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{{org_field_name}}

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

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Self-Care, Wellbeing, and Personal Treatment Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that {{org_field_name}} promotes a healthy, supportive, and professional work environment where employees can prioritise self-care, maintain well-being, and access personal treatment services without negatively impacting their duties or the care of people we support.

This policy ensures that:

• Staff maintain physical, emotional, and mental well-being to provide safe and effective care.
• Employees receive support to manage stress, workload, and personal health.
• Staff understand appropriate personal treatment standards, ensuring professionalism in care settings.
• Compliance with CQC regulations, health and safety laws, and employment legislation.
• A positive workplace culture where self-care is encouraged, reducing burnout and absenteeism.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

• All employees, including full-time, part-time, agency, and voluntary workers.
• Managers and senior staff, responsible for implementing well-being initiatives.
• HR teams, responsible for ensuring staff have access to occupational health support.
• External health and well-being providers, including counselling services and NHS support.

3. Legal and Regulatory Compliance

This policy will be implemented in accordance with the legislation and regulatory requirements applicable to care homes in England.

CQC Regulations – Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014

• Regulation 10 – Dignity and Respect: People receiving care and treatment must be treated with dignity and respect. Staff wellbeing, conduct and working arrangements must therefore be managed in a way that supports staff to provide care which protects people’s privacy, dignity and independence.
• Regulation 12 – Safe Care and Treatment: Care and treatment must be provided safely. {{org_field_name}} must ensure that staff carrying out care and treatment have the competence, skills and experience required to do so safely and that risks affecting the safety of people receiving care are assessed and appropriately managed.
• Regulation 17 – Good Governance: {{org_field_name}} must establish and operate effective systems and processes to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of services and to assess, monitor and mitigate risks relating to the health, safety and welfare of people receiving services and others who may be at risk as a result of the regulated activity. This includes taking appropriate action where workforce pressures, workload, fatigue, stress or other staff-related factors create or contribute to risks to people receiving care.
• Regulation 18 – Staffing: {{org_field_name}} must deploy sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff to meet people’s care and treatment needs. Staff must receive the support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal necessary to enable them to carry out their duties. Staffing arrangements must take account of people’s needs, staff competence, workload, skill mix and the need to provide safe care at all times.
• Regulation 19 – Fit and Proper Persons Employed: Staff employed for the purposes of carrying on a regulated activity must have the qualifications, competence, skills and experience necessary for their role and must be able, by reason of their health and after reasonable adjustments have been made, to properly perform the tasks intrinsic to their work. {{org_field_name}} must have appropriate processes to consider relevant physical and mental health issues, make reasonable adjustments where required and take necessary and proportionate action where a staff member no longer meets the requirements of Regulation 19.

Other Relevant Legislation

• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974: {{org_field_name}} must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees and provide a working environment that is safe and without risks to health.
• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999: {{org_field_name}} must undertake suitable and sufficient assessments of risks to employees’ health and safety and risks to other people arising from its activities. This includes identifying and managing foreseeable risks arising from work-related stress, workload, fatigue and working arrangements. Risk assessments must be reviewed where there is reason to believe that they are no longer valid or where there has been a significant change.
• Working Time Regulations 1998: Staff must receive the statutory rest breaks, daily rest and weekly rest to which they are entitled, subject to the provisions, exemptions and compensatory-rest arrangements permitted by the Regulations.
• Equality Act 2010: {{org_field_name}} must not unlawfully discriminate against staff because of a protected characteristic and must comply with the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees where the statutory duty applies.
• Health and Care Act 2022: All staff working for the purposes of CQC-regulated activities must receive training on learning disability and autism that is appropriate to their role. This applies across CQC-registered services and is not limited to services specialising in supporting autistic people or people with a learning disability.
• UK General Data Protection Regulation, Data Protection Act 2018 and Data (Use and Access) Act 2025: Personal information concerning staff health and wellbeing must be processed lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely in accordance with applicable data-protection legislation. Health information is special-category personal data and must only be accessed, used, disclosed and retained where there is an appropriate lawful basis and applicable condition for processing.

