Hiring Your First Care Staff: Compliance Checklist

Hiring your first care workers is one of the most significant steps in launching your care business. Get it right, and you build a foundation for safe, high-quality care. Get it wrong, and you risk regulatory action, safeguarding failures, and damage to your reputation before you even start.

This checklist covers every compliance requirement you need to meet when recruiting care staff. Print it, tick it off, and keep it as evidence of your safer recruitment process.

Pre-Employment Checks

Before any new staff member can start work in a regulated activity, you must complete a full set of pre-employment checks. These are legal and regulatory requirements.

DBS Checks

All care workers must have an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check with a check of both the adults’ and children’s barred lists if they will work with both groups.

Your checklist:

• Request an enhanced DBS check with barred list check appropriate to your service users
• Verify the applicant’s identity using original documents (passport, driving licence, or approved alternatives)
• Never allow staff to start regulated activity before the DBS certificate is received and reviewed
• If the DBS reveals information, conduct a documented risk assessment before making any employment decision
• Consider requiring staff to subscribe to the DBS Update Service (currently £13 per year) for ongoing monitoring
• Keep a record of the DBS certificate number, issue date, and your risk assessment decision (do not keep copies of the certificate itself beyond 6 months)
• For existing staff, implement a policy for periodic rechecking (typically every 3 years or via Update Service)

Critical timing: There is no legal timeframe for how long a DBS check remains valid. However, CQC expects you to have a policy on rechecking or use the Update Service. A DBS check older than 3 years without Update Service registration will raise questions during inspection.

Right to Work Checks

You have a legal duty to prevent illegal working. Failing to conduct proper right to work checks can result in civil penalties of up to £60,000 per illegal worker.

Your checklist:

• Check original documents before employment begins (copies are not acceptable for the initial check)
• Accept only documents from the Home Office prescribed list (List A or List B documents)
• Make a clear copy of all documents and retain securely
• Record the date you made the check
• For List B documents with time-limited right to work, set a reminder to recheck before expiry
• For applicants with a Biometric Residence Permit or eVisa, verify their right to work online using the Home Office checking service
• If using a digital identity service provider, ensure they are certified and keep evidence of the check

References

References are your opportunity to verify employment history and identify any concerns about a candidate’s suitability to work with vulnerable people.

Your checklist:

• Obtain a minimum of two references, including one from the most recent employer
• For candidates with care sector experience, always obtain a reference from their most recent care employer regardless of how long ago it was
• Request written references using a structured template that asks specific questions about performance, conduct, and any disciplinary matters
• Verify references by telephone to confirm authenticity and probe any concerns
• If a reference raises concerns, document your investigation and decision-making process
• Never accept references from family members or personal friends
• If a candidate cannot provide employer references (for example, school leavers), obtain character references and document your rationale
• Keep all reference documentation on the personnel file

Qualifications Verification

If you have specified qualifications as essential or desirable for the role, you must verify them.

Your checklist:

• Request original certificates for all claimed qualifications
• Check certificates for authenticity (look for security features, verify with issuing body if in doubt)
• For mandatory qualifications (such as nursing registration), verify directly with the relevant professional body
• Retain copies of verified certificates on the personnel file
• If claiming a care qualification, verify it appears on the relevant awarding body’s records

Health Declarations and Fitness to Work

Care work is physically and emotionally demanding. You need assurance that staff are fit to undertake the duties required.

Your checklist:

• Require completion of a confidential health declaration questionnaire
• For roles with specific physical requirements, consider occupational health assessment
• Document any reasonable adjustments needed and agreed
• Establish a process for staff to report health changes that may affect their ability to work safely
• Keep health information confidential and separate from general personnel files

Before They Start Work

Once pre-employment checks are complete, there are additional requirements before a new staff member can begin delivering care.

Mandatory Training

Certain training must be completed before staff can safely work with service users.

Your checklist:

• Safeguarding adults (and children if applicable to your service)
• Basic life support
• Moving and handling (theory can be completed before start; practical must be service-specific)
• Infection prevention and control
• Food hygiene (if staff will prepare or serve food)
• Fire safety awareness
• Health and safety fundamentals
• Medication administration (if they will be handling medication)
• Equality, diversity, and human rights
• Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (if applicable)

Consider whether e-learning is sufficient for initial awareness or whether face-to-face training is needed. Our training and development services can help you build a compliant training programme.

