Minibus Driver

Minibus Driver - Bank Contract

Based at our stunning, brand-new care home, Elm Lodge in Hartley Wintney, RG27 8JG. Newly opened, Elm Lodge is a 60-bedded care home providing residential care and offers a fantastic opportunity to set the foundations of an outstanding home.

Forest Care is a family owned and managed company, currently with five care homes in Hampshire and Surrey. Our focus is to ensure we provide the highest standards of care to our residents, and their ongoing welfare, comfort and needs are central to how we run our homes. We want our homes to be a home in the truest sense, and we are committed to making our residents feel at home from the outset.

** Top 20 Small Care Home Group 2022**

These accolades are only achieved through the teamwork of like-minded individuals passionate about delivering person-centered care. Our Care/Nursing staff to resident ratio is higher than the national average across Forest Care and nearly 50% of our team have been with us for over 5 years.

“Forest Care is a very homely company, and all the staff feel like they are part of one big family.”

“I'm very happy with the training and development at Forest Care. They support us to achieve our NVQ and further qualifications.”

We are looking for a reliable and motivated Minibus Driver to provide transportation services to our Residents on a Bank Contract basis in our brand new, 12-seater minibus.

Starting salary £11.70 per hour. Various shifts required to include some weekends.

Elm Lodge has a brand new 12-seater minibus for Residents trips, outings and hospital visits but candidates will need access to their own transport to apply for this role.

As well as a competitive hourly rate, we offer the following benefits;

• 28 days Holiday (for full time workers) rising with years of service
• Enhanced pay for Bank Holidays
• Long service awards
• Comprehensive induction training
• Ongoing training and development 
• Auto-enrolment Pension Scheme
• NVQ Training 
• Refer a Friend Scheme
• Paid breaks
• Free Uniform
• Employee Assistance Programme 24/7 covering a full range of issues. Includes perks and discounts too!
• Blue Light Staff Discount Card, Employee of the Month, Appreciation weeks and many more!

Main Duties of our Minibus Driver;

• Provides transportation services for residents
• Assists residents with any special needs during transportation; such as carrying packages, opening doors, assisting residents onto and out of vehicle and to the point of destination required
• Maintains focus on driving at all times; directs tasks and passenger interactions to on-board support staff while vehicle is in motion.  No mobile phone use allowed at any time
• Provides miscellaneous pick up and delivery services as needed
• Demonstrates positive resident relations at all times
• Demonstrates safety, loss prevention and infection control procedures
• Solid knowledge of local area including traffic patterns in order to closely estimate travel times and plans appropriate routes to destinations. Resident safety should be observed and considered at all times
• Reports residents’ change of health, physical or mental, to Home Manager
• Ensuring the vehicle is maintained to a good working condition, including cleanliness and safety. Light maintenance checking levels, fuel and tyres

Skills and Experience of our Minibus Driver;

• Must be at least 21 years of age
• Must hold a full, clean UK driving licence
• Must be knowledgeable of all safety precautions and comply with safety procedures
• Ability to act calmly in emergency situations
• Ability to operate a chair lift and secure regular and mechanical wheelchairs
• Please note this position is subject to a DBS check.

While it is no longer a requirement that people we employ are vaccinated against Covid-19, we still strongly believe that vaccination remains the best line of defence and we therefore continue to encourage all current and prospective staff to be fully vaccinated.