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{{org_field_name}}

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

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Secondary Employment and Conflict of Interest Policy

1. Purpose

This policy sets out {{org_field_name}}’s arrangements for identifying, declaring, assessing and managing secondary employment and conflicts of interest. It supports compliance with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, as amended, including Regulation 17 – Good governance, Regulation 18 – Staffing and Regulation 19 – Fit and proper persons employed, together with applicable employment, working time and data protection legislation.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that secondary employment or other outside interests do not compromise the safety, quality or continuity of care, an individual’s fitness or ability to perform their role, confidentiality, data protection, professional responsibilities or the legitimate interests of {{org_field_name}}.

Nothing in this policy is intended to prevent a worker from undertaking additional employment where they have a statutory right to do so. Any restriction, approval requirement or management action under this policy will be applied only where lawful, necessary and proportionate.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all employees of {{org_field_name}}, including full-time, part-time, bank, agency staff, contractors, and volunteers. It covers external employment, self-employment, and any external business interests that could pose a conflict with duties at {{org_field_name}}.

3. Legal and Regulatory Framework

This policy must be implemented in accordance with the following legislation and regulatory requirements, where applicable:

• Health and Social Care Act 2008 – provides the statutory framework for the regulation of health and social care services in England and for requirements concerning the quality and safety of regulated activities.
• Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, Regulation 17 – Good governance – requires effective systems and processes to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of services; assess, monitor and mitigate risks to the health, safety and welfare of people using services and others who may be at risk; and maintain appropriate and secure records concerning staff and the management of the regulated activity.
• Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, Regulation 18 – Staffing – requires sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced persons to be deployed and requires staff to receive appropriate support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal necessary for their roles. Secondary employment must therefore be managed where it creates fatigue, availability, performance or other risks that may affect safe staffing or the individual’s ability to carry out their duties.
• Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, Regulation 19 – Fit and proper persons employed – requires persons employed for the purposes of carrying on regulated activities to be of good character; to have the qualifications, competence, skills and experience necessary for their work; and, after reasonable adjustments, to be able by reason of their health to properly perform tasks intrinsic to their employment. Where a person no longer meets the requirements of Regulation 19(1), the provider must take necessary and proportionate action.
• Working Time Regulations 1998, as amended – establish requirements concerning maximum average weekly working time, rest breaks, daily and weekly rest, night work and additional protections for young workers. Working time across more than one job may need to be considered when assessing compliance and fatigue risks.
• Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended, and legislation concerning exclusivity terms in zero-hours and certain low-income workers’ contracts – restrict the circumstances in which an employer may prohibit protected workers from working for another employer or subject them to detriment for doing so.
• Employment Rights Act 2025, where provisions are in force – makes further amendments to employment rights legislation, including provisions relevant to zero-hours arrangements. {{org_field_name}} will apply provisions of the Act from their applicable commencement dates.
• Equality Act 2010 – requires employment decisions to comply with statutory equality and discrimination requirements, including the duty to make reasonable adjustments where applicable.
• UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018 – apply to personal information collected, recorded, used, shared or retained in connection with secondary employment declarations and conflicts of interest.

4. Secondary Employment Declaration

Employees and workers must notify {{org_field_name}} in writing of secondary employment, self-employment or other outside work where the activity may reasonably affect their duties, working time, fitness to work safely, availability, confidentiality, professional responsibilities or give rise to an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest.

Relevant activities include:

• employment or work for another health or social care provider;
• private care or support work;
• self-employment or operating a personal business;
• consultancy, directorships or other business interests;
• work involving a person who uses {{org_field_name}}’s services or their relatives or representatives; and
• any other work or external activity that may reasonably affect the employee’s duties or create an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest.

Declaration and assessment

Where a declaration is required, the employee or worker must provide sufficient information to the Registered Manager to enable {{org_field_name}} to assess:

• any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest;
• total working hours and relevant rest arrangements;
• any risk of fatigue affecting the safety or quality of care;
• any impact on attendance, availability, punctuality, performance or fitness to undertake the employee’s contracted duties;
• risks to confidential information or personal data;
• any safeguarding concern or inappropriate personal or financial relationship with a person using the service; and
• any relevant professional or regulatory obligation.

Where the employee is lawfully subject to a contractual requirement to obtain approval for secondary employment, approval must be obtained before the secondary employment begins. Decisions will be made on the individual circumstances and will not be unreasonably withheld where there is no lawful or proportionate reason for restriction.

