210 care employers in Kirklees could find you

Working in care in Kirklees

Huddersfield, Dewsbury or the valleys: where does care work sit in Kirklees?

Kirklees is really two areas sharing one council. Huddersfield, in the south, is home to well over half of the borough's care employers. North Kirklees is a run of mill towns, Dewsbury, Batley and Mirfield among them, each with its own smaller group of care homes and agencies. Then there are the Pennine valleys south and west of Huddersfield, around Holmfirth and the Colne Valley, where services are thinner and the roads climb steeply. Which part you live in decides a lot about the jobs within easy reach.

The work is changing as people age. Census 2021 found the number of Kirklees residents aged 65 to 74 had grown by about a fifth in ten years, while the share of people from Asian backgrounds rose to almost one in five. If you speak a South Asian language as well as English, an older person from one of those communities may feel far more at ease with you, so list every language you have.

Kirklees Council lets people take their care budget as a direct payment and hire a personal assistant. Its guidance spells out what a PA should get from the person employing them: a written contract and job description, at least the legal minimum wage, paid holiday and sick leave, employer's liability insurance, and training such as moving and handling. If someone has no PA in mind, the council will help them advertise through In2Care Kirklees.

Healthcare assistant roles are split between two trusts. Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust runs Huddersfield Royal Infirmary in Lindley, and Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust runs Dewsbury and District Hospital. Kirklees College teaches Health and Social Care from Level 1 up to Level 3 at its Huddersfield Centre and Pioneer Higher Skills Centre, with a Level 2 certificate for adults aged 19 and over.

77% of the inspected care employers in Kirklees are rated Good or Outstanding by the CQC, below the 84% across Yorkshire and Humberside and below England as a whole (85%).