Legal & Regulatory

Modern Slavery Statement

Introduction

This statement sets out Colten Care Limited’s actions to understand all significant modern slavery risks relating to our business and to put in place steps to ensure there is no slavery or human trafficking in our own company and our supply chains. This statement is for the year ending 13th of February 2024, in accordance with Section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

As part of the private healthcare sector Colten Care Limited recognises it has a responsibility to take a robust approach to slavery and human trafficking.

Our Business

Colten Care provides residential, nursing and dementia care in 21 homes across Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire and West Sussex.

Our People

All employees at Colten Care Limited are required to follow the company’s compliance checks to ensure they have the right to work in the UK.

Policies

Colten Care has the following policies in place to demonstrate our approach to the identification of modern slavery risks and steps to be taken to prevent slavery and human trafficking in our operations:

• Speaking Up
• Code of conduct
• Recruitment policy
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Suppliers

Colten Care is updating its contractual arrangements, where relevant, to stipulate that all our major recruitment suppliers:

• Must comply with all applicable laws when providing services to Colten Care Limited;
• Appropriate background checks must be carried out on all supplier personnel; and
• Sub-contracting is generally prohibited without the express consent of Colten Care Limited.

Raising Awareness

As well as providing guidance, we are raising awareness of Modern Slavery issues for our recruiting managers by email communications or flyers. These will explain:

• Basic principles of the Modern Slavery Act
• Guidance on how to identify and prevent slavery and human trafficking
• How to flag up potential slavery and human trafficking issues to the relevant people in the organisation
• What external help is available e.g. the Modern Slavery helpline

Board Approval

I confirm that this statement has been approved by Colten Care Limited’s main Board.

Mark Aitchison
CEO and Finance Director

Gender Pay Report 2024

All UK employers with more than 250 employees are required to publish their gender pay gap to show the difference between average men’s pay and average women’s pay.

Gender Pay Figures

The information below shows our mean and median pay gaps, the bonus pay gap, the proportion of men and women in each quartile pay band, and the proportions of our employees who received a bonus in the year to 4th April 2024.

Understanding the Gender Pay Gap

Colten Care Ltd has 1264 female employees (78.21%) AND 352 male employees (21.78%). The proportion of women employed compared to men is broadly representative of the health and care sector as a whole. The company applies equal pay across each of its job groups. Despite a disparity in numbers of male and female employees the median pay gap of 1.33% and the mean pay gap of 5.54% is lower than the ONS mean pay gap of 7%.
A larger proportion of women than men work in positions where a bonus was payable in April 2024. There are far fewer men (43) than women (75) that received a bonus at the census date.

The proportion of women and men across the pay quartiles is reasonably even, except for the Upper Quartile where the proportion of women decreases to 69.8% (against the overall average of 78.2%), and the proportion of men increases to 30.2% (against the overall average of 21.7%). At the census date there was a higher proportion of men in trades’ positions and in technical support functions, such as IT, Property and Facilities Management.
Our mean and median bonus gaps figures differ from last year as the bonus scheme and the way payments are made has changed within the organisation.

Colten Care Ltd has policies and initiatives in place which demonstrate a continuing commitment to equality.

I confirm the data reported is accurate.

Karen Cahill

Human Resources Manager

April 2025

Section 172(1) statement – Year ended February 2025

Section 172(1) statement

Colten Care has two main websites on which the company values, promises and expectations are detailed in full and we recommend that interested parties visit these for more information about us as a company. These websites are www.coltencare.co.uk, which details information for prospective residents and their families and www.coltencare.co.uk/careers/, which provides information for staff and potential staff on available opportunities and the company itself. There are also microsites for each home that can be access from the main website. This report is available on the main website.

The Board of Colten Care meet frequently to consider the outlook of the company and any risk management strategies necessary, considering potential effects and consequences of decisions in both the long and short terms. There is also a shareholder policy to embrace environmental and social responsibilities and encourage innovation.

As a company, Colten Care pride ourselves on our high standards, achieving seven “Outstanding” ratings from the CQC. Our philosophy of care “All About Me” allows us to really get to know and understand our residents. We use a “can do” approach to ensure life in a Colten Care home is a life lived well, where residents are treated as individuals and supported with everything they need to live fulfilled and meaningful lives. Whether this is a game of scrabble, a scenic minibus trip or driving a race car to make a wish come true, nothing is too much trouble for our caring and compassionate teams. Colten Care operate frequent trips to enable the residents to leave the care home and visit the surrounding area, which are incredibly popular.

As a care operator, Colten Care appreciates that our employees are integral to our success. Therefore, investment in our staff is one of the main priorities; ensuring that they are properly trained and have career opportunities, such as our senior care lead and nursing associate programmes, and numerous types of apprenticeships. The success of the induction programme, allows Colten Care to better assist our new staff in settling into their new roles and providing the best care to our residents.  The learning and development team support all employees across the business and have invested in a platform that can be accessed by everyone to both ensure compliance and help the staff themselves. Various leadership programmes also operate to allow staff of different levels to advance their careers within the business.

During the financial year, Colten Care organised two Dementia Conferences for staff to attend. This allows staff to understand our residents with dementia, as well as being aware of the signs and symptoms for our other assisted care and nursing residents. The Colourworks and teambuilding sessions also encourage staff to understand themselves, their colleagues, the residents within the homes and any visitors, leading to a better experience for everyone within our homes.

It is more important than ever to encourage our staff to take care of themselves.  To assist staff with their wellbeing, a committee has been created to focus on areas where Colten Care can help. Staff have also had the opportunity to apply to become Mental Health First Aiders. Their skill is to create a positive mental health culture in the workplace, to spot the triggers and signs of mental illness. They have gained knowledge of how to step in and how to support a person in distress. The course is accredited by Mental Health England and refresher courses occur at regular intervals to ensure that training remains relevant.

Colten Care is also committed to an annual pay review for all staff and all staff are paid at least the ‘Real Living Wage. To further celebrate staff, the “Colten Champions” awards are held annually for employees that are considered exceptional. Nominations come from residents, relatives, staff members and third parties. The awards have been operating for many years with the achievements of many individuals and teams from across the group being celebrated.

As part of our ongoing commitment to quality, we foster ongoing long-term relationships with suppliers. This also has a benefit with respect to price. Colten likes to utilise local suppliers, where possible and have some local food suppliers that we have used for over a decade and some longer still.

Colten Care continues to operate a sustainability committee which looks at both reducing our carbon footprint and the social responsibility we have to our local communities. Community relationships are important and all our homes support a broad mix of local community events and initiatives. These enable elderly people, who are often lonely at home, to come into a welcoming and safe environment where they can socialise and chat to understanding people. Colten Care also opens gardens to the public in order to support both community and charity events, including The National Garden Scheme.