Our credentials

Worthing Homes’ goal is to meet high standards in the services it gives and to be continually improving in its delivery.

Standards

Concise Contract

As part of Worthing Homes' commitment to continuous improvement we have developed our innovative Concise Contract (880k pdf file), which became our second demonstration project with Constructing Excellence in October 2005. The contract is designed to replace the complicated 128 page JCT Design & Build contract with a simple to use four page plain English contract. John Griffiths Project Management Services One of develop partners states that "you can legislate for all possibilities, but in the end it's down to basic trust. I'm comfortable with the Concise Contract because it goes well with creating a sense of partnership".

Constructing Excellence

Worthing Homes is committed to continuous improvement. We are involved in several innovative partnering initiatives and in March 2004, we became a Constructing Excellence Demonstration Project (87k pdf file) for our cost reflective improvement programme.

Constructing Excellence has established itself as the only cross sector organisation covering all aspects of housing construction: private, public, and social sectors and their supply chains. It provides a member network of innovators who share knowledge and experience through its demonstrations portfolio and its ad hoc working groups.

Its main objective is to bring about radical change in housing construction, building on the Rethinking Construction agenda and the Strategic Forum's targets in order to work towards achieving the government targets for Decent Homes, new homes in growth areas, and the regeration of areas of low housing demand in the North, set out in ODPM's 'Sustainable Communities building for the future' 2003.

In order to highlight the benefits and barriers involved in current housing construction issues, the Housing Forum liaises with government and industry leaders in commissioning in-house and external projects. These issues have included labour and skills shortages, modern methods of construction, regeneration and sustainability, as well as promoting increased use of partnering and training on long term strategic projects.

NICEIC

 As a part of our commitment to providing the best service possible for our customers we are registered with NICEIC. 

NICEIC is the UK electrical contracting industry’s independent voluntary body.  Their aim is to protect everyone who uses electricity from unsafe electrical installations in their home, places of work and elsewhere.

NICEIC registration not only demonstrates to customers a companies skills and professionalism, it also gives peace of mind that the products and services are the best in the industry.

To maintain registration with them they assess contractors on a regular basis to ensure that the work, documentation, equipment and staff are all of a high standard.

Gas Safety Register

Worthing Homes are listed on the Gas Safe Register which is run by Capita Gas Registration.  They ensure that all gas engineers on the register are gas safe and qualified to work with gas.

Gas safety is one of the most important factors in having a safe home and work place and that is why anyone carrying out work must have a gas safe register ID card.

Accreditations

Investors in People

Worthing Homes has proudly held the Investor in People standard since 2004. This standard is internationally recognised and is a respected mark of good practice. Worthing Homes aims to be an employer of choice in the local area.

Using the Investors in People framework helps Worthing Homes to continually improve its performance and achieve success through the people working here. It ensures the skills and capabilities of people within Worthing Homes are maximised.

Worthing Homes was last reviewed in May 2011. The assessment showed that Worthing Homes is a supportive and flexible employer that promotes training and learning opportunities for all it's staff and encourages staff to progress and develop themselves and their skills throughout their employment at the company. 

If you would like to know more about the Investors in People award please contact Human Resources on 01903 703 112 / 703 113. 

Centre for Housing and Support Code of Practice

Worthing Homes has been accredited with the Centre for Housing and Support Code of Practice.

The Centre for Housing and Support Code of Practice is a quality standard encompassing long-term housing-related support services delivered to vulnerable client groups in any setting, including Extra Care and Floating Support. There are ten standards within the code and the company had to demonstrate and verify that they had the policies and procedures in place to meet these standards.

The team at Worthing Homes did so well that they have also been pass ported through the Supporting People Quality Assessment Framework at grade B.

For more details about the code of practice please see the Centre for Housing and Support website.

BALI

Worthing Homes in-house landscaping team, Greenspace, have received accreditation from the British Association of Landscape Industries – BALI.

BALI is the UK’s representative trade association for the landscaping sector. Their membership comprises interior and exterior landscapers and designers, grounds maintenance contractors, and companies supplying industry-related products and services.

To gain this accreditation companies must undergo a rigorous vetting procedure and sign up to the BALI code of conduct which includes investing in staff training and skills development, as well as demonstrating a commitment to environmental and ethical implications in their work.

Two Ticks

Worthing Homes has achieved the Two Ticks Award. The two ticks symbol is given by Job Centre Plus to employers who have agreed to meet 5 key commitments regarding recruitment, employment, retention and career development of people with disability. These 5 commitments are:

Commitment 1: To interview all applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for a job vacancy and consider them on their abilities.

Commitment 2: To ensure there is a mechanism in place to discuss, at any time, but at least once a year, with disabled employees what can be done to make sure they can develop and use their abilities, e.g. Appraisals.

Commitment 3: To make every effort when employees become disabled to make sure they stay in employment.

