Career milestone for carer Peter

A Norfolk carer who wanted to stay occupied during his retirement is celebrating 15 years with a home care company.

Peter Bailey joined the Heacham office of Extra Hands Home Care in 2010, and said he thought he would stay for three or four years and then fully retire from a working life.

But 15 years later he is marking a career milestone and is still working for the company and enjoying his role, which is completely different from his previous life in human resources.

Peter, 68, covers the North Norfolk coastal area as part of his regular round and says the scenery of the villages helps ‘make each day a new beginning.’

Married with three daughters, he trained to be a teacher originally but in the early 1970s there were more teachers than posts for them - so he joined the Norwich Union (now Aviva) where he worked for more than three decades.

Peter, of Fakenham,  attended Norwich City College for his teaching qualification, and had previously been at school in Norwich city centre at Bracondale, which is now closed.

“My father knew someone who knew someone at the Norwich Union and they wanted someone to work in the HR department. I stayed there for more years than I care to remember,” he said.

He would have taught sociology, psychology and philosophy if a post had become available, but he stayed with the insurance company for the majority of his working life.

His role in caring is completely different from anything he did previously and is one he enjoys, particularly building a relationship with the service users he sees on a regular basis.

“Our role is to provide the care and help that enables them to stay independent, but it is more friendly when you see someone very regularly and get to know them,” he said.

To mark his special anniversary, the company gave him flowers and shopping vouchers.

“It makes a real difference. I was working as a little fish in a big pond, and now I feel like a big fish in a little pond,” he said.

Aside from the unique working environment created by the pandemic five years ago, Peter says it is technology which has changed the most during his 15 years with the company.

“It is so instant now. We have weekly memos from the director and appraisals at least every six months and we are encouraged to communicate.

“We have moved from being a paper-led office to an online office and things can be much more immediate. It’s created more of an ‘open-door’ style to the company which is great. The principles of caring have remained the same - but the way we communicate is hugely different,” he said.

Peter also won a special award at Extra Hands when he was presented with a Going the Extra Mile (GEM) trophy in 2022 after he was nominated by a family member of one of the company’s service users.

And he still has no plans to start his life in full retirement, and said he was delighted when the company was able to adjust his hours so he works mornings.