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International recognition for Penrose Care’s ethical labour practices

Belsize Village, London, UK: Penrose Care was honoured Thursday night, November 9, 2017 to receive international recognition for its pioneering work in integrating ethical labour practices into home care at the 2017 Global Over 50s Housing Awards. Penrose Care was recognised as the “The Most Outstanding Homecare Provider in the World.”

Penrose Care Managing Director Robert Stephenson-Padron and senior care worker Nikoletta Makouli following Penrose Care being named the Most Outstanding Home Care Provider in the World.

Penrose Care Managing Director Robert Stephenson-Padron and senior care worker Nikoletta Makouli following Penrose Care being named the Most Outstanding Home Care Provider in the World.

Social care labour practices tend to be poor both in the UK and abroad and Penrose Care has over the years received research delegations from Canada and Japan to learn about Penrose Care’s ethical labour practices, how Penrose Care makes them possible financially, and how it leads to better social care outcomes. Penrose Care has been involved in various labour and social care reports and studies including from the University of Strathclyde (Scotland), Itami City Council (Japan), the Equality & Human Rights Commission (UK) and most recently, The New Policy Institute.

Penrose Care’s ethical workplace practices include paying the London Living Wage, a voluntary wage rate set by the Mayor of London once a year which is meant to be the lowest a person can be paid to still live a decently quality of life in London (currently £10.20/hour vs the mandatory National Living Wage of £7.50/hour); an Occupational Sickpay Scheme that allows workers to receive full pay for up to 10 days a year so workers do not feel compelled to work go to work when sick – supporting public health; free taxis home for workers going home late at night to help ensure their safety and give them that extra boost of relaxation; and a variety of other labour initiatives.

Long-time international labour specialist, Jerald Zellhoefer, a former American social worker and European Representative of the AFL-CIO based in Paris, France and member of the International Labour Organisation from 1991-2010 noted upon learning of Penrose Care’s award, “Penrose Care is a strong supporter of Living Wage which in the social care sector in a country with an aging population is especially important.  Dignity for patients and care givers can never be secondary issues.”

Following receiving the award, Penrose Care managing director said, “The Penrose Care team is once again honoured and humbled to be recognised for our especially caring ethos, which covers both our staff and the vulnerable persons we support to live independently in their homes.”

Mr. Stephenson-Padron continued: “Penrose Care’s core innovation is an adherence to a timeless truth – that the dignity of man and woman is superior to all other aims. With these guiding values, we have been able to attract and keep special individuals with a vocation to care. And by allowing them to pursue that vocation, we have been able to help the elderly and disabled persons we support live more fulfilling lives.”

Nikoletta Makouli, a senior care worker at Penrose Care who attended the awards ceremony in London at the Courthouse Hotel, said following the award: “We are not only a team because we work together, we are a team because we respect, trust and care about each other. Proud to be part of this company Penrose Care.”

Various other countries were represented at the awards ceremony including organisations from Australia, Canada, India, Italy, Mexico, Thailand and the USA.

With Penrose Care having a multi-year relationship with healthcare researchers from Japan, Penrose Care’s team was especially pleased to meet at the Global Awards ceremony Dr. Hanatsu Nagano who has invented a shoe insole that reduces trips and falls in the elderly.

With Penrose Care having a multi-year relationship with healthcare researchers from Japan, Penrose Care’s team was especially pleased to meet at the Global Awards ceremony Dr. Hanatsu Nagano who has invented a shoe insole that reduces trips and falls in the elderly.

ENDS

Media Contact

Penrose Care

Robert Stephenson-Padron

robert.padron@penrosecare.co.uk

0207 435 2644

About Penrose Care

Penrose Care is an ethical provider of home care services London, United Kingdom to adults with disabilities and elderly persons, including those with dementia.  The company operates upon a fundamental belief that to promote a caring workforce, the organisation itself must be caring. As the pioneer of ethics in home care in the UK, Penrose Care in 2012 became one of the first four providers in the country to become an Accredited Living Wage Employer and in 2013 the first independent sector provider to be compliant with Citizens UK’s landmark Social Care Charter. Penrose Care was named the Living Wage Champion for the London region in 2016 by the Living Wage Foundation.

Penrose Care’s ethical approach promotes higher quality social care workers and low staff turnover which in turn results in excellent care. Penrose Care is headquartered in Belsize Village, north London and was founded by Robert Stephenson-Padron, a healthcare research analyst, and Dr. Matthew Knight, a hospital physician.

About the Global Over 50s Housing Awards

The Global Over 50s Housing Awards (“Global Awards”) are now in their seventh year. They were created to celebrate and reward the best individual and company performances in Seniors Housing/Care Trends, Healthcare Innovation, IT, and Medical Tourism sectors worldwide. The Awards recognise the rapid growth of these sectors worldwide, and the capacity of individuals to influence and set new performance standards across countries, regions and the world. The Awards focus on elevated performance; the creation of new business models; contrarian thinking; recognising and embracing new trends; market leadership; inspirational performance and the elevation of customer experience.

Penrose Care managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron speaks at Camden Council about Brexit. Photo 5
Latest news

Penrose Care head speaks out on Brexit at Camden Council

Belsize Village, London, UK: Yesterday on the night of October 23, 2017, Penrose Care’s managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron spoke to a meeting of Camden Council at Camden Town Hall on Judd Street about the impacts of Brexit on home care.

