{{org_field_logo}}

{{org_field_name}}

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

---

Service User Agreements and Termination Policy

1. Purpose

This policy sets out the arrangements used by {{org_field_name}} for providing clear and lawful Service User Agreements and for managing the ending or termination of those agreements. It is intended to ensure that people receiving care and support understand the services to be provided, the applicable fees and charges, their rights and responsibilities, how the agreement may be changed or ended, and the arrangements that will apply if they leave the care home or die.

Service User Agreements and any decision to end an agreement must be fair, transparent, person-centred, non-discriminatory and consistent with the assessed needs, rights, safety, dignity and well-being of the person receiving care.

This policy must be implemented in accordance with all applicable legislation and regulatory requirements, including:

• The Health and Social Care Act 2008.
• The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, as amended, including:
  • Regulation 9 – Person-centred care.
  • Regulation 9A – Visiting and accompanying in care homes, hospitals and hospices.
  • Regulation 10 – Dignity and respect.
  • Regulation 11 – Need for consent.
  • Regulation 12 – Safe care and treatment.
  • Regulation 13 – Safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment.
  • Regulation 16 – Receiving and acting on complaints.
  • Regulation 17 – Good governance.
• The Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009, as amended, including Regulation 19 – Fees and the statutory notification requirements where applicable.
• The Care Act 2014.
• The Mental Capacity Act 2005 and its Code of Practice.
• The Equality Act 2010.
• The Consumer Rights Act 2015.
• The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, where applicable.
• The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, including the provisions relating to unfair commercial practices.
• The UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Nothing in a Service User Agreement, house rule, procedure or other contractual document may remove, restrict or misrepresent a person’s statutory rights.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

• All people we support who enter into a care agreement with our organisation.
• Their families, legal representatives, and advocates involved in their care planning.
• Care home staff responsible for implementing agreements and managing termination processes.
• External agencies, including local authorities, NHS commissioners, and legal representatives, where applicable.

3. Related Policies

• CH07 – Person-Centred Care Policy (Ensuring agreements align with individual needs and preferences).
• CH08 – Dignity and Respect Policy (Upholding the dignity and rights of individuals throughout their stay).
• CH16 – Receiving and Acting on Complaints Policy (Providing a clear dispute resolution process).
• CH17 – Good Governance Policy (Ensuring proper documentation and compliance).
• CH39 – Mental Capacity and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Policy (Ensuring lawful decision-making where individuals lack capacity).

4. Service User Agreements: Establishing Clear Terms

Every person admitted to {{org_field_name}} must receive clear written information explaining the terms on which accommodation, care and support will be provided.

Where the person is responsible for paying all or part of the cost of their care or treatment, {{org_field_name}} must provide the person, or a person lawfully acting on their behalf, with a written statement setting out the applicable terms and conditions, including the amount and method of payment of fees and, where applicable, the form of contract. As far as reasonably practicable, this information must be provided before the service begins.

The person must be given sufficient opportunity to read, understand and consider the agreement before accepting it. Information must be communicated in a form and manner that the person can understand. Reasonable adjustments, accessible information, interpretation, communication aids or advocacy support must be provided where required.

The Service User Agreement must clearly set out, where applicable:

• The parties to the agreement – including the legal identity of the service provider and the person responsible for payment.
• Accommodation and services – including accommodation, personal care, nursing care where provided, meals, activities and other services included within the agreed fee.
• The agreed fee – including the total weekly or other periodic charge for the person’s agreed care and accommodation.
• Additional charges – identifying any services, products or facilities that are not included within the core fee and the amount of the additional charge, or a clear method by which that charge will be calculated.
• Funding arrangements – including, where applicable, private funding, local authority funding, NHS funding and any lawful third-party contribution or top-up arrangement.
• Payment arrangements – including when payment is due, how payment may be made and who is responsible for payment.
• Fee reviews and changes – including the circumstances in which fees may change and the clear and objective method by which any change will be calculated. The agreement must not give {{org_field_name}} an unrestricted or arbitrary right to increase fees. Any proposed change to fees or other contractual terms must be notified clearly and in writing with sufficient notice to allow the person or payer to consider the change and their options.
• Deposits and advance payments, where applicable – including the amount, purpose, circumstances in which deductions may be made and when any balance will be returned.
• Care and support arrangements – including how the person’s assessed needs, preferences, risks and desired outcomes will inform their care plan.
• Rights and responsibilities – including the rights set out in this policy and any reasonable responsibilities or house arrangements that apply.
• Visiting arrangements – which must be consistent with Regulation 9A and must not impose blanket or unreasonable restrictions on visits or visits outside the care home.
• Complaints – explaining how the person or another person may raise a concern or complaint and how complaints will be handled.
• Ending the agreement – including the circumstances in which either party may end the agreement, the applicable notice requirements, arrangements for refunds and any provisions applying during a trial period.
• Death of the resident – including any terms concerning the end of the agreement, removal of personal possessions, any lawful post-death charges and refunds of fees paid in advance.
• Privacy and information governance – explaining how personal information will be processed and protected in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.

