Staff Handbook

Staff Handbook

May 2014 2

This handbook contains a

range of useful

information, some of which

is contractual and some

that is non-contractual.

For further information,

please refer to the intranet.

Staff Handbook

May 2014 3

Who We Are The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent

regulator of all health and social care services in England. Until 31 March 2009, regulation of health and adult social care in

England was carried out by the Health Care Commission (HCC) and the

Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). The Mental Health Act

Commission also had monitoring functions in relation to the application

of the Mental Health Act 1983.

The Health and Social Care Act 2008 established a single, integrated

regulator for health and adult social care to replace these three bodies.

The CQC was subsequently created in shadow form on 1 October 2008

and began operating on 1 April 2009.

What We Do

“We make

We ensure that Hospitals, Care Homes, Ambulance, Dental and

GP Surgeries and all other care services that support people in

their own home or in other places in England are meeting

national standards. We also look after the rights of people who

need extra support to stay safe including people who are

detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.

sure health and social care

services provide people

with safe, effective,

compassionate,

high-quality care and we

encourage care services

to improve.

”

People who use services are at the heart of all that we do

and our commitment to understanding them has been the

key to our success.

We do this by:

• Setting Standards of quality and safety that people have

a right to expect whenever they receive care.

•Taking appropriate action if care services are failing to

meet the standards.

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• Registering care services that meet our standards.

• Monitoring, inspecting and regulating care services to make sure

that they continue to meet the standards.

• Protecting the rights of vulnerable people, including those whose

rights are restricted under the Mental Health Act.

• Listening to and acting on your experiences.

• Involving the public and people who receive care in our work and

• Challenging all providers, with the worst performers getting the

most attention.

• Making fair and authoritative judgments, supported by the best

information and evidence.

• Carrying out in-depth investigations to look at care across the system.

• Reporting on the quality of care services, publishing clear and

comprehensive information, including performance ratings to help

people choose care.

C

Code of Conduct

CQC wants to support managers and employees to strive to

uphold the highest standards of personal and professional

conduct and behave in an ethical and professional manner. In

line with CQC’s values and behaviours we want to encourage a

culture where all employees are treated with respect, display

integrity, and value equality and diversity.

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Confidentiality and Security Statement

As an employee or person working on behalf of the Care Quality

Commission (CQC) in any capacity, e.g. permanent, temporary,

secondment or agency, you must not discuss confidential

matters outside the organisation unless you have the express

permission of the Chief Executive or the information is in the

public domain. In the course of your employment/time with the CQC you may have

access to information concerning the medical or personal affairs of

vulnerable people, children, patients or staff both within agencies/care

providers or the CQC whether in manual or computerised form.

Such records and information are Strictly Confidential and unless

acting on the instructions of an authorised officer, on no account must

information concerning any of the above, be divulged or discussed

except in the performance of normal duty. In addition, records or computerised systems must never be left in such

a manner that unauthorised persons can obtain access to them and

must be kept in safe custody. Original manual records should not be

removed from CQC offices, and if this is required, a copy should be

taken and a log kept so that information can be tracked. All information

taken off CQC premises remains strictly confidential, and should not be

left unattended at any time. Where statutory provisions, Data Protection Act 1998, Copyright,

Designs and Patients Act 1988 and the Computer Misuse Act 1990

apply to the security of confidential information, such provisions must

be strictly complied with. Any breach of these requirements will be

treated as a serious disciplinary offence, which could lead to dismissal/

immediate removal from the premises, and/or legal action.

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Contractual Entitlements

Annual Leave

• Qualifying period - None

• CQC Benefit - 27 days plus bank holidays. This goes up to 29 days

after three years’ service, and 32.5 days after five years’ service.

• Statutory benefit - 20 days plus bank holidays.

• Average benefit (from other employers) – 25 days

Special Leave CQC’s special leave policy covers a range of absences for which staff

can apply:

• Dependent’s/carer’s leave

• Domestic emergencies leave

• Bereavement leave

• Disability leave

• Jury service or acting as a witness

• Public duties leave

• Parental leave

• Sabbatical for pursuing a personal interest

• Medical and dental appointments

To help staff understand the process, we have a policy document on

our corporate policy register and a procedure and guidance document

for staff available on the CQC Intranet.

Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave The full CQC policy on maternity, paternity and adoption can be found

on our corporate policy register page. Briefly, some maternity, paternity and adoption benefits under the

policy include:

• A pregnant employee is entitled to 26 weeks’ maternity leave,

regardless of service.

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• An employee adopting is entitled to 26 weeks’ adoption leave

• Employees with parenting responsibilities for a new-born child, or

newly placed for adoption, are entitled to three weeks’ paternity

leave, which must be completed within 56 days of the child’s birth,

or placement for adoption.

• An employee is entitled to return to the same job on the same terms

and conditions or if this is not practical/possible, to suitable

alternative employment.

Our procedure for arranging maternity, paternity or adoption leave and

a guide for managers and employees is available on the CQC Intranet.

Staff Benefits At CQC, permanent staff are eligible for a wide range of

non-contractual benefits. The list of benefits available to staff

is available on the intranet and a brief explanation of each can

be found below:

Childcare Vouchers CQC provides a childcare voucher scheme to help staff save money on

childcare costs. Childcare vouchers are a recognised payment method for registered

childcare and they are easy to set up and use. Registered childcare

providers can include nursuries, nannies, au pairs, crèches, holiday

schemes, childminders, out of school clubs and that provided by

qualifying independent schools. The scheme offers savings on childcare costs of up to £1,196 per

parent, per year, through reduced tax and National Insurance

contributions in their salary. This equates to up to £2,392 per family

each year. Please note: Changes to childcare voucher legislation from April 2011,

mean that higher rate tax payers will only be eligible to receive £28 per

week in childcare vouchers - rather than the maximum of £55 per week

- unless they are already in an existing scheme.

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Cyclescheme

CQC has signed up to the Government’s cyclescheme, encouraging

people to cycle to work by subsidising the cost of buying a bike and

accessories. CQC employees can save up to 50% off the price of a new

bike and accessories from almost 1,500 bike shops across the UK.

Cyclescheme is the UK’s number one provider of tax-free bikes for work

through independent bike shops and is run in accordance with the

Government’s green travel plan (CQC receives a tax exemption to provide

cycles and safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit).

Eye care expenses

All CQC employees are recommended to have routine eye care as part

of general personal health care – opticians normally recommend that

you have eye tests routinely every two to three years. Opticians charge

a range of prices for eye tests from £8 to £20 for a test that usually

includes near, far and intermediate vision assessment.

CQC will reimburse all permanent employees the reasonable cost of eye

tests when they use display screens; i.e. computers and/or laptops for a

significant part of their work duties.

Where an optician prescribes glasses for use with display screens, CQC

will reimburse up to £50 towards the cost of glasses.

Salary Advances

If you are a CQC employee and you have completed your probationary

period, you are eligible to apply for a salary advance. This can be up to

a maximum of £5,000 interest free, and can be used for the following

purposes:

• Travel season tickets

• Parking permits

This allows you to take advantage of reduced rates offered when you

pay up-front, rather than monthly.

The loan is then repaid through your salary over an agreed period up to

a maximum of 12 months.

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Employee Assistance Programme

The EAP offers you immediate access to 24 hour telephone counselling

and legal information services, provided by an independent health and

wellbeing provider.

Experienced and qualified telephone counsellors provide around the

clock support to help you with a wide range of personal and work

related problems in areas such as stress, relationship difficulties,

bereavement, anxiety, family worries, alcohol/drug abuse, employment,

or financial concerns.

NHS Fleet

NHS Fleet Solutions gives permanent CQC staff access to a scheme that

provides competitively priced and trouble-free motoring. Under the

scheme, you are provided with a car for a lease period of three years.

There is no deposit and costs are fixed for all elements for the duration

of the agreement. The car will be insured for you and up to four named

drivers (who must be legally entitled to drive).

At the end of the three-year period you return the car with no

additional charge, as long as the vehicle meets the return standards

and you have not driven more than the agreed contracted mileage.

Payroll Giving

CQC’s payroll giving scheme means staff can donate to their chosen

charity tax free.