The extraordinary meeting which invited various speakers from across the Borough was organised by the Camden Council Brexit Working Group led by Cllr. Lazzaro Pietragnoli.

A copy of of Mr. Stephenson-Padron’s prepared remarks are beneath the contact information of this press release.

ENDS

Media Contact

Penrose Care

Robert Stephenson-Padron

robert.padron@penrosecare.co.uk

0207 435 2644

About Penrose Care

Penrose Care is an ethical provider of home care services London, United Kingdom to adults with disabilities and elderly persons, including those with dementia.  The company operates upon a fundamental belief that to promote a caring workforce, the organisation itself must be caring. As the pioneer of ethics in home care in the UK, Penrose Care in 2012 became one of the first four providers in the country to become an Accredited Living Wage Employer and in 2013 the first independent sector provider to be compliant with Citizens UK’s landmark Social Care Charter. Penrose Care was named the Living Wage Champion for the London region in 2016 by the Living Wage Foundation.

Penrose Care’s ethical approach promotes higher quality social care workers and low staff turnover which in turn results in excellent care. Penrose Care is headquartered in Belsize Village, north London and was founded by Robert Stephenson-Padron, a healthcare research analyst, and Dr. Matthew Knight, a hospital physician.

Robert Stephenson-Padron’s prepared remarks for Camden Council’s extraordinary meeting on Brexit held on October 23, 2017:

Mr. Mayor and councillors, thank you for inviting me to speak to you tonight about the European Union and Brexit. I would like to say a special hello and thank you to Councillor Lazaro, who was actually the person who swore me in as a British citizen in 2014 in this chamber three years ago.

Indeed, I speak to you as an immigrant and on behalf of Penrose Care, an ethical home care provider based in Belsize Village which largely consist of immigrants. 80% of our staff are EU nationals.

As such, the rhetoric and uncertainty running up to and post last summer’s EU referendum has put undue stress on my colleagues and has presented Penrose Care and the entire social care sector with a variety of significant challenges which further imperil an already fragile sector.

Before I speak to those challenges I want to make clear the monumental importance the European Union has had on my life and indeed, the life of Penrose Care.

First, would I have moved here to the UK if it had not been a member of the EU in 2007. Probably not.

Further, if you asked me today, do I think we would have established Penrose Care in 2012 if the UK was not a member of the European Union? I would say, probably not, particularly since our first workers were all EU nationals.

And therefore along with looking at the specific impacts of Brexit on social care, the Council should consider the long-term impacts of Brexit on entrepreneurship, capital formation, and SME-led job creation.

Now looking at social care, as you know, it is important to recognise that it is a sector whose crises preceded the Brexit vote but have been worsened by the Brexit vote. These include:

1) A worsening in the social care recruitment crisis. The long-term recruitment crisis in social care shifted to a catastrophe after the Brexit vote, with EU nationals here less keen to move jobs and new EU nationals being deterred from moving here.[1]

2) And this has led to a worsening in the delayed transfer of care crisis. This has been the most catastrophic crisis worsened by the Brexit vote with English delayed transfers of care beds due to social care delays increasing by 38%[2] last winter year-on-year with patients being unable to secure social care amid a recruitment crisis worsened by Brexit.

3) The nursing shortage crisis. We have 24,000 nursing vacancies and nursing registrations from the EU have fallen by 96%.[3],[4] This worsens the quality of services district and community nursing can provide, negatively impacting our collaborations with them.

4) The social care financial crisis. One in four home care providers are at risk of insolvency according to BBC Panorama in March.[5] This crisis is exacerbated if care providers cannot maintain staffing levels and cannot grow if they cannot increase their staffing levels.

I would be happy to elaborate on these challenges to you in the Q&A but I would close by saying that of course the UK has every right to leave the EU. But I think none of us have the right to sit idly by while this reckless Brexit process inhibits our ability to support the most frail in our society in safe and dignified ways.

Thank you.

[1] “Social care system ‘beginning to collapse’ as 900 carers quit every day” (BBC News: 11 April 2017), available http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39507859

[2] Delayed Transfers of Care Data 2017-18 (NHS England, 12 Oct 2017), available https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/delayed-transfers-of-care/delayed-transfers-of-care-data-2017-18/

[3] “NHS faces shortage of more than 40,000 nurses after Brexit, says leaked government prediction” (Independent: 7 April 2017), available http://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/nhs-nurse-shortage-40000-post-brexit-trusts-hospitals-uk-healthcare-leaked-government-a7671791.html

[4] “96% drop in EU nurses registering to work in Britain since Brexit vote” (The Guardian: 12 June 2017)

[5] “’Lack of money’ prompts care firms to end council contracts” (BBC News: 20 March 2017), available http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39321579

Penrose Care managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron speaks at Camden Council about Brexit. Photo 3

Penrose Care managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron speaks at Camden Council about Brexit. Photo 3

Penrose Care managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron speaks at Camden Council about Brexit. Photo 4

Penrose Care managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron speaks at Camden Council about Brexit. Photo 4

Penrose Care managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron speaks at Camden Council about Brexit. Photo 5

Penrose Care managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron speaks at Camden Council about Brexit. Photo 5

Penrose Care managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron at Camden Council - praised by a colleague on Instagram.

Penrose Care managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron at Camden Council – praised by a colleague on Instagram.