A copy of the completed agreement and any subsequent written variation must be provided to the person and, where appropriate, to a person lawfully acting on their behalf.

A person who has capacity to make the relevant decision must be supported to make that decision themselves. Capacity must not be treated as absent merely because a person makes a decision that others regard as unwise.

Where there is reason to doubt the person’s capacity to make a particular decision relating to their care or the agreement, capacity must be considered in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Capacity is decision-specific and time-specific.

A family member, friend or other representative must not be treated as having legal authority to sign an agreement, accept financial liability or make decisions on behalf of an adult solely because of their relationship with that person. Where another person signs or makes a contractual or financial decision on behalf of a person who lacks capacity, {{org_field_name}} must establish and record the legal basis for that person’s authority, for example an applicable registered Lasting Power of Attorney or an order appointing a deputy with the necessary authority.

Decisions about care or treatment for a person who lacks capacity must be made in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005, including the best interests and least restrictive requirements. A best interests decision does not, by itself, give a family member or other person legal authority to assume contractual or financial responsibility.

Where a contract is concluded at a distance or away from {{org_field_name}}’s business premises and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 apply, the person must be given the statutory pre-contract information and information about their right to cancel. Where the statutory cancellation right applies to the service contract, the person will normally have 14 days from the date the contract is entered into in which to cancel. If the person requests that services begin during that cancellation period, the requirements of those Regulations must be followed before services commence.

Any change to the Service User Agreement must be fair, transparent and communicated to the person or person lawfully acting on their behalf. Changes must not be imposed in a manner that conflicts with consumer law, the person’s statutory rights or any applicable local authority or NHS placement agreement.

5. Service User Rights and Responsibilities

Every person living at {{org_field_name}} has the right to:

• Be treated with dignity, respect and compassion.
• Receive care and support that is appropriate, person-centred and based on their assessed needs and preferences.
• Have their privacy, confidentiality, autonomy and independence respected.
• Be involved, as far as they wish and are able, in decisions about their care, treatment, support and living arrangements.
• Give or withhold consent to care and treatment where they have capacity to make the relevant decision.
• Receive support to make their own decisions and have the Mental Capacity Act 2005 followed where there is reason to doubt their capacity in relation to a particular decision.
• Be protected from discrimination, harassment and victimisation and have reasonable adjustments made where required by law.
• Receive visits from people they wish to see unless exceptional circumstances justify a lawful, necessary and proportionate restriction.
• Take visits outside the care home and not be discouraged from doing so, subject to any lawful and individually assessed arrangements required for their safety or the safety of others.
• Have any visiting restriction individually assessed, kept to the minimum necessary, communicated clearly and reviewed regularly.
• Raise concerns or complaints verbally or in writing without fear of retaliation, discrimination, disadvantage, restriction of visits or termination of their placement because they have complained.
• Receive information about their fees, services, terms and conditions and any proposed changes in a clear and understandable form.
• Have reasonable adjustments or communication support to enable them to understand information and express their wishes.
• Seek support from a family member, advocate, attorney, deputy or other representative, subject to the person’s wishes, capacity and the representative’s lawful authority.
• Challenge a decision to terminate the agreement and use the complaints procedure without that challenge removing any other legal or contractual rights.