4. Self-Care and Wellbeing Initiatives

4.1. Encouraging a Culture of Self-Care

{{org_field_name}} recognises that staff well-being is essential for delivering high-quality care. To promote self-care:

• Managers lead by example, encouraging breaks and self-care activities.
• Staff are encouraged to recognise early signs of stress and fatigue.
• Access to occupational health support is provided for both physical and mental health needs.
• Flexible working requests are considered for staff managing long-term health conditions.

4.2. Physical Wellbeing and Health Promotion

To maintain physical well-being, {{org_field_name}} provides:

• Free health check-ups for staff, including blood pressure and general wellness screenings.
• Flu vaccinations and infection control measures, reducing absenteeism.
• Nutritional support, including access to healthy meal options during shifts.
• Guidance on physical activity, such as posture training for manual handling roles.

4.3. Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Support

{{org_field_name}} recognises that work-related stress and poor mental wellbeing can affect both employees and the safety and quality of care provided to people we support.

In accordance with its health and safety responsibilities, {{org_field_name}} will:

• Assess foreseeable risks to employees’ physical and mental health arising from work, including risks associated with excessive workload, staffing pressures, working hours, fatigue, lone working, workplace relationships, bullying, harassment, organisational change and other significant sources of work-related stress.
• Undertake suitable and sufficient work-related stress risk assessments and act on identified risks. Where {{org_field_name}} employs five or more employees, significant findings and groups of employees identified as being particularly at risk will be recorded.
• Review relevant risk assessments where there is reason to believe that they are no longer valid, following a significant change, or where incidents, sickness absence, staff feedback or other information indicate that existing controls may be inadequate.
• Take reasonably practicable steps to remove, reduce or control identified risks and monitor whether the measures introduced are effective.
• Consider individual risk assessments where an employee’s circumstances indicate that individual measures may be necessary.
• Provide staff with an appropriate route for reporting concerns about stress, fatigue, workload, mental health or other factors that could affect their own health or the safety of people receiving care.
• Maintain confidentiality concerning staff health information, subject to lawful and necessary disclosures required to protect the employee, people receiving care or others.

Where available, additional support may include:

• Employee Assistance Programmes or confidential counselling.
• Occupational health advice or referral.
• Wellbeing champions or appropriately trained peer-support arrangements.
• Appropriate opportunities for rest and recovery during working time.
• Adjustments to duties, working arrangements or the working environment where required following an appropriate assessment.

Where an employee is disabled for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, {{org_field_name}} will consider and implement reasonable adjustments where the statutory duty applies.

4.4. Work-Life Balance, Working Time and Managing Fatigue

{{org_field_name}} will organise working arrangements so that staff wellbeing, fatigue and working hours do not create an unacceptable risk to employees or to people receiving care.

{{org_field_name}} will:

• Ensure that staff receive the rest breaks, daily rest and weekly rest to which they are entitled under the Working Time Regulations 1998, subject to any applicable lawful exceptions, workforce or collective agreements and compensatory-rest provisions.
• Ensure that, where an adult worker’s daily working time is more than six hours, the worker receives the rest break required by the Working Time Regulations 1998. Subject to any applicable collective or workforce agreement, this will ordinarily be an uninterrupted period of not less than 20 minutes which the worker may spend away from their workstation.
• Apply the enhanced statutory working-time protections applicable to young workers where any young worker is employed.
• Make appropriate arrangements for compensatory rest where an applicable provision of the Working Time Regulations permits the normal rest requirement to be modified or interrupted.
• Plan staffing and rotas so far as reasonably practicable to minimise unsafe fatigue, excessive workload and foreseeable risks associated with working hours.
• Ensure that staffing arrangements continue to provide sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff to meet people’s needs safely.
• Consider the impact of additional hours, overtime, consecutive shifts and other employment undertaken by a worker where these are known and may affect health, safety or fitness to perform their role.
• Encourage staff to raise concerns promptly where fatigue, workload or working patterns may affect their health, judgement, competence or ability to provide safe care.
• Support staff to take their annual leave entitlement in accordance with applicable legislation and contractual arrangements.
• Consider statutory flexible-working requests and requests for reasonable adjustments in accordance with the applicable legal requirements.

