Islington Council maintains a register of people looking for work as a personal assistant (carer) for residents of the borough who need support at home, either because of their age or disability, to enable them to live as independently as possible. We call our register the ‘Islington PA Finder’, and we are looking to sign up more personal assistants.
Please note that Islington Council is not a recruitment agency, and being on the PA Finder register is NOT a guarantee of a job. Local people wanting to employ a PA look through the register, and select a few PAs to interview. If you are offered a job, you will be employed by the family directly – not by Islington Council.
The job of a personal assistant (carer) may consist of any, or all, of the following - assistance with aspects of personal care (possibly including assistance to use the toilet, bath/ shower, cleaning teeth etc.); assistance with dressing and undressing; prompting to take medication; domestic tasks e.g. Laundry and cleaning; preparing drinks and meals; shopping; enabling the person to attend appointments and social events
You don’t need formal qualifications; however previous experience working as a personal assistant or carer, or helping a family member or friend, would be an advantage.
Pay: usually at least £9.40 per hour, rising to £9.75 in April
Annual leave: 5.6 weeks paid holiday per year
Wages: paid into your bank account, not cash-in-hand
Status: you must be legally allowed to work in the UK, and have a valid National Insurance number.
Registration on the PA Finder is free of charge, and you are not obliged to accept any job offer that you receive. So what do you have to lose?
To sign up, click on the ‘Apply’ button – adjacent to this advert. That will take you to the Islington PA Finder web page. At the bottom of the web page, click on the ‘PA Finder registration’ link, download the registration application form, and follow the instructions.
The heart of the application form is the ‘Your Personal Statement’ section; spend time getting it right. Prospective employers will largely decide whether to offer you an interview, based on what you have written in your personal statement.
Please complete the registration form ‘on-screen’ if you can – and email it to us (the email address is on the form). Otherwise print off the form, fill it in by hand, and post it to the address on the form.
You are welcome to send us your CV, but you must send us a completed registration form as well.