Where legislation makes an exclusivity term or requirement for employer consent unenforceable, {{org_field_name}} will not refuse, prohibit or subject the worker to detriment merely because the worker undertakes work for another employer. This does not prevent {{org_field_name}} from taking lawful and proportionate action to address genuine concerns relating to working time, fatigue, safety, confidentiality, safeguarding, performance or an actual conflict of interest.

Decision

Where approval is required, or where management measures are necessary following a declaration, the Registered Manager will communicate the decision and any conditions in writing.

Any restriction imposed must be based on an identifiable and legitimate reason and must be necessary and proportionate to the risk identified.

Where secondary employment gives rise to a risk that can be satisfactorily managed, appropriate controls will be agreed with the employee wherever reasonably practicable.

Where a request is refused or restrictions are imposed, the employee will be informed of the reasons. Employees may challenge a decision through the applicable grievance procedure.

5. Managing Conflicts of Interest

Definition of a Conflict of Interest

• When an employee’s secondary employment or external activities influence their professional decisions.
• Situations where personal gain could override the best interests of the people we support.
• Employees in positions of authority making decisions affecting family members or personal business associates.

Identifying Potential Conflicts

• Employees must disclose relationships with service users or businesses providing services to {{org_field_name}}.
• Financial interests in competitor organisations must be declared.
• Any external role that may require the sharing of confidential or sensitive information.

Addressing Conflicts

• The Registered Manager and HR will assess potential conflicts and implement controls where necessary.
• Employees may be required to limit external work, adjust roles, or withdraw from decision-making processes related to the conflict.
• If a conflict is not manageable, the employee may be asked to resign from the conflicting role.

6. Working Hours and Well-being

Working time

{{org_field_name}} will manage working time in accordance with the Working Time Regulations 1998, as amended.

For adult workers to whom the general maximum applies, total working time must not normally exceed an average of 48 hours for each seven-day period, normally calculated over a 17-week reference period, unless a lawful exception applies or the worker has voluntarily entered into a valid written agreement to opt out of the 48-hour average weekly limit.

Where an employee or worker has more than one job, working time in their other employment must be taken into account where necessary to determine compliance with statutory working-time requirements and to assess risks arising from excessive working hours or fatigue.

An employee or worker will not be required to sign an opt-out agreement and will not be subjected to detriment for refusing to do so. Where an opt-out is entered into, it must be voluntary and in writing and will be managed in accordance with the Working Time Regulations 1998.

An opt-out from the 48-hour average weekly limit does not remove other applicable statutory working-time protections.

Rest and fatigue

Subject to any applicable statutory exception or provision for compensatory rest, adult workers are normally entitled to:

• an uninterrupted rest break of at least 20 minutes when working for more than six hours;
• at least 11 consecutive hours’ daily rest in each 24-hour period; and
• appropriate weekly rest in accordance with the Working Time Regulations 1998.

Separate statutory requirements apply to night workers and young workers. Where an employee falls within these categories, {{org_field_name}} will apply the applicable statutory working-time limits and rest requirements. A worker must not be asked to opt out of a statutory limit from which the law does not permit an individual opt-out.

Employees and workers must provide accurate information about relevant working hours in other employment when reasonably requested for the purpose of complying with working-time, health and safety or care-quality obligations.

Managers must consider whether secondary employment is creating fatigue or another risk that could affect the employee’s ability to provide safe and effective care. Where a risk is identified, proportionate action must be taken to protect people using the service and the employee.

Impact on performance

Secondary employment must not result in an employee being unable to perform their duties safely and effectively or cause unacceptable problems with attendance, punctuality, fitness for work or performance at {{org_field_name}}.

Where secondary employment contributes to a performance, attendance, health and safety or fatigue concern, the circumstances will be assessed and appropriate action taken in accordance with the relevant {{org_field_name}} policy. Any disciplinary action will be considered on the individual facts and in accordance with a fair procedure.

7. Confidentiality and Data Protection

Employees and workers must continue to comply with their contractual, professional and statutory confidentiality and data protection obligations when undertaking secondary employment or other external activities.

Employees and workers must not:

• disclose confidential information concerning {{org_field_name}}, its employees, people using the service or any other person to a secondary employer or unauthorised person;
• access, copy, retain, disclose or use personal data obtained through their work at {{org_field_name}} for the purposes of secondary employment or personal business;
• use {{org_field_name}}’s records, equipment, systems, accounts, intellectual property or other resources for secondary employment unless expressly authorised; or
• use information obtained through their position at {{org_field_name}} to obtain an improper personal or financial advantage.