Managers must not discourage staff from taking rest to which they are legally entitled in order to address routine staffing shortages. Staffing shortages or other workforce pressures that may compromise safe care must instead be escalated and managed through appropriate staffing, risk-management and governance procedures.

5. Personal Treatment and Professional Standards

5.1. Personal Grooming and Hygiene in the Workplace

To maintain professionalism and hygiene in a care setting:

• Staff must adhere to the Dress Code Policy, ensuring a clean and professional appearance.
• Personal hygiene must be maintained, including clean uniforms, trimmed nails, and appropriate footwear.
• Perfume and strong scents should be minimised, preventing discomfort for people we support.
• Jewellery and accessories must be minimal, reducing infection risks.

5.2. Use of Personal Treatments in the Workplace

• Medication should not be self-administered in front of people we support, unless medically necessary and documented.
• Staff must avoid discussing personal medical treatments with people we support or their families.
• Alternative therapies (e.g., essential oils, herbal treatments) should not be applied at work, unless approved by management.
• Medical devices (e.g., insulin pumps, hearing aids) must be used appropriately, without interfering with care delivery.

5.3. Accessing Medical Treatment During Working Hours

• Staff should schedule non-urgentmedical appointments outside of working hours.
• If an urgent medical issue arises during work, the line manager must be informed immediately.
• Occupational health referrals can be arranged for work-related health concerns.

6. Staff Training and Responsibilities

6.1. Training, Competence and Staff Wellbeing

{{org_field_name}} will ensure that staff receive the support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal necessary to enable them to carry out the duties they are employed to perform safely and competently.

Training and development will be appropriate to the employee’s role, responsibilities and the needs of people receiving care and will include, where applicable:

• Managing work-related stress and recognising signs that stress, fatigue or poor wellbeing may affect safe working.
• Understanding individual responsibilities for health and safety and for reporting concerns that could affect safe care.
• Infection prevention and control relevant to the employee’s role.
• Any health, safety or wellbeing training identified as necessary through risk assessment.
• Training on learning disability and autism, including how to interact appropriately with autistic people and people with a learning disability, at a level appropriate to the employee’s role.
• Any other statutory, mandatory or role-specific training necessary for the employee to perform their duties safely and competently.

Training on learning disability and autism applies to staff working for the purposes of the regulated activities carried on by {{org_field_name}}, including staff whose role is not specifically concerned with providing learning disability or autism services.

Training, learning and development needs will be:

• Assessed at the start of employment.
• Reviewed at appropriate intervals throughout employment.
• Reviewed following changes in role, people’s needs, legislation, guidance or identified risks.
• Addressed where supervision, appraisal, incidents, complaints, safeguarding concerns or competency assessments identify a need for further training or support.

Completion of required training will be monitored. Where training requirements are not met, appropriate action will be taken promptly.

Where competence is required before a member of staff performs a particular task independently, the staff member must receive appropriate supervision until the required level of competence has been demonstrated.

6.2. Responsibilities of Staff in Maintaining Wellbeing

• Employees must take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of other people who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work.
• Employees must co-operate with {{org_field_name}} in relation to applicable health and safety requirements and measures.
• Staff must promptly report health, fatigue, stress, workload or wellbeing concerns where these may affect their ability to work safely or the safety or quality of care provided to people we support.
• Staff are encouraged to make appropriate use of available wellbeing, occupational health, counselling or other support services where these may assist them. Staff are not required to disclose confidential health information more widely than is necessary, but they must inform an appropriate manager where a health, wellbeing, fatigue or fitness concern may affect their ability to work safely or provide safe care.
• Employees must respect professional boundaries and must seek support or guidance where personal circumstances may adversely affect their work or the care provided to people we support.
• Employees must participate in required supervision, training, competency assessment and other reasonable processes designed to ensure that they remain able to perform their role safely and competently.
• Employees must comply with any agreed workplace restrictions, reasonable adjustments or temporary measures implemented to protect their health and safety or the safety of people receiving care.

