Compliance & Standards

Professional Standards You Can Depend On

At Girocare, we understand that when a care provider brings an agency professional into their service, they are placing trust in the agency supplying that person.

That responsibility matters to us.

Our approach to compliance is therefore straightforward: we work to ensure that the people we supply are appropriately checked, prepared and suitable for the assignments they undertake.

Our Commitment to Care Providers

Every organisation we work with has its own responsibilities, procedures and expectations.

Our role is to support those organisations by maintaining appropriate standards within our own staffing operation.

Before placing a worker into an assignment, we consider the requirements of the role and the information available to us about the individual's experience, eligibility and suitability.

We also work with providers to understand any particular requirements that apply to their service.

The objective is simple:

to provide people who are appropriately prepared for the work they have been asked to undertake.

Safer Recruitment

Responsible staffing begins with responsible recruitment.

Girocare follows a structured recruitment and onboarding process designed for the care sector.

Depending on the role and applicable requirements, our checks may include:

Identity verification
Right-to-work checks
Employment history
References
Appropriate DBS checks
Relevant qualifications
Training records and certificates
Professional registration where a role requires it
Experience relevant to the position
Any additional information reasonably required for a particular assignment

We maintain worker records so that important information can be reviewed and updated where necessary.

Where a role requires particular qualifications, registration, experience or training, those requirements are considered before an appropriate placement is made.

Right to Work

Girocare takes right-to-work responsibilities seriously.

Before an individual is engaged for work through us, appropriate right-to-work checks are carried out in accordance with the applicable requirements.

Where a person's permission to work is time-limited, relevant information can be monitored so that appropriate follow-up checks can be undertaken when required.

Our aim is to maintain clear and organised records rather than leaving important employment information to chance.

Disclosure and Barring Service Checks

Many roles within the care sector involve working with people who may be vulnerable and can require an appropriate Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Where the role is eligible and an appropriate DBS check is required, Girocare ensures the relevant requirements are considered as part of the worker's onboarding and suitability for assignments.

DBS information forms one part of a wider recruitment and suitability process rather than being treated as the only measure of whether somebody is appropriate for a role.

References and Employment History

Understanding a person's previous employment and experience helps us make better staffing decisions.

Where appropriate, Girocare obtains and reviews relevant employment information and references as part of our recruitment process.

Any gaps or information requiring clarification can be considered during onboarding before the individual is accepted for appropriate assignments.

This helps us develop a clearer understanding of the people representing Girocare within our clients' services.

Training and Competence

Different care environments require different knowledge and skills.

We therefore consider the requirements of the role when determining whether a worker is suitable for an assignment.

Relevant training may include areas such as:

Safeguarding

Understanding how to recognise and appropriately respond to concerns relating to abuse, neglect or the welfare of people receiving support.

Moving and Handling

Supporting safer working practices when assisting people with mobility and related activities.

Infection Prevention and Control

Understanding appropriate hygiene and infection-control practices within care environments.

Health and Safety

Promoting safe working practices for workers, colleagues and the people being supported.

Fire Safety

Understanding basic fire-safety responsibilities and appropriate action in an emergency.

Basic Life Support

Providing workers with relevant knowledge for responding appropriately to certain emergency situations.

Food Safety

Where applicable to the assignment, understanding safe practices relating to food preparation and handling.

Medication Awareness

Where relevant to the role, appropriate understanding of responsibilities and boundaries relating to medication.

Equality, Diversity and Dignity

Supporting people respectfully and recognising individual needs, choices and differences.

Information Governance and Confidentiality

Understanding the importance of protecting confidential and personal information.

The precise requirements can vary according to the worker's role and the environment in which they will be working.

Matching People to Assignments

Having somebody available does not automatically mean that person is suitable for every assignment.

We consider the nature of the role when allocating staff.

A supported living service may have different requirements from a residential care home.

A service supporting people with particular needs may require relevant experience.

Some assignments may require particular training, qualifications or professional registration.

When a provider gives us important information about an assignment, we use that information to help determine an appropriate staffing match.

Our objective is not simply to fill a shift. It is to fill it appropriately.