Document everything: Keep certificates, completion dates, and renewal schedules for each staff member.

Employment Contracts

Every employee must receive a written statement of employment particulars on or before their first day of work.

Your checklist:

• Full legal name of employer and employee
• Job title and description of duties
• Start date and continuous employment date if different
• Place of work
• Pay rate and payment intervals
• Working hours and any requirements for flexibility
• Holiday entitlement
• Sick pay arrangements
• Pension arrangements
• Notice periods (both employer and employee)
• Probationary period terms and conditions
• Reference to disciplinary and grievance procedures
• Any collective agreements affecting terms

Care-specific considerations:

• Clarify arrangements for travel time and mileage if applicable
• Specify requirements for working weekends, bank holidays, and on-call
• Include confidentiality obligations regarding service users
• Reference your policies and procedures manual

Induction Requirements

CQC expects new staff to complete a structured induction before working unsupervised.

Your checklist:

• Orientation to your organisation’s values, mission, and care philosophy
• Introduction to policies and procedures (staff must sign to confirm they have read key policies)
• Service user introductions and care plan familiarisation
• Shadow shifts with experienced staff before working independently
• Competency assessments for key tasks
• Emergency procedures and lone working protocols
• Introduction to supervision and appraisal processes
• Sign-off by manager confirming induction completion

The Care Certificate is the benchmark induction standard for care workers new to the sector. Plan for completion within 12 weeks of starting.

Registration and Notification Requirements

Depending on your service type and the staff member’s role, you may need to notify CQC.

Your checklist:

• Notify CQC within 28 days if appointing a new registered manager
• Update your Statement of Purpose if staffing changes affect how you deliver your regulated activities
• Ensure your registered manager notifies CQC of any notifiable events involving new staff
• Keep your PIR (Provider Information Return) staffing information up to date

Ongoing Compliance

Compliance does not end when someone starts work. You must maintain records and continue monitoring throughout employment.

Record Keeping Requirements

Your personnel files must be complete, accurate, and readily accessible for inspection.

Your checklist:

• Maintain a single personnel file for each staff member
• Include all pre-employment check evidence
• Keep training records with certificates and renewal dates
• Document supervision sessions and annual appraisals
• Retain employment contracts and any variations
• Keep absence records
• Store records securely with appropriate access controls
• Retain records for at least 3 years after employment ends (longer for safeguarding records)

Probation Periods and Supervision

New staff need structured support to succeed and demonstrate their suitability.

Your checklist:

• Set a clear probation period (typically 3-6 months)
• Schedule probation review meetings at regular intervals
• Use probation to assess values, behaviours, and competence, not just task completion
• Document all probation reviews and any concerns raised
• Be prepared to extend probation or end employment if standards are not met
• After probation, ensure regular supervision continues (at least monthly for new staff, then typically 6-8 weekly once established)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Having supported hundreds of providers through CQC registration and inspection, we see the same recruitment compliance failures repeatedly:

Starting staff before DBS checks complete. There is no safe workaround for this. Supervised working does not replace a completed check for regulated activity.

Accepting references without verification. Written references can be fabricated. Always verify by telephone.

Missing right to work rechecks. If you employ someone with time-limited permission to work, missing the recheck deadline can result in significant penalties.

Inadequate documentation. If it is not written down, it did not happen. Inspectors expect to see evidence of every check.

Generic induction. A tick-box induction that does not prepare staff for your specific service will show in your care quality. This applies even to standard policies—many providers miss key compliance areas. See our guide on the most common policy mistakes.

Building a Compliant Recruitment Process

This checklist gives you the framework, but every care service is different. Your policies and procedures need to reflect your specific service model, the people you support, and the risks inherent in your care delivery.

Our policy pack store includes comprehensive recruitment and selection policies that cover every requirement in this article. These are not generic templates but carefully developed documents that address exactly what CQC expects to see.

If you want help developing your recruitment processes or need support with any aspect of CQC compliance, get in touch. Getting recruitment right protects your service users, your staff, and your business.