Stressful environment, extreme burnout is inevitable
If you value your mental and physical health at all, do not work here. Worked for Nua for nearly 3 years. The management are bullies, most of them are in management because of nepotism in the company. They are disrespectful to staff and expect the absolute impossible of you, asking you to work 60+ hours a week with the promise that there’ll be new staff starting ect. but it never happens and staff are just put under an unhealthy amount of pressure to come in and work unrealistic hours for prolonged period of time. Expected to come in for a day shift and be told you have to sleep in the centre without any warning.
Higher management are nothing but a joke. Completely out of touch and have no idea what’s going on on the front line and if they do they just don’t care and should honestly be ashamed.
Service users are made suffer because of the needless politics that go on in the company. Frontline staff constantly fighting with management for SU’s rights as they are treated like prisoners, you genuinely have to remind them that they are human beings.
Absolutely no support, underpaid and treated like dirt.
The only good thing to say about Nua is you meet some incredible people on the floor and you will learn a lot from them.
I was very young when I started here and was full of enthusiasm and was really excellent at my job and with the residents, and Nua just took advantage of my willingness to help at any chance I got and wore me down to the point where I was so overworked that
ProsOther frontline staff
ConsThe management, the hours, the expectations, the workload, the pay
Emotionally demanding, too much bureaucracy and paperwork, great colleagues
Very unpredictable work day. Most staff never know who they'll be working with until you arrive. This can mean one day you are doing a lot of physically demanding work, another you're coping with potential aggression.
Unpredictable in terms of scheduling. Company demands you work far more than you wish to.
Management varies. Some are really sound and supportive, others treat you like a number. Company expanding beyond their staffing resources.
This is a good place to get started in social care. You'll definitely know if you have it in you or not. I've met some excellent people.
Wages are decent for the sector, but imo most social care is underpaid for what's expected. However, you can often work a lot of hours so if you're willing to do so, the money adds up.
Also, this is a varied roll. You drive, you clean, you cook, you administer medication, you do house safety checks... All at entry level. It's an all hands on deck place in many ways.
This is residential care for people with varying disabilities and often mental health issues. It is not for the faint of heart. Empathy is crucial, but learning redirection techniques and similar is equally crucial.
Teamwork varies. Some staff are really great at it. Not always though.
Lots of training and opportunities to advance. If you're committed, you'll get financial assistance to progress and some of the psychological support team started out on the floor. However, they expect you to repay mandatory training if you leave befor
ProsFood is provided though you cook for yourself
ConsLong hours, unpredictable schedule, very demanding work, frequent suspension of right to take annual leave due to lack of staffing
Need tp be shut down and cultural & diversity training.
Where do I start? I've worked as relief staff for the past nine months. Most houses are not too bad although most houses adhere to different policies than the ones NUA have apparently in place. Restrictions are put on the less challenging service users and none on the more challenging ones as they cannot manage their behaviours positively, or are afraid of them so this means service users who are less challenging are more or less bullied,also most the behaviourists who come in to assess the service users behaviour sit in theboffice chatting with staff rather than on the floor with service users. Staff are all quite young and many straight from college and seem to think they can take their ' mean girl' attitudes into the work place with lots if clicks and control over management. I've noticed bullying towards people who are not of Irish decent including comments and talking down to non irish. I've noticed this goes on in most houses I've worked in. I complained about this but nothing has been done. Service users are treated poorly by people who aren't even educated enough to work in this area. Basically company is a joke. I've a level 8 and was getting paid the same as a level 5 whereas my friend is a level 7 and was getting paid more than me, so they pay what they want. No team camaraderie and very bad atmosphere. Glad I left, didn't even put it on my CV. Its horrendous, service users at different levels of the spectrum put into houses together which puts everyone's safety a
ProsNone
ConsManagement couldnt care less about you, underpaid, racism.
If you want to get a concussion/mild traumatic brain injury then Nua is the place for you. Management do not care about your injuries, and will treat you like nothing. They claim to care about you and then do the opposite. STAFF ARE SUBJCTED TO EXTREMELY VIOLENT SU's who are in their own apartment (basically a prison) day in day out. The pay is horrific and totally unacceptable for the work you are expected to do and the SU's you are expected to support.
