Jobs in Social Work

Draft code of practice for employers

Purpose

This code sets down the responsibilities of employers in the regulation of social care workers. The purpose of workforce regulation is to safeguard and promote the interests of service users and carers. The code is intended to complement rather than replace or duplicate existing departmental or agency policies and it forms part of the wider package of legislation, requirements and guidance that relate to the employment of staff. The (xxx regulatory body) will monitor the adherence of social care employers to this code.

To meet their responsibilities in relation to the regulation of the social care workforce social care employers must:

	Use rigorous recruitment and selection processes focused on making sure that only people who are suitable and competent to provide social care are allowed to enter the workforce;
	Make required checks of police records, relevant registers and indexes and check that people are physically capable of carrying out the duties of the job they have been selected for, before confirming their appointment;
	Inform social care staff about the council's code of practice for social care workers and their personal responsibility to adhere to that code;
	Give staff clear information about their roles and responsibilities, and the legislation and organisational policies and procedures they must follow in their work;
	Regularly supervise and effectively manage staff to support good practice and professional development and to address any deficiencies in their performance;
	Provide training and development opportunities to help staff to do their jobs and to strengthen and develop their skills and knowledge;
	Contribute to the provision of social care and social work education and training, and provide properly resourced and managed workplace assessment and opportunities for practice learning;
	Assist staff in posts subject to registration to meet the council's eligibility criteria for registration and its requirements for continuing professional development;
	Promote and implement practice policies and procedures for staff welfare and equal opportunities, and make it clear to staff that bullying and harassment is not acceptable in the workplace;
	Make it clear to service users and carers that violence, threats or abuse to staff are not acceptable and have clear policies and procedures for preventing violence and managing violent incidents;
	Support and offer appropriate assistance to staff whose work is affected by ill health or dependency on drugs or alcohol, and give clear guidance about any limits on their work while they are receiving treatment;
	Provide procedures which encourage and enable staff to report unsafe, incompetent or abusive behaviour, and deal with such reports promptly and openly;
	Check whether social care staff who are the subject of disciplinary proceedings have followed the council's code of practice for workers;
	Inform the Council about any serious breaches of its code of practice for workers by staff who are registrants and inform the staff involved that a report has been made to the Council;
	Co-operate with Council investigations and hearings and respond appropriately to the findings and decisions of the Council; and,
	Make services users and carers aware of this code and the code of practice for social care workers and inform them about how to contact the Council in relation to the Codes;