Company details

HEADCOUNT

100-499

ORG TYPE

Non-profit

SECTOR

Impact and NGOs

WEBSITE

http://www.crossroadscaring.org.uk/

About the company

Crossroads Caring for Life is a not-for-profit charity providing homecare, carers breaks, day and activity services, and volunteer-led support for unpaid carers. The charity focuses on practical help that keeps people supported at home and gives carers time back. Services are centred on Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, with delivery through support workers and local service teams. The charity also runs community-based programmes like activity clubs and volunteer “breakaway” support.

Locations and presence

Crossroads Caring for Life is based in Hitchin and provides services across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. Work is mainly community-based in people’s homes and local centres, with travel built into the role model.

Palpable Score

65.3

/ 100

Crossroads Caring for Life is unusually strong on practical entry routes into care work, with “no experience required” hiring and paid induction plus shadowing. The biggest limiter is outcomes data: public evidence of promotion, retention, and early-career progression exists in reviews but is not published in a way you can verify at scale.

Pillar 1: Early-career access

Score

13.0

/ 20

The company advertises Homecare Support Worker roles with “no experience or qualifications required,” which is a direct early-career on-ramp.
Crossroads Caring for Life offers volunteering roles framed as a way to “get some experience in care,” with training and support included.
The company’s visible early-career access concentrates heavily in frontline support roles, with fewer examples of junior entry paths across office, project, or specialist functions.

Pillar 2: Hiring fairness and transparency

Score

13.0

/ 20

The company sets clear role expectations for Homecare Support Worker work, including minimum 30-minute call times and what support looks like day to day.
Crossroads Caring for Life lists practical requirements upfront (driver’s licence, right to work, English communication) and states DBS checks are paid for by the employer.
The company does not clearly publish the end-to-end selection process (stages, timelines, tasks), which makes it harder for first-time applicants to prepare confidently.

Pillar 3: Learning and support

Score

15.8

/ 20

The company commits to a paid comprehensive induction and training for support workers, which matters for candidates without prior care experience.
Crossroads Caring for Life includes “shadowing and mentoring schemes” and funded study for nationally recognised qualifications as part of the employment offer.
The company extends training and safeguarding support to volunteers as well, which is a useful stepping stone for early-career candidates exploring care work.

Pillar 4: Pay fairness and stability

Score

12.5

/ 20

The company publishes concrete stability signals such as pension scheme access, sick pay beyond SSP, and paid DBS checks.
Crossroads Caring for Life covers work-related costs in visible ways, including paid mileage (45p) and a company phone.
The company’s own careers content does not consistently publish base pay rates, which caps pay fairness scoring even though external sources list ranges.

Pillar 5: Early-career outcomes

Score

11.0

/ 20

The company has public employee sentiment describing supportive colleagues, strong training, and progression, but this is mostly review-based rather than tracked outcome reporting.
Crossroads Caring for Life provides internal “meet the team” profiles that show a spread of operational and management roles, but the charity does not publish typical time-to-promotion or internal mobility stats.
The company has limited public evidence on early-career retention over 12–24 months or repeat junior hiring patterns beyond frontline support worker recruitment.