Commitment 4: To take action to ensure that all employees develop the appropriate level of disability awareness needed to make our commitments.

Commitment 5: Each year, to review the five commitments and what has been achieved, to plan ways to improve on them and let the employees and employment service know about progress and future plans.

You will see the symbol on all our advertisements for jobs, letter headed paper as well as on our internet sites. The use of this symbol is one of the visible ways that we highlight our commitment to disabled people.

Our commitment to disabled people is an on-going process, which we are constantly reviewing, and involves all our employees.

Awards

Constructing Excellence National awards 2011 Legacy (sustainability)

Relish has picked up another award, the Legacy award (sustainability) at the Constructing Excellence 2011 national awards.

The awards are designed to showcase the best and reward achievement by organisations and project teams that have achieved regional acclaim. In order to qualify for the awards the project team or organisation must have engaged with the Constructing Excellence agenda and adhered to the principles of best practice.

Against very strong competition, and the largest shortlist (of 11), Relish were winners of the legacy award for sustainability.  A category in which the project has been regional winner for 2 years running.

Constructing Excellence 2011 Integration and collaborative working award London and South East

Relish won the Integration and collaborative working award at the Constructing Excellence London and South East Awards 2011.

The award recognised the way the partners (Worthing Homes, Fairthorn Farrell Timms, Rydon and the university of Brighton knowledge transfer partnership) who are all specialists in their own fields developed and delivered a sustainable refurbishment programme; With each partner agreeing to share the learning in an 'open source' arrangement, with the objective of promoting the Relish appraoch to as wide an audience as possible. 

Constructing Excellence 2011 Legacy (sustainability) award London and South East

Relish picked up the award for legacy (sustainability) at the Constructing Excellence London and South East awards2011.

This is the second time Relish has won the award for Legacy (Sustainability) at these awards.

The project demonstrated the application of the principles of sustainable construction and sustainable development that delivers a sustainable legacy. Relish reduces carbon emissions and fuel poverty, as well as providing a practical and affordable model for large scale refurbishment programmes.

Sustainable Housing 2010 awards Energy Saving Initiative of the Year

Relish (Residents 4 low impact sustainable homes) won the Energy Saving Initiative of the Year award at the 2010 Sustainable Housing Awards.  

Relish is an initiative aiming to provide a cost-efficient solution to reducing energy consumption in occupied homes.

Relish will work towards the Government's 80% reduction target in CO₂ emissions in existing stock and reduce the number of people experiencing fuel poverty. 

Constructing Excellence 2010 Legacy (sustainability) award London and South East

Relish, (Residents 4 low impact sustainable homes) has picked up the Legacy (Sustainability) award in the Constructing Excellence London and South East 2010 awards.

The submission demonstrated the application of the principles of sustainable construction and sustainable development, and how we are delivering a sustainable legacy.

This is the fourth series of Constructing Excellence awards.  Since the inaugural series of awards in 2007, which Worthing Homes were winners of the Client of the Year award, the Constructing Excellence awards have become one of the leading built environment awards in the UK. 

Best Companies 2009

Worthing Homes received a Best companies 2009 star status accreditation after an in-depth staff survey found high levels of engagement and commitment to their work from employees.

The best companies’ survey is designed to measure employee engagement and uses 70 questions to gain a comprehensive view of workplace engagement. Based on staff feedback, the accreditation assesses factors such as leadership, well being and how employees rate their managers, team spirit, and company ethos.

Best Development – Sappling Design Awards October 2009

Worthing Homes won the award for the recently developed Norfolk & Suffolk house. The property contained 51 new flats, amixutre of 1 and 2 bedrooms for both social and intermediate rent. This iconic building provided significant regeneration and breathed a new lease of life into a neglected area of town, and showed our commitment to providing homes that people want to live in.

Distinction in Building Award 2007

For the second year running Worthing Homes won Worthing Borough Councils distinction in buildings award. The award was for our town centre scheme at Phoenix House and Lennox Mews, which were built on a former public house and garage site. The properties are of mixed tenure providing 23 flats, 11 houses and a wheelchair access bungalow. Robin Roberts, Property Services Director said to win this local design award, as well as being named a National Client of the Year, recognises Worthing Homes’ as an excellent company.

Constructing Excellence First National Client of the Year Award 2007

Following Worthing Homes success in the London and South East awards held in September 2007, we attended the first National Constructing Excellence award finals on 11th October 2007. Against very strong national competition we were awarded National Client of the year. As Client of the Year, Worthing Homes was recognised to have truly driven innovation and best practice; both in the way it manages its supply chain and in the way it has engaged with key stakeholders

Distinction in Building Award 2006

Worthing Homes was awarded Worthing Borough Councils Distinction in Building award for it’s development Carmel House. The development, close to the town centre, is styled in keeping with the surrounding buildings, and provided some much needed housing for the area.