Information collected by {{org_field_name}} about secondary employment or conflicts of interest will be processed in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018 and {{org_field_name}}’s data protection policies.

Personal information collected under this policy must:

• be collected and used only where there is an appropriate lawful basis and legitimate purpose;
• be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary;
• be accurate and kept up to date where necessary;
• be accessible only to persons who require access for an authorised purpose;
• be stored securely; and
• not be retained for longer than is necessary in accordance with the organisation’s applicable retention arrangements.

Any suspected confidentiality or personal data breach must be reported immediately in accordance with {{org_field_name}}’s data protection and incident-reporting procedures.

Breaches may be managed under CH31 – Disciplinary and Grievance Policy and, where appropriate, may also require consideration under applicable data protection, safeguarding, contractual or professional reporting arrangements.

8. Restrictions on Secondary Employment

Secondary employment or external activity may be restricted where, following an individual assessment, {{org_field_name}} reasonably determines that the activity creates a genuine and material risk that cannot be adequately managed by less restrictive measures.

This may include circumstances where the secondary employment or external activity:

• creates an actual conflict of interest that cannot be adequately managed;
• creates a material risk to the confidentiality or security of information belonging to {{org_field_name}} or people using its services;
• creates an unacceptable safeguarding risk or risk of financial, personal or professional exploitation;
• causes the employee to be unable to comply with applicable working-time or rest requirements;
• creates fatigue or another health and safety risk that may adversely affect safe care;
• materially prevents the employee from carrying out their contracted duties safely, effectively and reliably;
• involves inappropriate use of {{org_field_name}}’s information, systems, property or commercial information; or
• is incompatible with a statutory, professional or regulatory obligation applying to the employee’s role.

Working for another care provider, including an organisation that competes with {{org_field_name}}, will not by itself automatically prohibit secondary employment. Any restriction must be based on the particular circumstances, an identifiable legitimate risk and a proportionate assessment of that risk.

Employees must not enter into private arrangements to provide care or support directly to a person currently receiving services from {{org_field_name}} where doing so would create a safeguarding concern, conflict of interest, misuse of the professional relationship or other unacceptable risk.

Nothing in this section permits {{org_field_name}} to enforce an exclusivity restriction that is unenforceable under employment legislation or to subject a worker to unlawful detriment because they undertake, seek or propose to undertake work for another employer.

9. Monitoring and Compliance

{{org_field_name}} will maintain appropriate records of declared secondary employment and actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest.

The record must, where relevant, include:

• the nature of the declared secondary employment or interest;
• the date of the declaration;
• the assessment undertaken;
• identified risks;
• the decision made and the reasons for that decision;
• any restrictions, conditions or control measures imposed;
• the date on which the matter is due to be reviewed, where continued monitoring is necessary; and
• the outcome of subsequent reviews.

Records must be accurate, appropriately maintained, securely stored and accessible only to authorised persons. Personal information contained within the records will be managed in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018 and {{org_field_name}}’s applicable retention arrangements.

Employees and workers must notify the Registered Manager of a material change to previously declared secondary employment or an external interest where the change may alter the original risk assessment.

Managers must review secondary employment where there is evidence that it may be affecting working time, rest, fatigue, availability, attendance, performance, confidentiality, safeguarding, professional responsibilities or the safety or quality of care.

Where a conflict or other risk is identified, {{org_field_name}} will document the risk assessment and any action taken to remove or mitigate that risk.

Failure to make a required declaration, deliberately providing false or misleading information, breaching an agreed lawful restriction or otherwise failing to comply with this policy may result in action under CH31 – Disciplinary and Grievance Policy. Any disciplinary action will be considered on the facts of the individual case and in accordance with the applicable procedure.

10. Training and Awareness

• Employees will receive training on professional conduct and conflict of interest management.
• Regular updates will be provided to ensure staff are aware of their responsibilities.

11. Related Policies

• CH19-Fit and Proper Persons: Employed Staff Policy
• CH17-Good Governance Policy
• CH30-Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy
• CH31-Disciplinary and Grievance Policy
• CH34-Confidentiality and Data Protection (GDPR) Policy

12. Policy Review

• This policy will be reviewed annually or sooner if there are updates in CQC regulations or legal requirements.
• Amendments will be made to ensure continued compliance with employment and business ethics best practices.

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Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}
Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}
Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}
Copyright © {{current_year}} – {{org_field_name}}. All rights reserved.