Regulation & Self Employed Sole Traders
The guidance below is for private self employed care professionals who carry out a regulated activity as part of their services, and any need that requires registration with the appropriate regulator.
Registration
The Care Quality Commission (CQC), Social Care Wales, Care Inspectorate Scotland & Northern Ireland Social Care Council regulates, inspects and reviews all adult social care services in the public, private and voluntary sectors in England, Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland respectively. Each regulator has some very strict rules over who must register with them, to be allowed to provide services.
In general, if you provide personal care or other regulated activity you need to be registered unless:
- You are employed by the service user either directly, or by someone who has a lawful authority to make arrangements on their behalf
- You are a self-employed sole trader, and you have no responsibility for supplying a substitute at any time (i.e., if you are on holiday, off sick, etc).
REMEMBER - it is your responsibility to check with the appropriate regulator, to see if you are required to register.
What Is A Regulated Activity?
Regulated activity is work that a barred person must not do.
However, it excludes any activity carried out in the course of family relationships, and personal, non-commercial relationships. i.e as an unpaid carer
An adult is any person aged 18 years or over. You only need to carry out any of the activities once to be in regulated activity with adults.
If you are employing someone to do work that is regulated activity with adults you could request an Enhanced DBS certificate with an adults barred list check.
Regulated Activities
Regulated activities with adults are:
• Providing health care by, or under the direction or supervision of, a regulated health care professional
• Providing personal care made up of:
– physical assistance with eating, drinking, toileting, washing, bathing, dressing, oral care or the care of skin, hair or nails for adults who can’t carry this out themselves because age, illness or disability
– prompting and then supervising with eating, drinking, toileting, washing, bathing, dressing, oral care or the care of skin, hair or nails for adults who can’t decide to do this for themselves because of age, illness or disability
– training, instructing, providing advice or providing guidance on how to physically assist an adult with eating, drinking, toileting, washing, bathing, dressing, oral care or the care of skin, hair or nails for adults who can’t carry this out themselves because age, illness or disability
Providing social work by a social care worker to an adult who is a client or potential client.
• Assisting an adult who can’t manage themselves because of their age, illness or disability with the day-to-day running of their household relating to:
– managing the adult’s cash;
– paying the adult’s bills;
– shopping.
• Assistance in the conduct of an adult’s own affairs, where:
– a lasting power of attorney is created
– an enduring power of attorney is registered or applied for
– the Court of Protection has made an order in relation to the making of decisions on the adult’s behalf
– an independent mental health or mental capacity advocate is appointed
– independent advocacy services are provided
– a representative is appointed to receive benefits payments on the adult’s behalf.
• Conveying adults to, from or between health care, personal care and/or social work services who can’t convey themselves because of their age, illness or disability.
• Day to day management or supervision of anyone carrying out the above activities.
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