Recruitment and retention

Below is some useful CQC guidance, good practice and resources relevant for recruiting staff. 

• Regulation 19: Fit and proper persons employed 
• Frequently Asked Questions for meeting CQC requirements of Employment for Regulation 19
• Guidance on DBS checks for CQC registration
• Care Quality Commission: Regulatory policy position on modern slavery and unethical international recruitment

Skills for Care Recruitment Tools and Resources

The Skills for Care Recruitment Support tools and resources can help you recruit and retain people who have the right values for your organisation and the adult social care sector. 

Skills for Care Disclosure and Barring Service Checks Videos

It's vital employers fulfil vetting requirements including completing required Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. DBS checks are an essential tool when recruiting safely and fairly. You can find out more about what kind of check is right for your staff on Find out which DBS check is right for your employee. Skills for Care have developed a range of videos on Skills for Care: DBS checks with the DBS Regional Outreach Team explaining the service and what to expect. You can Contact the DBS Regional Outreach Team for further support if needed.

Skills for Care Putting the Social Media in Social Care

In celebration of social media day, Skills for Care shared a blog (Skills For Care: Putting the social media in social care) looking at how social care providers can effectively use social media for their organisation, including tips and inspiration from those care organisations leading the way in putting the 'social media' into social care.

Skills for Care Guide to safe staffing  

Skills for Care's  Guide to safe staffing uses an analysis of CQC inspection reports to help Providers understand what 'good' looks like so they can learn from best practice.  

Maximise retention - Skills for Care Webinar

During March 2022, in partnership with Neil Eastwood, Founder and CEO of Care Friends and author of  'Saving Social Care', Skills for Care delivered a webinar 'Maximise the Retention of your Staff' to share sector expertise around maximising the retention of your staff. The webinar will help you to discover top tips and innovative solutions for staff retention and lots of useful practical ideas from other managers.

Skills for Care International Recruitment Resources

See International Recruitment for more information on this subject.

Neil Eastwood's Recruitment Masterclass

Neil Eastwood has developed an online Recruitment Masterclass to help support social care providers that are finding it difficult to recruit care staff.

10 things that always work in social care recruitment and retention - Neil Eastwood Webinar

During September 2022, Neil Eastwood delivered the webinar 'Vimeo: Tackling the Social Care recruitment crisis' that will be useful for local social care providers in improving their recruitment and retention work.

Free online recruitment and retention crisis clinics - online workshops

During September 2021, many local care providers attended one of the County Durham online recruitment and retention crisis clinics, delivered by care recruitment and retention specialist and best-selling author Neil Eastwood.

Neil is a speaker on care worker recruitment and retention and author of Saving Social Care. He is Founder and CEO of Care Friends, the employee referral app for social care and also advised the Department of Health and Social Care on their first National Recruitment Campaign. Previously he was a director at a 10,000-staff home care provider.

The Care Academy arranged two webinars with Neil where he shared some practical, actionable recruitment tips and ideas for care providers on how to tackle recruitment in adult social care. A recording of the webinar is available for those care providers that were unable to attend, see Care Recruitment webinar on Vimeo.

Neil Eastwood's 'Saving Social Care' Resources

The Saving Social Care book gives practical help and advice to care employers on who to look for as their next frontline care employee, where to find them, how to screen them and, critically, 20 great ways of keeping them.

Saving Social Care is not a book about theory. It's meant to be your companion as you recruit and manage your caring workforce to keep pace with rapidly growing demand. Well-thumbed and with your notes and comments in the margins.

This website also contains supporting information and some useful videos referred to in the book.

The Care Academy currently has a small supply of the 'Saving Social Care' book, if commissioned providers would like to express an interest in receiving a free copy. Contact County Durham Care Academy for details.

International recruitment toolkit for adult social care providers: a guide to good practice

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) international recruitment toolkit has been developed to help adult social care providers decide whether to recruit care workers and senior care workers from overseas, with guidance on how to do so in an ethical and responsible manner.

This quick start guide provides a summary of key considerations and is intended to serve as an entry point to the guidance. It is not a substitute for it.

The full toolkit has been developed by Skills for Care

The International Recruitment team at the DHSC and the Home Office have created a help sheet for adult social care providers applying for a Certificate of Sponsorship to sponsor care workers overseas on the health and care visa route. It outlines the steps involved in the application process and includes tips on how to provide the appropriate evidence required by the Home Office to meet the genuine vacancy requirement. 

Help sheet - Applying for a certificate of sponsorship

International recruitment to adult social care: A guide for councils 

The purpose of this guide is to provide an overview of the international recruitment process as it relates to adult social care. It sets out the role of the council as a key stakeholder within this process and signposts to resources that are available to support councils. 

International recruitment to adult social care: A guide for councils - Local Government Association

Code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel

The DHSC Code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel promotes high standards of ethical practice in the international recruitment and employment of health and social care personnel. It also sets out the UK's approach to supporting health and social care systems and workforce, alongside safeguards on active recruitment from countries with the most pressing universal health coverage related health and social care workforce needs. It is aimed at all health or social care organisations or recruitment agencies undertaking international recruitment.

LGA Overseas Recruitment Bite Size Guide for Social Care Providers

The Local Government Association (LGA) has launched a Local Government Associations: Bite size guide to overseas recruitment. The guide sets out the benefits and walks employers through the resources needed, legal requirements, cost, how long it takes and how to ensure successful recruitment. It also draws on real life examples from providers. While this is written for providers in England, it may be relevant to other parts of the UK.

GOV.UK Sponsorship Guidance Documents

GOV.UK has developed the following guidance that will be useful for providers:

• Gov.uk: Sponsorship: guidance for employers and educators which provides information for student and worker sponsors, including full policy guidance, using the sponsorship management system and how to get help. 
• Gov.uk: Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance which provides guidance for sponsors on sponsor duties and compliance. It tells sponsors how to meet sponsor duties and the action that will be taken if you breach, or are suspected of breaching, these duties.
• Gov.uk: Appendix D: guidance for sponsors on keeping documents (accessible version) This guidance covers: documents that must be retained by Worker, Temporary Worker and Student sponsors and how long documents must be retained.

Pastoral Care Guide for International Recruitment in Social Care

This National Care Forum: Pastoral care guide, developed with the support of the LGA / ADASS, contains links to useful resources that will help social care employers to explore resettlement support and pastoral care for overseas recruits, including refugees and/or displaced people who are settled in the UK with the right to work.

This guide features resources about the following stages in the journey of recruiting overseas workers:

• Preparations prior to Employment
• Induction
• Settling in
• 6 months and beyond

It also offers recommendations for items that should be included in a Pastoral Checklist.

Skills for Care International Recruitment Resources

International recruitment is a great way to find skilled and diverse workers, but employers sometimes have trouble navigating the legalities of recruiting internationally. On their Skillsforcare: International recruitment resources page, Skills for Care have information from various sources to support you to recruit internationally.

Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority Exploitation Poster

Providers may wish to raise awareness of modern slavery with their staff by displaying this Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority poster in staff room areas: 

GLAA Posters - GLAA