People living at {{org_field_name}} are expected, so far as they are able, to:

• Treat staff, other residents and visitors with reasonable respect.
• Provide information relevant to their care and support where they are able to do so.
• Tell the service, where practicable, about significant changes that may affect their care or agreed arrangements.
• Comply with reasonable and lawful arrangements intended to protect the health, safety and rights of people living, working or visiting in the care home.
• Meet any lawful financial obligations for which they are responsible under the Service User Agreement.

No responsibility, house rule or other requirement imposed on a resident may override their statutory rights or be applied in a discriminatory, unfair or disproportionate manner.

6. Termination of Agreement: Grounds and Procedures

A Service User Agreement may only be ended in accordance with the agreement, applicable legislation, consumer law, CQC requirements and the person’s legal rights.

Termination must never be used as retaliation because a person, their relative, representative or advocate has raised a concern, made a complaint, contacted a regulator, raised a safeguarding concern or exercised another legal right.

6.1 Termination by the Person We Support or a Person Lawfully Acting on Their Behalf

A person who has capacity to make the relevant decision may choose to leave {{org_field_name}} and end their agreement.

Where another person seeks to terminate the agreement on behalf of a person who lacks capacity, {{org_field_name}} must establish whether that person has the necessary legal authority and must ensure that any relevant Mental Capacity Act 2005 requirements are followed.

The applicable notice period and method of giving notice must be clearly stated in the Service User Agreement.

The notice period required from a resident must not be longer than the notice period that {{org_field_name}} is ordinarily required to give when terminating the agreement.

The process for giving notice must not place unreasonable barriers in the way of a person seeking to leave. Reasonable adjustments must be made where a person’s disability or communication needs affect their ability to give notice in the usual form.

Following receipt of notice:

• The Registered Manager or delegated competent person must discuss the proposed departure with the person and, with their agreement or where otherwise lawful, relevant representatives and professionals.
• Where ongoing care or support will be required, appropriate discharge or transfer planning must take place to reduce foreseeable risks.
• Where the placement is commissioned by a local authority, NHS body or other commissioner, the relevant commissioner must be informed in accordance with the placement arrangements.
• Fees must not be charged beyond the applicable contractual notice period unless there is another lawful basis for the charge.
• Any fees or other sums paid in advance for services that will not be supplied must be refunded in accordance with the agreement and consumer law.
• Where the person leaves before the end of the notice period and their room is reallocated to another resident during that period, {{org_field_name}} must not recover payment twice for the same room and period. Any amount due to the outgoing resident or payer must be calculated and refunded accordingly.

Nothing in this subsection removes any statutory right to cancel a distance or off-premises contract where the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 apply.

6.2 Termination by {{org_field_name}}

{{org_field_name}} may terminate a Service User Agreement only for a valid reason that is clearly permitted by the agreement and is fair and lawful.

Valid reasons may include:

• Significant and persistent non-payment of fees for which the resident or other contracting party is lawfully responsible, after reasonable steps have been taken to identify the reason for non-payment and provide a reasonable opportunity to resolve significant arrears.
• A serious or persistent breach of a material term of the agreement that results in a substantial risk or serious adverse effect and that has not been resolved after reasonable steps have been taken.
• A significant change in the person’s care needs which means that {{org_field_name}} can no longer safely and lawfully meet those needs, after appropriate reassessment, consultation, consideration of reasonable adjustments and consideration of whether the risks can be safely managed.
• Circumstances genuinely beyond the control of {{org_field_name}} that make continued provision of the service impossible or unlawful, including where the service can no longer lawfully provide the relevant regulated activity.

A person’s age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, or another protected characteristic must not be used unlawfully as a reason to end the agreement.

Where behaviour presents risks to the person or others, {{org_field_name}} must not terminate an agreement solely on the basis of the behaviour without considering its cause, the person’s assessed needs, any disability or health condition, appropriate professional advice, risk management measures and any reasonable adjustments required under the Equality Act 2010.