6.3. Manager Responsibilities in Supporting Wellbeing

Managers are responsible for supporting staff wellbeing while ensuring that the health, safety and welfare of people receiving care are not compromised.

Managers must:

• Monitor staffing levels, workload, working patterns and other foreseeable factors that may contribute to unsafe fatigue, work-related stress or deterioration in staff wellbeing.
• Escalate staffing shortages, excessive workload or wellbeing concerns where these may affect the safety, quality or continuity of care.
• Ensure that staff are able to take applicable statutory rest breaks and that routine staffing arrangements do not depend upon staff repeatedly foregoing necessary rest.
• Encourage staff to report physical or mental health concerns where these may affect their ability to perform their duties safely.
• Ensure that concerns about a staff member’s ability to perform the intrinsic tasks of their role because of their health are considered appropriately, sensitively and confidentially.
• Seek appropriate occupational health or other professional advice where this is reasonably necessary to understand an employee’s functional capability or identify appropriate workplace measures.
• Consider and implement reasonable adjustments where required by the Equality Act 2010.
• Ensure that a disability, long-term health condition or mental health condition is not, by itself, treated as evidence that a staff member is unfit for employment.
• Where a staff member no longer meets the fitness requirements relevant to their role, ensure that necessary and proportionate action is taken to protect the employee, people receiving care and others, in accordance with Regulation 19 and applicable employment and equality law.
• Ensure that health information is accessed only where necessary and is handled confidentially in accordance with applicable data-protection requirements.
• Ensure that work-related stress risks are identified, assessed and acted upon in accordance with the organisation’s health and safety arrangements.
• Provide staff with appropriate supervision, appraisal, training and professional development and address identified competence or support needs promptly.
• Listen to staff feedback and concerns relating to wellbeing, workload, safety and working conditions and take appropriate action where concerns identify a risk.
• Maintain appropriate records of risk assessments, agreed workplace measures, supervision and other actions where records are required for governance, health and safety or employment purposes.

Managers must distinguish between an employee having a health condition and the employee being unable to perform the intrinsic requirements of their role. Any assessment must consider the employee’s individual circumstances and any reasonable adjustments that can be made.

7. Monitoring and Compliance

7.1. Wellbeing Audits and Feedback

To ensure compliance and effectiveness, {{org_field_name}} will:

• Conduct annual staff well-being surveys to assess workplace satisfaction.
• Monitor absence rates and sickness trends, identifying stress-related concerns.
• Hold one-to-one supervision meetings to discuss individual well-being needs.
• Review staff feedback on well-being initiatives, making improvements where necessary.

7.2. Reporting Concerns About Wellbeing

• Staff who experience physical, emotional, or mental health concerns should report them confidentially to HR.
• Whistleblowing procedures can be used if workplace practices negatively affect staff well-being.
• Anonymous reporting options are available for staff hesitant to raise concerns openly.

8. Related Policies

This policy should be read alongside:

• CH18 – Risk Management and Assessment Policy​.
• CH27 – Staff Supervision, Training, and Development Policy​.
• CH28 – Staff Conduct and Code of Ethics Policy​.
• CH34 – Confidentiality and Data Protection (GDPR) Policy​.
• CH29 – Flexible Working and Work-Life Balance Policy​.

9. Policy Review

This policy will be formally reviewed at least annually and sooner where necessary.

An earlier review will be undertaken where:

• Relevant legislation or regulations change.
• CQC statutory guidance or regulatory requirements relevant to this policy change.
• Applicable health and safety requirements or authoritative guidance change.
• An incident, complaint, safeguarding concern, staff safety concern or regulatory finding identifies a weakness in the policy or its implementation.
• A risk assessment identifies that existing arrangements are inadequate or no longer valid.
• There is a significant change to the service, staffing model, working arrangements or the needs of people receiving care.
• Staff feedback identifies a material concern affecting health, safety, wellbeing or the delivery of safe care.
• New information or learning indicates that existing arrangements should be amended.

The Registered Manager or other person authorised by {{org_field_name}} will ensure that amendments are communicated to relevant staff and that associated procedures, risk assessments, training and working practices are updated where required.

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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.