Staff on the floor are nice generally but it depends on which house you are in. If you are in a house where there is better clique with staff then you will most likely be rejected. If you are in a house where it is more informal and staff are sort of more professional then you will probably be more accepted.
Management treat you like A NUMBER and do not care. If you put in a request roster wise it will NEARLY ALWAYS WILL BE REJECTED but this again depends on the house you are in. Some management in some houses allow flexible shifts, others GIVE YOU A MONTH'S ROSTER THAT YOU CANNOT CHANGE. If you try to then you will get a nasty passive aggressive email back.
SOME MANAGEMENT WILL TREAT SERVICE USERS AND STAFF totally inappropriately AND you can't say anything. (mocking a service user, making fun of a staff during handover). JUST STAY AWAY. GET YOUR YEAR IN IF YOU ARE THERE THEN LEAVE.
ProsFree food
Cons12 hour shifts, guilt tripping managers asking u to work more hours, NO SUPPORT FROM management, BULLYING FROM MANAGEMENT
Long hours and irregular shifts (incl waking nights and sleepovers).
Management don't pay enough attention to issues on the floor and don't take them seriously enough.
The company's policies are ridiculous and can sometimes contradict the company's statement of purpose.
The amount of daily paperwork that is expected to be completed can often mean that service users are not given proper attention and can be left waiting on staff who are under pressure to complete this as they will be pulled up on it another day if its incomplete or, too short.
The pay is unfair and there is no Sunday pay or overtime.
There are often times where staff are underpaid/not paid at all which is very disheartening and can often take a long time to resolve, if at all.
The company will take money back from your wages for leaving before a certain amount of time worked (I've not heard of this from any other company/business)
The team on the floor are amazing and everyone does their utmost to keep each other uplifted and support each other (which can be difficult with such a high turnover of staff). The overall issues are within the company itself and how their management are expected to care more for documentation than actual care for staff and service users.
ProsGood teamwork on the floor, service users are challenging but amazing to work with
ConsNo sunday pay, bad wages, underpaid for shifts worked, bad communication, bad management
Great for experience but they need to look after loyal staff.
Working with people with disabilities is always going to be tough. Nua provide a great service. The experience you get is up to you when you work for Nua. You need to be willing to learn, ask relevant questions and get stuck in, otherwise you will float along and it will be wasted on you.
You will experience challenging behaviour, end of. it’s not for everyone but it will give you a real sense of achievement and satisfaction when you help someone through tough times.
The PIC’s I’ve met are excellent at what they do and have a lot of responsibility put on them. Higher up the chain is a bit disjointed and decisions are made about centre’s a lot of the time without staff involvement. After all they are the ones working on the frontline everyday.
There is scope to move up the ladder if you wish. Although sometimes positions are earmarked for certain people but they are usually deserving of the post.
Nua is a great first job. Make the most of it and you will get amazing experience and work your way up. You will walk into any social care job with Nua on your CV. If you sit on the sidelines and don’t make an effort to get involved it will pass you by people get bitter if you don’t pull your weight (like everything).
ProsGreat staff teams. Good training.Great experience. Free lunches. Flexible with hours.
ConsWages. Higher up making decisions about centre’s without talking with staff.
Great if you wanted to see what being a prison warden is like!
I worked here for just over a year. I had years of experience in Social Care and wanted a change from my previous job. I knew I had make a mistake after my first shift. No induction into the house or meeting of the SU’s, straight on to a waking night shift on my own. Nice surprise for the SU’s when they got up!
I would liken working with NUA to being a low paid prison warden. There was no protection or back up from management and the situations I’ve witnessed were crazy. You couldn’t make it up. You will get assaulted on a weekly if not daily basis, again they expect you to suck it up as apparently it’s part of the job! It’s really not worth it. The SU’s I worked with were dangerous and it was basically a prison. The interview was a 10 minute job. I had the qualifications and experience so it was a no brainier that I was hired. The team I worked with were mostly lovely but so inexperienced or straight out of college that it made working there very unsafe and on one shift I genuinely feared for my life. I don’t think the PIC knew what a risk assessment was. I could go on, but if any other job came up I’d take it instead of here. The pay is terrible and depending on who is doing the roster, you won’t know if you are coming or going. Expected to drop everything and and come in for a shift on a day off.