Before issuing a notice of termination, {{org_field_name}} must:

• Carry out and record an appropriate review of the person’s needs and relevant risks.
• Identify the evidence supporting the proposed reason for termination.
• Consider whether further support, changes to care, risk management measures or reasonable adjustments could enable the placement to continue safely.
• Consult the person in a manner they can understand.
• Involve a person lawfully acting on their behalf where required.
• With the person’s consent or where otherwise lawful, involve family, advocates and relevant health or social care professionals where this is relevant to the decision.
• Involve the local authority, NHS body or other commissioner where the placement is commissioned or funded by that organisation.
• Ensure that a sufficiently senior person reviews the proposed decision before termination is confirmed.
• Provide the person, and where applicable the person lawfully acting on their behalf, with clear reasons for the decision.
• Explain how the decision may be challenged and how a complaint may be made.
• Plan for a safe and orderly transfer to suitable alternative care where ongoing care or support is required.

Except where a shorter period is lawful and genuinely necessary because of exceptional circumstances, {{org_field_name}} will give at least 28 days’ written notice of termination.

Where the agreement ends through no fault of the person, any fees, deposits or other sums paid in advance for services that will not be provided must be refunded on a pro-rata basis in accordance with applicable contractual and consumer-law requirements.

Where the placement is arranged or funded by a local authority, NHS body or another commissioner, {{org_field_name}} must also comply with the relevant placement contract and must not impose contractual requirements on the resident that conflict with those arrangements.

6.3 Urgent Transfer or Exceptional Termination

There may be exceptional circumstances in which immediate action is required to protect the health, safety or welfare of the person or other people. Examples may include a sudden and serious deterioration in the person’s condition that cannot safely be managed by the service or an immediate and serious risk that cannot be controlled through proportionate measures.

An urgent clinical transfer, safeguarding intervention, hospital admission or other emergency move must not automatically be treated as an immediate contractual termination.

Where urgent action is required, {{org_field_name}} must:

• Take immediate action necessary to protect life, health and safety.
• Contact emergency services where required.
• Follow safeguarding procedures where abuse or neglect is suspected or alleged.
• Seek relevant health or social care professional advice.
• Notify the relevant local authority, NHS body or commissioner where required.
• Involve the person and any person lawfully acting on their behalf as far as the circumstances permit.
• Consider the person’s mental capacity and, where applicable, follow the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Take reasonable steps to secure safe and suitable alternative care where the person cannot return to the service.
• Record the circumstances, risks, decisions, professional advice, actions and reasons in full.

Any subsequent termination of the Service User Agreement must still be lawful, fair and consistent with the person’s contractual and statutory rights. Emergency circumstances must not be used merely to avoid the normal notice, consultation or review requirements.

CQC must not be notified solely because a Service User Agreement has been terminated. The Registered Manager must ensure that CQC is notified without delay where the circumstances giving rise to the transfer or termination independently meet a statutory notification requirement under the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009, including where applicable a notifiable death, serious injury, abuse or allegation of abuse, police involvement or an event affecting the provider’s ability to continue the regulated activity safely.

6.4 Death of a Resident, End of Agreement and Post-Death Charges

The Service User Agreement must state clearly what will happen to the agreement, fees and the resident’s possessions following their death.

Following a resident’s death:

• The resident’s representative or the person dealing with the resident’s estate must be given clear information about the applicable contractual arrangements as soon as reasonably practicable.
• Any period during which residential fees continue following death must be clearly stated in the agreement, short, reasonable and fair.
• {{org_field_name}} must not continue charging residential fees after the room has been reoccupied by another resident.
• {{org_field_name}} must not continue charging residential fees after the resident’s possessions have been removed and the room has effectively been returned to the service, except where a separate lawful and fair charge has been expressly agreed.
• Any advance payment relating to a period for which no charge is due must be refunded promptly to the person legally entitled to receive it.
• A third party must not be required to replace local authority or NHS funding that has lawfully ceased following the resident’s death unless there is a separate lawful basis for that person’s liability.
• The agreement must explain the reasonable period allowed for possessions to be removed and what will happen if possessions remain after that period.
• Any charge for removal or storage of possessions must be transparent, reasonable and reflect the costs legitimately incurred.
• Personal possessions must not be disposed of or sold without reasonable notice to the appropriate representative and a lawful process being followed.
• Any money received from the sale of a resident’s possessions, after deduction of lawful and reasonable expenses, must be returned to the person legally entitled to receive it within a reasonable period.

All actions following a resident’s death must be handled sensitively, respectfully and in accordance with applicable contractual, consumer, property, data protection and succession requirements.