Professional Registration

Where an assignment requires a professionally registered individual, such as a Registered Nurse, the appropriate professional registration requirements are considered before placement.

This can include checking the relevant professional register and ensuring that the individual is appropriately registered for the role being supplied.

Working With Your Policies

Agency professionals enter services that already have their own management structures, policies, procedures and ways of working.

We expect workers supplied by Girocare to respect the requirements of the organisation in which they are working.

Providers should give agency workers the appropriate site-specific information and instructions necessary for the assignment.

This may include information relating to:

Emergency procedures
Safeguarding arrangements
Reporting structures
Health and safety
Confidentiality
Care documentation
Infection-control procedures
Site security
Relevant risk information
Local working practices

Working together helps create a safer and more effective staffing arrangement.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is an essential part of working within care and support environments.

People working through Girocare are expected to understand their responsibility to raise concerns appropriately and to follow the safeguarding procedures applicable to the service in which they are working.

Where a safeguarding concern involving a Girocare worker is brought to our attention, we take the matter seriously and respond appropriately to the information available.

We also recognise the importance of cooperating with care providers and relevant authorities where circumstances require it.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

Care environments involve access to sensitive information.

Workers are expected to respect confidentiality and handle information appropriately while carrying out their assignments.

Girocare also takes its own responsibilities for personal information seriously.

Information relating to workers, clients and business contacts is handled in accordance with our data-protection procedures and applicable UK data-protection requirements.

Further information is available in our Privacy Policy.

Health and Safety

Good care depends on a safe working environment.

Girocare expects workers to follow reasonable health-and-safety instructions and the procedures of the organisation where they are working.

We also encourage providers to communicate relevant risks, site-specific procedures and important safety information when agency workers arrive at a service.

If an incident occurs during an assignment, appropriate reporting and communication helps ensure that the matter can be addressed properly.

Standards Don't Stop After Registration

Compliance should not be something that happens once when somebody joins an agency and is then forgotten.

Worker information changes.

Documents expire.

Training may need refreshing.

Circumstances can change.

For that reason, Girocare aims to maintain appropriate records and review relevant information throughout a worker's relationship with us.

Where documentation or another requirement needs to be renewed or updated, this can be identified and addressed as appropriate.

Feedback From Care Providers

Our care-provider partners play an important part in maintaining standards.

Managers and senior staff see our workers performing within real care environments, and their feedback is valuable.

If a Girocare professional performs particularly well, we want to hear about it.

Equally, if you have a concern about somebody we have supplied, we want you to tell us.

We will listen, review the information and take appropriate action where necessary.

We would rather know about an issue and address it than allow a problem to continue.

Concerns and Complaints

We want care providers to feel comfortable raising concerns with Girocare.

If something has not gone as expected, please contact us.

We aim to deal with concerns professionally, fairly and without unnecessary complication.

Where appropriate, matters can be reviewed internally and relevant information obtained from those involved.

Serious concerns will be treated accordingly and, where necessary, appropriate external procedures or reporting requirements will be followed.

Working Together

Maintaining good standards is a shared responsibility.

Girocare is responsible for operating its staffing service responsibly and supplying workers appropriate to the assignments it accepts.

Our workers are responsible for behaving professionally, working within their competence and following appropriate instructions and procedures.

Care providers remain responsible for managing their services, directing the work carried out within their organisations and providing appropriate information about local procedures, risks and individual service requirements.

When everyone understands their role, agency staffing works better.

Our Promise to Providers

We will continue working to maintain a staffing service based on:

Responsible recruitmentAppropriate worker checksSuitable staffing decisionsClear recordsProfessional conductGood communicationRespect for provider proceduresPrompt attention to concernsContinuous improvement

These aren't intended to be impressive words on a website.

They are the basic standards on which we want our relationships with care providers to be built.

Need More Information?

If your organisation has particular compliance requirements before adding a new staffing agency to its supplier list, talk to Girocare.

We understand that providers may need information before working with a new agency.

Tell us what your organisation requires and we will work with you to provide the appropriate information available to us.