Donations are taken from pay by SBS, CQC’s payroll provider, before tax

is calculated and paid in full to the charity. Without this arrangement,

staff would have to complete a self-assessment tax return to claim the

tax back.

You can donate to a registered charity and other causes, such as a place

of worship or school.

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CQC Rewards and Staff Discounts

CQC Rewards is an online portal, available for all directly employed

members of CQC staff, which provides access to discounts and special

offers, such as money off supermarket shopping, computers and clothes.

You can buy vouchers at a discount for shops like Sainsburys, Boots,

and Amazon. For example, you can buy a £20 Boots voucher for £18

meaning that anything that you buy is at a 10% discount.

Within the system you can customise your homepage so that the deals

most relevent to you appear first. For example you might always want

travel deals to appear at the top of your page.

Healthcare Benefit

Through employment with CQC, you are able to access membership to

two organisations offering health care plans. They are CS healthcare

and Benenden health.

CS healthcare offers more traditional health insurance plans to public

sector employees, while Benenden are a mutual organisation offering

health care services on a discretionary basis.

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Allowances

Pensions

Operational Car User Allowance The operational car user allowance (OCUA) is provided to staff who are

employed in roles where the core purpose of the role is to visit services,

and commissioners in order to undertake regulatory decision making.

The individual must own a vehicle and declare that they will use their

personal vehicle for the purposes of travel on CQC business.

Homeworker Allowance Homeworker Allowance is a monthly allowance provided to staff who’s

base of work is their home. Staff can apply for this allowance through

the CQC intranet.

CQC operates the NHS Pension Scheme for all new starters and

you will be automatically opted into the scheme. Pension

contributions are taken from your pay before tax so you receive

tax relief on any amount you pay. Employees can opt out at any

time by asking SBS Payroll Service Desk for a Pension opt out

form.

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Performance Development Review

Staff Survey

Equality and Human Rights at CQC

The PDR is a key element of performance management and

employee development at CQC, aimed at enhancing employees’

development and engagement by:

• engaging with our vision, employee values and behaviours

• understanding our direction

• identifying an individual’s contribution towards CQC achieving its

organisational objectives.

The PDR process integrates the behavioural competencies (our

employee values and behaviours in practice) and the leadership

principles. All staff will have an end-of-year PDR review meeting with

their line manager before the end of March and time to conduct the

new cycle of PDR planning meetings during April. The documents for

the PDR cycle can be found on our intranet.

The Staff Survey conducted at CQC is just one of many tools

used to seek staff views on a range of topics.

Equality, diversity and human rights (EDHR) are integral to

everything we do at the Care Quality Commission. Not only are we compelled by law to comply with EDHR legislation,

as a progressive organisation we acknowledge equalities, diversity and

human rights as essential elements of a progressive, modern

organisation. EDHR is essential to the way we work, the services we provide in our

regulatory activities and in the way we act one with the other. EDHR is

not a start and stop process - it is continually evolving and developing

along with the organisation.

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Staff Networks

Disability Network - membership of the disability network is open to

all staff working within CQC, whether or not they classify themselves as

having a disability. The Disability Network supports the social model of

disability which makes an important distinction between ‘impairment’

and ‘disability’. The Disability Network challenges views and strives to

ensure more positive outcomes for disabled staff in CQC. The group

holds three meetings a year, in Newcastle, Birmingham and London. Race Equality Network – is a staff group open to all CQC staff. In

partnership with CQC leaders, its main aim is to support members in

their personal and professional development. The group also works to

promote equality and human rights for all staff, particularly those from

Black and Minority Ethnic groups. The group discharges its aims by

providing a forum through meetings where members support one

another, share experiences and best practice. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Equality Network – is part of the

CQC’s wider diversity networks championed by the chief Executive and

nominated executive team member. It is a closed network and this

means only staff who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Trans are able

to join. The group aims to tackle discrimination through working with

colleagues and other diversity groups in the Commission; and when

necessary, it also challenges the Commission through the Human Rights

Group. Sports and Social – There is a wide range of sports clubs, interest

groups and social activities you can join in order to meet colleagues

who share your interests. On Our Community page you will be able to

post your classified ads where to offer, sell or exchange things like

concert tickets and unwanted presents.

