Inside the Circle – May 14, 2024

You’re invited to celebrate Circle of Care’s 50th Anniversary!

We are excited to honour this special anniversary milestone with our dedicated staff who have been so integral to our success.

Enjoy a photo-booth, live DJ, spacious mingling area, and prizes at this event!

When is the event: June 18, 5pm-9pm
Where: Temple Sinai Congregation of Toronto | 210 Wilson Avenue Toronto, ON M5M 3B1

Please read the information below and register by June 7! Register by clicking the link below or scanning our QR code.

Note: Registration is mandatory, and you will be required to show your ticket at the event. If you do not register, you will not be able to attend.

We have a limited number of tickets available for this event. Please ensure you register by June 7 to secure your spot. Please note, duplicate emails in our system will be removed. Each attendee must register individually and tickets are non-transferable. If you have RSVPed but find you are unable to attend, please contact Mary at man@circleofcare.com to cancel your ticket, freeing up space for others.

Choosing a meal: After clicking on ‘Reserve a Spot’ and filling out the necessary information, you will be prompted to choose a meal. All meals are gluten and nut free.

Accessing your ticket: Once you register, you may access your ticket by logging into EventBrite and you can save the ticket. Or you can download the Eventbrite app, log into the app, and save the ticket to your Apple Wallet or save it as a photo!

Feel free to reach out to Mary at man@circleofcare.com if you have any questions!

Please report all workplace injuries, incidents and hazards. If you are injured while working, please report this to the Call Centre, your Service Coordinator, or your CSS. And don’t forget to review our policy related to incident reporting by clicking the button below.

If you have any questions, please reach out to HRDept@circleofcare.com.

Don’t forget to check-out the ‘Beyond Silence’ app! This is a free and confidential mental health support program to our PSWs and Homemakers. Through the app, you can access resources to support your mental well-being, and you are able to speak with a trained Peer Support Provider. You can access the app on your Circle of Care work phone, and on your personal device.

ACCESS CODE: CCYP527J8

For more information about the program, please click the button below.

We invite you to submit your questions or feedback below. Please note that it may take us longer to provide some answers, so if you’ve asked a question that hasn’t been answered yet, we will get back to you in the coming weeks.

I have seen many people already complaining about the hours we get, yet you kept telling us to connect with our service coordinator or supervisor but they don’t do anything! I’ve been asking them already since last year and still nothing has changed. Everyone posted here already and you’re just going to keep saying we have to connect with our coordinators. Is there anything you can do to escalate this problem/situation since you are the one reading this and reply to the questions? Coordinators should know better if the worker doesn’t get enough hours. We shouldn’t have to beg for them always. Please do something about this, every time we phone them we always get their voicemail, but we don’t get a call back! Since this question has been submitted, help us. Let them know, don’t just tell us to call them because they don’t pick up the phone! Thank you!
We understand your frustration, along with the frustration of others who are facing similar situations. Management is aware of this problem. There is not an easy or simple fix, but our Client Services team is doing their best to make changes to our systems to address this problem.

As an employee for Circle of Care, are we allowed to donate and volunteer to the company social program?
We’re not quite sure what you’re referring to in terms of ‘company social program’, but perhaps you meant our social activities (like our annual party). We have a social committee that is made up of a variety of staff members at the organization that help to plan for these events. If you are interested in joining the committee, they are currently accepting new members. Please email Lisa Rae at lrae@circleofcare.com to submit your interest in being on this committee.

And if you meant volunteering with the organization (in one of our volunteer programs), you can complete our volunteer application form: https://www.circleofcare.com/volunteer/ . We of course accept employees as volunteers, and you would be expected to volunteer on your own personal time outside of work hours.

And if you would like to donate to the organization, you can visit our Donate page to learn more about the ways to give: https://www.circleofcare.com/donate/

I find it’s unfair to have to do household chores in a client’s home when they have other family members living in the same house. If the client lives alone, I can see that it would be beneficial, but not when there’s family who are perfectly capable of this work.
As part of the care plan for clients who live with their family, you may be required to clean client areas (their bedroom & bathroom). It wouldn’t be on a care plan to clean other areas of the home. If you have questions about aspects of a client’s care plan, or if you’re being asked to do tasks that are not on a client’s care plan, please reach out to your CSS.

What is client cancellation GTE 3 hours and client cancellation LT 3 hours mean?
Greater than 3 hours notice vs less than 3 hours notice.

I question how we don’t have enough hours. I have worked for this company for almost eight years and I don’t have enough hours still. So I hope you guys give me more hours.
Our volumes fluctuate based on the authorized hours the funder provides. There are often changes to clients schedules that impact your hours including but not limited to cancellations, hospitalizations, decrease of funded hours, vacation, discharges etc. We also have no control over how many new clients we may receive and this applies to all geographies. We encourage you to speak to your service coordinator directly to review your availability. It is challenging for us to respond to your specific inquiry on this platform as it is an anonymous post.

Every time I read a comment here it’s regarding PSW scheduling. Is there any way that we could be paid fixed bi-weekly, not per hour? I think most of the PSWs would agree to a guaranteed bi-weekly salary.
Circle of Care is paid for the clients we service as we are a fee for service payment model. We do not have a guaranteed hour program available.

I heard before that we have opened an Adult Day Program. Can we hire PSWs to work there on a part time basis? This would help with PSWs who have less hours because we read about all the issues with getting fewer hours of work. Also thanks for sharing websites on financial literacy. I understand we need more hours of work due to inflation but sometimes we cannot depend on one pot alone. Thank you!
We are currently exploring opportunities to provide personal care at the ADP but this is only when the funder may request a client to receive personal care services outside of their home.