DC115-Occupational Health and Employee Wellbeing Policy

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

Occupational Health and Employee Wellbeing Policy

1. Introduction and Purpose

Our domiciliary care company is committed to promoting and maintaining the highest standards of health and wellbeing for all employees. We recognise that the wellbeing of our workforce directly impacts the quality of care provided to service users. This Occupational Health and Employee Wellbeing Policy outlines our approach to supporting employees’ physical, mental, and emotional health, ensuring a safe and supportive working environment.

This policy supports compliance with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the Equality Act 2010, the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018, the Health and Social Care Act 2008, the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, and relevant Care Quality Commission requirements and guidance for registered providers in England. This includes, where relevant to this policy, Regulation 12 Safe Care and Treatment, Regulation 17 Good Governance, Regulation 18 Staffing, Regulation 19 Fit and Proper Persons Employed, Regulation 20 Duty of Candour, and the CQC assessment framework key questions of safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. Our goal is to create a workplace culture that prioritises employee wellbeing, reduces health risks, and promotes resilience.

2. Scope of the Policy

This policy applies to all employees, including full-time, part-time, agency, and temporary staff. It covers all aspects of occupational health and wellbeing, including physical health, mental health, stress management, workplace safety, and access to support services.

For the purpose of this policy, “staff” includes employees, workers, bank staff, agency staff, volunteers, contractors, students, apprentices, managers and any other person engaged by or working on behalf of the service. The policy applies in the office, in service users’ homes, while travelling between visits, while lone working, during training, supervision and meetings, and when using digital systems or work-related communication channels.

3. Promoting Employee Wellbeing

We promote employee wellbeing through a holistic approach that encompasses physical, mental, and emotional health:

Physical Wellbeing: We encourage healthy lifestyle choices, including regular exercise, balanced nutrition, and access to occupational health services. Employees are provided with ergonomic equipment, regular health checks, and guidance on managing work-related physical strain.
Mental Wellbeing: Mental health is prioritised through awareness campaigns, access to counselling services, and mental health first aiders. We promote an open culture where employees feel comfortable discussing mental health concerns without stigma.
Work-Life Balance: Flexible working arrangements, such as adjusted schedules and remote working where possible, support employees in balancing work and personal commitments. Regular breaks and annual leave are encouraged to prevent burnout.
Fatigue and Workload Management: The service will monitor workloads, travel time, visit scheduling, missed or late calls, rota changes, overtime, rest breaks and staff feedback to identify risks of fatigue, stress or unsafe working. Managers must take reasonable steps to ensure that staff are not routinely placed under excessive pressure that could affect their health, wellbeing, judgement, competence or the safety of people receiving care.
Inclusive Wellbeing Support: The service will consider the individual needs of staff, including disability, pregnancy, maternity, menopause, neurodiversity, mental health, cultural needs and other protected characteristics. Reasonable adjustments will be considered and implemented where required to support staff to work safely and effectively.
Psychological Safety: Staff will be encouraged to speak openly about workload, stress, bullying, harassment, discrimination, safety concerns and wellbeing without fear of blame or detriment. Managers will respond promptly, fairly and proportionately to concerns raised.

4. Occupational Health Services

To support employee health, we provide access to occupational health services, including:

Pre-Employment and Role-Related Health Assessment: Where required for the role, health information will be requested only when it is lawful, necessary and proportionate. Any occupational health assessment will focus on whether the person can safely perform the intrinsic requirements of the role, whether reasonable adjustments are required, and whether any restrictions or support measures are needed. Health information will be handled confidentially and will not be used to unlawfully discriminate against applicants or staff.
Health Surveillance: Regular health checks are provided for employees exposed to potential workplace hazards, such as manual handling or exposure to infectious diseases.
Return-to-Work Support: Employees returning after illness or injury receive tailored support, including phased returns and workplace adjustments.
Confidential Advice: Employees can access confidential occupational health advice regarding work-related health concerns.
Immunisation and Infection Prevention Advice: Staff will be given appropriate information about infection prevention and control, including vaccinations or immunity requirements where relevant to their role, the needs of people using the service and current public health guidance. The service will maintain appropriate records of training, advice and risk assessments.
Occupational Health Referrals: A referral to occupational health may be considered where a staff member has a health condition affecting work, repeated or long-term sickness absence, work-related injury, stress, pregnancy-related risk, disability-related support needs, or where there are concerns about safe performance of duties. Referrals will be discussed with the staff member and handled sensitively.
Manager Responsibilities: Managers must act on occupational health advice where reasonably practicable, including considering adjustments, phased returns, amended duties, equipment, supervision, training, changes to working arrangements or further risk assessment.