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Health and Wellbeing

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to embracing and practicing the highest levels

of health and wellbeing standards possible. Health and safety is a

shared responsibility and as an organisation CQC places a great

importance on ensuring that all staff can adopt an active - as well

as reactive - approach to health and safety standards. You will be able to find more information on:

• Our health and safety policy and guidance notes

• The latest health and safety latest updates

• Training (including workstation risk assessments and foundation

training)

• Eye care expenses (including eye tests)

• Staff security

CQC provides a range of support and adjustments to support

staff with health or disability needs. This includes occupational

health referrals for advice on adjustments, personal assessments

for home working equipment, specialist equipment, adjustments

for chronic conditions, support for mental health conditions,

voice-activated software, coloured filters and visual impairment

software, and hardware support.

CQC corporate policy register

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Safeguarding

Bullying and Harassment

Anyone working for CQC might be told about, or even witness,

abuse.

• The National Customer Service Centre (NCSC) receives notifications,

telephone calls, emails, letters and faxes from providers, people who

use services, their families and the wider public.

• Inspection staff, provider relationship owners, registration assessors,

second opinion appointed doctors (SOADs), Mental Health Act

(MHA) Commissioners and the MHA Operations team may come

across abuse when doing site visits or receiving information about

service providers.

• Any other members of staff may become aware of an incident of

abuse.

It is essential that we follow the correct procedures when dealing with

safeguarding issues. You should find everything you need on the

safeguarding section of the intranet. The information is mainly for

Operations staff, but others may find it useful. If you need further

advice, contact the safeguarding lead for your region.

CQC is committed to ensuring equal opportunities and fair

treatment in the workplace for all staff. One of the key aims of the policy is to enable CQC to provide a working

environment in which all staff feel comfortable and in which everyone is

treated with respect and dignity, regardless of gender, sexual

orientation, transgender status, marital or family status, colour, race,

nationality, ethnic or national origins, creed, culture religion or belief,

age, disability or any other personal factor or quality. CQC will treat all

complaints of harassment seriously and will investigate them promptly,

efficiently and in confidence, so that the matter can be resolved as

quickly as possible for all concerned. CQC is committed to tackling incidents of bullying and harassment

swiftly and decisively. Individuals should not feel that they have to put

up with bullying behaviour at work, or feel unwilling or unable to

complain for fear of further victimisation.

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CQC recognises that people cannot contribute their best when under

fear of harassment, bullying or abuse.

A strong stand is needed on this issue to enable people of all

backgrounds to have dignity at work and enable them to fully

contribute to CQC’s success. Employees who raise a genuine complaint

under this policy will under no circumstances be subjected to any

unfavourable treatment or victimisation as a result of making a

complaint, during and after raising the issue. Where appropriate and

possible, managers and staff should try to resolve issues covered by this

policy informally, using the specific guidance contained in this policy

and separate procedure and guide. Where resolving matters informally

is either inappropriate or has failed, CQC’s Grievance Policy will be used

to raise concerns of bullying and harassment formally.

Dignity at Work

The Dignity at Work Scheme was set up as a means of

providing support for all staff with concerns around bullying

and/or harassment. The aim of the scheme is to provide a ‘listening ear’ via Dignity at Work

Advisors (DAWAs), who will support staff in an informal setting to allow

them, to:

• Feel supported and better able to deal with issues

• Gain a good understanding of the options available to them

• Receive confidential advice

• Be supported at informal discussions by the DAWA

Dignity at Work Advisors can also offer advice and support to staff who

have been accused of bullying or staff who may have witnessed

inappropriate behaviour towards colleagues. You will be able to find

further information in the Zero Tolerance on Bullying and Harassment

policy on our intranet.

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Trade Unions

Need More Information?

CQC has signed a Recognition and Facilities Agreement and the

following unions are recognised for the purposes of collective

bargaining, consultation and employee relations:

• UNISON

• Royal College of Nursing (RCN)

• Prospect

• Unite

• PCS

The unions are represented both locally and nationally within CQC lead

representatives who participate in collective bargaining negotiations on

behalf of their members.