Human resources and employment law support
Four Seasons Health Care Group (FSHC) had a network of 49 Four Seasons and brighterkind branded care homes, employing approximately 4,000 team members. The Group provided residential, nursing and dementia care, and a home to approximately 3,000 older people throughout England, Scotland and Jersey.
In 2023 Watershed started working with FSHC to help it through a restructure of the business. FSHC was involved in a divestment process, which reduced its number of homes and the need for central services function. We worked alongside the Senior Leadership Team at FSHC and AlixPartners, a global consulting firm, advising on the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 and supporting the collective consultation with employee representatives on reducing and restructuring central services. Our work included:
- A review of all template documents associated with the people management processes to make sure they are up to date, fit for purpose and capable of being used by managers.
- Development of any necessary policies, procedures, guidance and templates where they are not already available.
- People management training sessions, which involved up to 230 people over four days (50 to 60 people per one-day session).
Watershed was then engaged as the outsourced employee relations partner. We provided reactive and proactive advice to the Leadership team, regional support teams and all home managers within the Group. This aligned to FSHC’s objective of autonomy within each home and empowered leaders at various levels, enabling them to make timely, informed decisions that directly improved the work environment for healthcare professionals.
Watershed also assisted FSHC with its occupational health (OH) processes. By completing a comprehensive review of the entire OH assessment and referral processes, Watershed helped FSHC to save substantial associated costs.
Watershed continued to support the individual homes and the FSHC organisation as a whole. The cost of our fixed fee service is tailored to each client and, as the business’s need for support decreased, we reduced our fee to ensure FSHC received value for money.
As well as human resources support, we also provided FSHC with expert employment law advice, guidance and representation, assisting with settlement agreements and employment tribunals as needed.
Watershed works hand-in-hand with our clients, and we attended FSHC’s annual business conference and took part in its training to better understand the business, its people and its service users. We are committed to understanding our clients’ values to ensure that we embed them in the bespoke service we provide.
