Compliance in the care sector isn’t just about ticking boxes; it’s about safeguarding vulnerable people, protecting your organisation’s reputation, and avoiding costly penalties or financial impacts such as increased insurance costs. As a HR, operations or governance leader in a care organisation you’ll already know how high the stakes are—but staying on top of compliance risks can be complex.
Here’s a practical guide to protecting your care organisation from compliance risks across HMRC, CQC/CIW/CI, and the Home Office, with actionable steps you can implement today.
1. Prevent worker identity fraud with real-time ID checks
Who this matters to: CQC/CIW/CI/RQIA
The risk: Fraudulent workers using false identities can slip through the cracks, putting residents and service users at risk.
Compliance impact: A failure to ensure the correct person turns up breaches safeguarding standards set by regulators which can result in fines and/or reduced ratings.
Solution:
- Use platforms that verify worker identities in real-time, like Florence’s identity checks.
- Issue physical and app-based ID cards, with worker profiles accessible and printable before a shift.
- Ensure your system prevents workers without verified profiles from being booked.
- Ensure thorough auditing to ensure suppliers have a Modern Day Slavery policy.
2. Access complete worker profiles before shifts
Who this matters to: CQC/CIW/CI/RQIA
The risk: Missing worker profiles is a serious compliance issue. Regulators require profiles to be accessible before workers start shifts.
Compliance impact: Workers turning up without a complete profile expose organisations to scrutiny and fines.
Solution:
- Automate access to worker profiles with booking systems like Florence, ensuring profiles are instantly available for review and printing.
- Set up systems to block shifts for unverified workers, eliminating risks.
3. Stay on top of right-to-work (RTW) eligibility
Who this matters to: Home Office
The risk: Monitoring RTW eligibility can be challenging, especially for large care groups with many staff.
Compliance impact: Non-compliance with RTW checks can lead to Home Office investigations and fines.
Solution:
- Use platforms that monitor RTW status, sending alerts for upcoming expirations and blocking shifts for ineligible workers.
- Regularly audit your agency’s RTW compliance processes.
4. Ensure criminal records checks are up-to-date
Who this matters to: CQC/CIW/CI/RQIA
The risk: Staffing agencies can sometimes rely on third-party-commissioned DBS/PVG/Access NIs checks rather than commissioning them directly in their company name–opening up the risk of fraud.
Compliance impact: Failing to update records violates regulatory requirements, jeopardising resident safety.
Solution:
- Insist on fresh criminal record checks for all health and care staff or confirm their inclusion in the Update Service.
- Florence’s automated system ensures that the correct criminal record check is in place for each region before they’re booked
5. Verify nursing NMC and professional body registration numbers monthly
Who this matters to: CQC/CIW/CI/RQIA
The risk: Some agencies check NMC, SSSC, NISCC, SCW & NMC pins only during onboarding, missing restrictions or expirations.
Compliance impact: A care worker or nurse working with an expired or restricted pin breaches care inspectorate regulations.
Solution:
- Automate monthly NMC pin checks with platforms like Florence, instantly blocking workers with restrictions or expired pins.
- Florence also checks all other professional registrations pins manually each monthly.
- Partner with a governance team, like at Florence, to ensure fair reviews of restrictions.
6. Regularly audit your staffing agencies
Who this matters to: HMRC and CQC/CIW/CI/RQIA
The risk: Outsourcing to multiple agencies increases the risk of lapses in RTW and DBS checks, payroll and tax compliance.
Compliance impact: Failures from agency partners can result in fines from HMRC or downgraded ratings.
Solution:
- Conduct regular audits of agency processes, verifying RTW, criminal records and training compliance.
- Ensure agencies to ensure they have the correct insurances and registrations also.
- Ensuring agencies you are working with are paying workers above the national minimum wage to avoid regulatory repercussions
- Use Florence’s Agency Manager tool to help manage your complete agency audits, saving time and reducing risk.
7. Enforce incident reporting processes
Who this matters to: CQC/CIW/CI/RQIA
The risk: Smaller or less professional agencies may lack robust processes for managing incidents.
Compliance impact: Poor incident handling can escalate regulatory scrutiny and damage your reputation.
Solution:
- Work with temporary staffing suppliers who have clear incident management policies, like Florence.
- Regularly review and test these processes to ensure compliance.
8. Combat modern slavery
Who this matters to: Home Office
The risk: Non-compliance with the Modern Slavery Act exposes care groups to legal and reputational damage.
Compliance impact: Agencies failing to verify RTW, ensuring funds are paid directly to workers, or failure to implement anti-slavery policies leave care groups vulnerable.
Solution:
- Verify RTW for all staff on your platform, or use a platform like Florence that does this for you.
- Ensure your care staff are paid directly, using a platform life Florence.
- During an agency audit, ensure all agencies have modern slavery policies and implement one for your care group if it’s missing.
9. Ensure workers are properly trained
Who this matters to: CQC/CIW/CI/RQIA
The risk: Sending workers without the necessary training into shifts breaches regulatory guidelines, increases your risks of clinical and safeguarding risks
Compliance impact: Inadequate training can lead to fines, court injunction, reduced ratings, or harm to residents and staff.
Solution:
- Remove the burden of doing checks on temporary staff and use a platform like Florence. Our platform and internal compliance team ensures that all profiles have verified training evidence.
- Provide customisable online and in-person training to meet compliance requirements. Tools like Florence Academy can fill these gaps cost effectively.
- Use systems like Florence to ensure that only care professionals with mandatory skills (e.g., PEG feeding) are assigned shifts.
10. Outsource compliance risk management
Who this matters to: CQC/CIW/CI/RQIA and HMRC
The risk: Managing compliance internally can strain resources, especially for larger care groups.
Compliance impact: Without proper systems in place, lapses are more likely.
Solution:
- Partner with experts like Florence to handle RTW checks, criminal records verifications, audits, and ongoing monitoring.
- Use automated platforms to track and mitigate compliance risks efficiently.
Protect against compliance risks with Florence
“What stood out to us, about Florence, was not only the ease of use of their technology, but their commitment to support and integrity. I trust Florence 100%. It’s clear that Florence isn’t just about making money—they truly care about improving care.”
Marie-Ann Sellers
Group Flexibank Manager, Four Seasons Healthcare
Our platform is designed for the care sector, offering a range of tools to tackle flexible-workforce challenges. These include tools that reduce compliance and safeguarding risks and simplify admin, giving your organisation more time and resources to deliver exceptional care.
Chat with us now to learn how we can support your care organisation.