ProsTraining.
ConsLong hours, no support from management, inexperienced staff
Worked at this company for two years. Went above and beyond what I was asked to do and it still wasn’t good enough. Worked in 2 houses, one Med-high support and another high support. Never felt secure in the job and felt like management were always watching over us. I was involved in a few serious enough incidents and assaulted a few times. Still showed up, still did my job and no respect from management for my commitment. They are a company that really don’t care about staff or services users! Many threats made by top level management about letting staff go and changing staff around from time-time to suit their own agenda. I feel very sorry for the service users with the constant change in staff. There is no consistency for them and they are some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Staff are also left very vulnerable with service users. Many staff left one-one with a service user who should be at least two-to-one and that’s why the assaults keep happening to staff. How the company get away with the way they operate, I do not know! The company are also overly cautious with HIQA and regulatory bodies such as CARF this really reflects in the overall company management style.
I am with Nua Healthcare for over a year now and it has been very tough. This company provides you with good training but that's about it. The pay is okay but definitely not enough for all the hard work. Top management are getting treated way better than staff on the floor who don't get any support. Management of most houses are bullies and don't care about you or anyone else but themselves. You are getting bullied into coming into work even though you are off and there is no protection for staff on the floor. You might even get left alone with the service users because management decide to leave early or don't show up at all. There is very little protection and support for staff working with very challenging service users. Working with Nua means documenting everything to make sure no one can report you even though you did everything right. It is a good company to gain experience but I don't think it is worth all the stress etc. I honestly don't know how this company is still running. I would not recommend Nua Healthcare for anyone working in social care.
ProsTraining
ConsNo support or protection, very challenging and stressful, bad pay
It was only good because of your fellow staff members, they made me stay as long as I did
I will firstly say the staff Nua hire are brilliant to work with and will welcome you in like a family. However some PIC are selfish and only think of themselves. That doesn't mean in all houses but the one I was in she was lazy and didn't give any gratitude to her staff and ignore most of the service users by staying in the office all day. The managment made me leave this job and I will advise that this job is long hours and mentally draining. They harrass you when you're not in work which bothered me so much. Be prepared for aggressive service users that can and will physically attack you, you are given training but mostly thrown into the job and left to figure this out through other staff members when management should make sure you're settled.
Overall - If you want to gain experience working in a residential setting then yes go for it, be prepared for 12 hours shifts, sleepovers or waking nights. The team will become another family to you if you're lucky to land a lovely house.
Questions and answers about Nua Healthcare
If you were to leave Nua Healthcare, what would be the reason?
Asked 30 Sept 2019
Lack of appreciation towards staff. NUA do not live up to there own ethos. They just want you to tick boxes and keep quiet about anything of concern. Worst company I have ever worked for.
Answered 11 Jan 2022
Worst company I ever been. Management is the worst, pay very low
Answered 18 Nov 2020
What is the promotion process like at Nua Healthcare?
Asked 17 Nov 2022
Good, easy to work way up
Answered 10 Apr 2023
No chance of a promotion unless you are friends with the pic or area manager.
Answered 17 Jan 2023
What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Asked 3 Jul 2019
Worked so hard, they never said, " well done " or " thanks ". This company never appreciate your hard work. This is not a company, this is a bunch of bullies.
Answered 18 Jun 2021
Not in the slightest. As a member of staff with Nua your only a number on a page. There's no benefits and no appreciation for doing a good job but if you make a mistake these blood sucking and money hungry sewer dwellers that act as your evil overlords are the first to bark it at you. The poor staff are treated like nothing I was never happier to free myself from the weight and burden of working for this horrible company.
Answered 1 Apr 2020
What questions did they ask during your interview at Nua Healthcare?
Asked 17 Aug 2017
person centered planning
Answered 12 Dec 2022
HIQA related questions
Answered 15 Aug 2022
How often do you get a pay rise at Nua Healthcare?