5. Managing Workplace Risks

We maintain a safe working environment by identifying and managing workplace risks:

Risk Assessments: The service will complete and review risk assessments for all significant risks affecting staff health, safety and wellbeing. This includes, where relevant, lone working, moving and handling, infection prevention and control, exposure to hazardous substances, violence and aggression, falls or environmental risks in people’s homes, driving and travel between visits, use of equipment, pregnancy and new or expectant mothers, work-related stress, fatigue, staffing levels, and risks linked to specific service users or care tasks. Risk assessments will identify control measures, responsible persons and review dates.
Workplace Adjustments: Reasonable adjustments are made to accommodate employees with disabilities or health conditions, ensuring they can perform their duties safely and comfortably.
Incident Reporting: Employees are encouraged to report health and safety concerns or workplace incidents promptly. All reports are investigated, and corrective actions are implemented.
Lone Working and Community-Based Risks: Because domiciliary care staff often work alone in people’s homes, the service will maintain lone working procedures, including visit schedules, escalation arrangements, emergency contact arrangements, reporting of environmental hazards and procedures for staff to leave or seek assistance if they feel unsafe.
Violence, Aggression, Harassment and Discrimination: The service will not tolerate abuse, harassment, discrimination, threats or violence towards staff. Incidents will be recorded, investigated and risk assessed. Where required, care plans, visit arrangements, staffing arrangements or service agreements will be reviewed to protect staff and people using the service.
Manual Handling and Equipment: Staff must not undertake moving and handling tasks unless they have received appropriate training and the task has been risk assessed. Where equipment is required, staff must follow the care plan, equipment guidance and moving and handling assessment. Concerns about unsafe equipment, unsuitable environments or unsafe techniques must be reported immediately.
Infection Prevention and Control: Staff must follow the provider’s infection prevention and control procedures, including hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment, safe disposal of waste, reporting of infectious symptoms or exposure risks, and any additional precautions required for specific people or outbreaks.

6. Supporting Mental Health and Wellbeing

We are committed to fostering a supportive environment that promotes mental wellbeing:

Mental Health Awareness: Regular training and workshops increase awareness of mental health issues and reduce stigma.
Stress Management: Stress risk assessments identify workplace stressors, and action plans are developed to mitigate risks.
Work-Related Stress Risk Assessment: The service recognises that employers have a legal duty to protect workers from work-related stress by assessing the risk and acting on it. Managers will assess work-related stress in the same way as other health and safety risks, including consideration of demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. Findings and actions will be recorded where required, monitored and reviewed.
Sources of Stress in Domiciliary Care: Managers will consider stressors specific to domiciliary care, including lone working, travel time, short-notice rota changes, end-of-life care, safeguarding concerns, distressed service users or relatives, missed or late visits, workload, emotional demands, insufficient training, poor communication, bullying, harassment and exposure to traumatic events.
Support Following Distressing Events: Staff involved in serious incidents, safeguarding concerns, death of a service user, aggressive incidents, complaints, medication errors, road traffic incidents or other distressing events will be offered timely debriefing, supervision and signposting to appropriate support.

7. Staff Support, Supervision, Appraisal and Training

The service will ensure that staff receive appropriate induction, support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal to enable them to carry out their duties safely and effectively. Training and competency requirements will be identified at the start of employment and reviewed at appropriate intervals, including through supervision, appraisal, observation of practice, competency checks, incident review, complaints, safeguarding concerns and changes in service user needs.

Staff must not be asked to carry out tasks unless they have the necessary training, competence, confidence and support to do so safely. Where a staff member identifies that they are not competent or confident to complete a task, they must inform their line manager immediately. Managers must take appropriate action, which may include further training, supervision, competency assessment, amended duties or changes to the care plan.

The service will maintain records of induction, mandatory training, refresher training, supervision, appraisal, competency checks and any additional support provided. These records will be reviewed as part of governance and quality assurance arrangements.

8. Learning Disability and Autism Training

The service will ensure that each person working for the purpose of the regulated activities receives learning disability and autism training appropriate to their role. The training will be planned, delivered, recorded and reviewed in line with the statutory requirement introduced through the Health and Care Act 2022 and the Oliver McGowan Code of Practice on statutory learning disability and autism training.

The level and content of training will reflect the staff member’s role, responsibilities and contact with people who have a learning disability or autistic people. The service will keep evidence of training completion, role-based training decisions, refresher requirements and any evaluation of impact on practice.

Where training identifies changes needed in communication, care planning, reasonable adjustments, risk assessment or staff practice, managers will ensure that learning is embedded through supervision, team meetings, competency checks and care plan reviews.