7. Review, Challenge and Complaints Process

A person, or somebody supporting or lawfully representing them, may challenge a proposed termination decision.

A request for review may be made verbally or in writing. {{org_field_name}} must make reasonable adjustments where necessary to ensure that the process is accessible.

A proposed provider-initiated termination must be reviewed by a senior person who was not solely responsible for making the original decision wherever reasonably practicable.

The person challenging the decision must:

• Be given an opportunity to explain why they disagree with the decision.
• Be permitted to provide relevant information or evidence.
• Be supported to communicate their views where required.
• Be able to involve an advocate, family member or representative in accordance with their wishes and applicable law.
• Be told the outcome of the review and the reasons for it in a form they can understand.

The review must be completed promptly and, wherever reasonably practicable, before the termination notice expires so that the process provides a meaningful opportunity to challenge the decision.

The internal review process does not replace or restrict the person’s right to make a complaint.

Any complaint relating to the agreement, fees, proposed termination, discharge or conduct of the service must be handled in accordance with CH16 – Receiving and Acting on Complaints Policy and Regulation 16 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

Complaints may be made verbally or in writing and must be received, recorded, investigated and responded to through an accessible complaints process. No person may be subjected to discrimination, retaliation, disadvantage, restriction of visits or termination because they have made or supported a complaint.

Where the care is arranged or funded by a local authority, the person may also have the right to complain to the commissioning local authority.

Where the person remains dissatisfied after the relevant complaints process has been completed, they must be given information about their right to approach the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, where applicable.

People may also provide information or feedback about the quality or safety of care to the Care Quality Commission. CQC does not generally investigate or determine individual adult social care complaints and must not be described as an appeal body for a decision to terminate a Service User Agreement.

Nothing in this section prevents a person from contacting the local authority safeguarding team where there is a safeguarding concern, or the police or emergency services where a crime, immediate danger or emergency is suspected.

8. Record Keeping and Confidentiality

{{org_field_name}} must maintain accurate, complete, contemporaneous and secure records relating to Service User Agreements and any decision to change or terminate an agreement.

Records must include, where applicable:

• The Service User Agreement and all versions or variations of it.
• Evidence that required information about fees, charges, terms and conditions was provided.
• The date on which contractual information was provided and accepted.
• Records of accessible information, interpretation, advocacy or reasonable adjustments provided to support the person’s understanding.
• Relevant assessments of mental capacity and best interests decisions.
• Evidence of the legal authority of any person signing, accepting terms or making decisions on another person’s behalf.
• Records of assessments and reviews relevant to a proposed termination.
• Risk assessments.
• Records of reasonable adjustments and alternative measures considered.
• Professional advice received.
• Records of discussions and consultation with the person.
• Records of involvement of relatives, advocates, attorneys, deputies, commissioners or professionals where appropriate and lawful.
• Records relating to unpaid fees, correspondence, repayment arrangements and other steps taken before termination for significant arrears.
• Written notices of termination and evidence of when and how they were provided.
• Reasons and evidence supporting a termination decision.
• Records of any senior management review or challenge to the decision.
• Complaints and responses relating to the agreement or termination.
• Discharge, transfer and alternative-care arrangements.
• Records of refunds, deposits, advance payments and final accounts.
• Records relating to possessions and post-death arrangements where applicable.
• Safeguarding referrals or other external reports where applicable.
• Copies or evidence of any statutory notification submitted to CQC or another authority.

Records must be maintained securely and access must be limited to people who have a legitimate reason to access them.

Personal information must be processed in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018, CH34 – Confidentiality and Data Protection Policy and the organisation’s records retention requirements.

Information must only be retained for as long as required by applicable legal, regulatory, contractual and records-retention requirements and must be disposed of securely when retention is no longer required.

9. Staff Training and Responsibilities

• Staff involved in care agreements and terminations must receive regular training in:
  • Person-centred care planning and legal frameworks.
  • Communication techniques to support individuals in understanding agreements.
  • Managing disputes and ensuring fair termination processes.
• The Registered Manager is responsible for ensuring compliance with this policy.

10. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed annually or sooner if legislative, regulatory, or operational changes occur.

---

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.