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ONBOARDING AND INDUCTION
Onboarding starts well before your worker arrives in the UK. The Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel in the UK is clear that employers must form a comprehensive plan for induction, pastoral and professional support.
You will have invested a lot of money in this recruitment and you will want them to stay and be successful. It’s also very possible that you are the only link with the UK your new worker has. It is therefore important you help them to settle in, establish themselves in the team and in their community.
This should include preparing your own workforces and workplaces, and ensure international staff are signposted to appropriate organisations, including any relevant professional bodies and regulators, for further support, advice and guidance. Other staff working for you should be made aware of your recruitment and of the support expected of them to encourage a culture in which diversity is valued and respected.
The Code of Practice requires high standards of induction and support for new international workers.
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Before You Make a Job Offer
New recruits must be provided with all the relevant information about the post they have applied for, prior to acceptance, to enable an informed decision on whether they wish to accept a job offer. This is recommended to include:
• location of job and indication of likely living costs in that area
• access to health services for the candidate and, if relevant, their family
• proximity of relevant religious institutions, if applicable
• access to education for family members
• information on national associations, diaspora groups and communities, and relevant trade unions for further support
Before Arrival
Keep in contact with your new recruit before they arrive. This will reduce the risk of them pulling out or accepting a different post elsewhere.
It is also important that you ensure you understand the culture, context and system within which the individuals work in their home country before your new staff member arrives in the UK.
One option for doing this is to arrange regular catch ups via video links with your new recruit to talk through any concerns they have. You may also find it helpful to give them comparisons between their home country and the UK. You could do this via Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Facetime or Google Meets. You could also use a social media platform such as Facebook or WhatsApp to stay in touch and share photos or videos of their place of work, where they will first live or their local community.
Catch up could focus on areas such as:
- British weather and the seasons
- Shopping and food
- What clothes to wear
- The local area
- British values.
- Key differences in social care jargon between here and their home country
- Paying for utilities in the UK.
Think also about the potential financial position of your new worker and be aware that additional support may be required at varying levels depending on each individual situation. Bear in mind that people coming to the UK on a Skilled Worker visa do not have any ‘access to public funds’ – so benefits and other support available to other staff are not likely to be accessible by international recruits.
You will already have an induction programme for new workers. In addition, induction programmes for workers from overseas should encompass cultural and pastoral support to settle into working and living in the UK such as:
- An initial welcome letter
- Housing
- Biometric residence permits
- Pay, bank accounts, benefits and tax
- Registering with a GP, dentist and health support
- Education and schools
- Community organisations
- Union representation
- Links to national embassies and high commissions
Getting Things Right From Day One
1 – Airport Pick-Up
It is good practice to meet your overseas recruit at the airport when they first arrive and then take them to their accommodation. This will help to settle the person and support them to get to know their new surroundings. If you can, try and have someone who they have already met greet them at the airport. If for whatever reason you cannot personally meet them then consider paying and organising for a taxi to meet them and take them to their accommodation.
2 – Accommodation
Your employee can apply for a National Insurance number as soon as they arrive in the UK and have obtained their BRP.
They will need to call the Jobcentre Plus application line to request an application form. They will ask a few questions to decide eligibility. They will fill out the application form and return it as instructed. Depending on their circumstances, they might have to attend an interview. Once their application is approved, they will receive their National Insurance number by mail.
3 – Banking and Biometric Residence Permits
On their day of arrival, consider visiting the post office to pick up the Biometric Residence Permits and making an appointment for them to set up a bank account.
4 – Key Information
Support your staff to register for their National Insurance (NI) and NHS numbers.
5 – Financial support
It is good practice to provide some form of financial support to the overseas recruit on arrival. A salary advance of cash will ensure that the person has access to money, in case there are any delays in the bank account being set up. It would be for you to agree the reclaim period with the individual, but take care that they continue to have enough coming in to support themselves.
6 – Social Activity
Consider organising a social function so that your new worker can get to know the rest of the team. Consider also appointing a buddy from within the current team to be a source of support and advice.
7 – Their New Community
Consider taking your new staff member out and about in their local community. This could include using public transport and visiting shops or places of worship.
8 – Provide a Welcome Pack
What you provide in the pack is up to you and this could be discussed on a video call prior to arrival to make sure you include what matters to your recruit. Consider providing:
- Crockery
- Chopping boards
- Tea towels
- Bedding
- Towels
- Basic kitchen equipment
- Food and other essentials such as: rice, noodles, bread, milk, eggs, teabags, coffee, sugar, toilet rolls, condiments, washing up liquid and laundry detergent
- Basic toiletries
- Pre-paid travel card
- UK SIM card