Kitchen Assistant

Contract Type: Permanent- Part Time

Work Pattern: Working on a rolling rota of 3 consecutive days on and 3 consecutive days off.

Hours: 31.5 hours a week (average) 9 hours shifts 9am to 6pm

Friends of the Elderly (FotE) is a not-for-profit charity dedicated to providing excellent care with a family feel, we have been supporting older people for over 120 years. The charity provides care home and day care services for older people, as well as grants for older people in financial difficulty.

About Friends Place, Calcot

Due to open in July 2025, Friends Place, Calcot will be more than just a care home - it will be a vibrant, welcoming community designed to provide exceptional residential, dementia, and respite care.

Run by Friends of the Elderly, where we pride ourselves on delivering personalised, compassionate care in a state-of-the-art facility.

Located in the heart of Calcot, Reading, our home will feature:

• A cinema for residents to enjoy movie nights and entertainment.

• A stylish salon offering professional pampering.

• A peaceful library for reading and reflection.

• A vibrant bar for socialising and relaxation.

The modern facilities are designed to create a warm and homely environment where residents feel safe, valued, and supported.

We are recruiting for a Kitchen Assistantto join the team.

Joining us as a Kitchen Assistant you will be working as part of a dedicated team to perform essential tasks to support the smooth operation of the kitchen services, meeting hygiene standards and maintaining kitchen cleanliness.

Some of your responsibilities will include assisting with unloading deliveries, all aspects of daily kitchen cleaning duties, ensuring kitchen equipment is properly stored and maintaining excellent customer care at all times. You will also be responsible for understanding and adhering to health and safety, COSHH and fire regulations and procedures.

We are looking for an excellent team player with the ability to organise and be methodical with tasks. You'll be able to work responsibly and recognise and report situations where there might be a need for safeguarding.

A food handling course or qualification and / or experience in catering services would be beneficial however this is not essential as we will provide full training.

This isn’t just a job; it’s about making a difference to older people’s lives every day.

Why Join Friends of the Elderly?

Heritage of Care: Work with a trusted organisation backed by over a century of expertise.

Non-Profit Mission: Be part of a charity that prioritises people, not profit. While we takea commercial approach to our work, we are not for profit and we are committed to our charitable values.

State-of-the-ArtFacilities:Lead a cutting-edge care home designed for comfort and community.

Professional Development: Access training and career development opportunities.

Make Your Mark

This is a unique opportunity to shape the culture and success of a brand-new care home, leaving a lasting impact on residents’ lives and the community.

In return for your hard work and dedication, you can look forward to a wealth of benefits:

• Group Pension Plan, with a 6% contribution from us.

• Generous annual leave.

• Wellbeing support through various initiatives, including an employee?assistance?programme.

• Learning, development, and progression opportunities.

• Monthly prize draw, with 3 prizes to be won.

• Retail discount schemes to make your salary go further.

• Access to loans at affordable rates, saving directly from salary and advance pay already earned.

• Health cash plans for you and your family.

• Cycle to work scheme.

• Long service awards that increase with length of service.

• Refer a friend to work for us and receive a £200 bonus.

• Uniforms are provided

• Free DBS checks.

Safeguarding:

Keeping everyone safe is one of the charity’s?core values, and?is central to everything we do at Friends of the Elderly. All staff follow our Safeguarding Policy & Procedures and, if they see or suspect abuse, we expect staff to report it straight away.

Criminal record checks:

As this role involves a regulated activity, successful applicants will undertake an enhanced DBS check, with barred lists check, and any offer of employment will be dependent on a satisfactory outcome.

Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar a person from working for us, this will depend on the circumstances and background of any record.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion:

Friends of the Elderly strives to treat all staff equally and be a diverse and inclusive workplace, where everyone can be themselves and everyone accepts each other’s differences. A charity where everyone is equal but?definitely not?the same.

Our ambition is to ensure equality and celebrate diversity, all working together to create an inclusive workplace, which attracts and?retains?the best people. People that care and can make a difference.

We currently do not provide?sponsorship?but we welcome applications from those who have a right work in the UK.

Don’t?delay in sending your application as we may need to close the vacancy early if we manage to appoint before the advertising closing date. We interview applicants as they apply.