9. Absence Management and Return to Work

Effective absence management ensures employees receive appropriate support during periods of ill health:

Sickness Reporting: Employees must report absences promptly, following company procedures.
Occupational Health Referrals: Long-term or recurrent absences may result in a referral to occupational health for assessment and support.
Return-to-Work Interviews: Following any period of sickness, return-to-work interviews identify ongoing support needs and workplace adjustments.
Fit Notes and Medical Advice: Where a fit note or medical advice identifies that a staff member may be fit for work with adjustments, the manager will consider the advice and discuss possible adjustments with the staff member. Adjustments may include amended duties, reduced hours, phased return, altered start or finish times, temporary redeployment, additional supervision, equipment or changes to visit allocation.
Disability-Related Absence: Disability-related absence will be managed sensitively and in line with the Equality Act 2010. The service will consider reasonable adjustments and will avoid treating disability-related absence in a way that results in unlawful discrimination.
Pregnancy-Related Absence and Risk: Pregnancy-related sickness absence and risks to new or expectant mothers will be managed in accordance with legal requirements and the provider’s health and safety duties. A pregnancy risk assessment will be completed and reviewed as required.
Long-Term or Recurrent Absence: Where absence is long-term or recurrent, the service will seek to understand the reasons, consider occupational health advice where appropriate, assess whether reasonable adjustments are required, and balance support for the staff member with the need to provide safe, reliable care.

10. Promoting a Positive Workplace Culture

We strive to create a positive workplace culture where employees feel valued and supported:

Open Communication: Regular staff meetings, feedback channels, and an open-door policy encourage employees to voice concerns.
Recognition and Rewards: Employee achievements are recognised through awards, incentives, and positive feedback.
Training and Development: Continuous professional development ensures employees feel confident and competent in their roles.
Raising Concerns: Staff are encouraged to raise concerns about unsafe practice, staffing pressures, poor conduct, bullying, harassment, discrimination, health and safety, safeguarding, infection control, medication safety, missed or late calls, or anything else that may affect their wellbeing or the safety of people using the service. Concerns may be raised through line management, supervision, staff meetings, incident reporting, whistleblowing procedures or other agreed reporting routes.
Learning Culture: The service will promote a just, open and learning culture. Concerns, incidents, complaints and feedback will be used to improve systems and practice rather than to create a blame culture. Deliberate misconduct, dishonesty, abuse or wilful neglect will be managed through the appropriate disciplinary, safeguarding or regulatory procedures.

11. Health and Wellbeing Resources

Employees have access to a range of health and wellbeing resources, including:

Health promotion campaigns, such as flu vaccinations and healthy lifestyle initiatives.
Online resources, including mental health toolkits and wellbeing guides.
Support groups and peer networks for sharing experiences and advice.
Signposting to external support, including GP services, NHS 111 where appropriate, mental health crisis support, occupational health, employee assistance support where available, trade union or staff representative support, domestic abuse support services, bereavement support and financial wellbeing resources.
Access to wellbeing information will be communicated during induction and periodically through supervision, staff meetings, newsletters, staff portals or other internal communication systems.

12. Confidentiality and Data Protection

Health and occupational health information is confidential and will be processed in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018, confidentiality requirements and the provider’s data protection policies. Health information will be treated as special category personal data and will only be collected, used, shared and retained where there is a lawful basis and where it is necessary and proportionate.

Occupational health reports shared with the service will normally focus on fitness for work, functional impact, recommended adjustments, restrictions, likely timescales and support needs. Detailed clinical information will not be requested or shared unless it is necessary, lawful and appropriate.

Access to health-related records will be restricted to authorised persons who need the information for legitimate management, health and safety, safeguarding, legal, employment or regulatory purposes. Records will be stored securely, retained only for as long as necessary, and disposed of securely in line with the provider’s retention schedule.

Staff have rights in relation to their personal data, including rights of access, rectification and other rights under data protection law. Any data breach involving health information must be reported and managed in accordance with the provider’s data protection breach procedure.

13. Monitoring, Review, and Continuous Improvement

To ensure the effectiveness of this policy, we:

Conduct regular employee wellbeing surveys to identify areas for improvement.
Monitor sickness absence trends and workplace incidents.
Review the policy annually and update it based on feedback, legislative changes, and best practices.
Monitor training compliance, supervision and appraisal completion, occupational health referrals, stress-related absence, staff turnover, exit interview themes, accidents, incidents, near misses, RIDDOR-reportable events where applicable, safeguarding concerns involving staff practice, complaints, missed or late calls, lone working incidents, violence or aggression towards staff, and feedback from staff surveys or meetings.
Use findings from audits, incidents, complaints, staff feedback, supervision, appraisal, occupational health advice and CQC guidance to identify trends, implement improvement actions and check whether those actions have been effective.
Review this policy sooner than annually if there are significant legislative changes, changes in CQC guidance, serious incidents, repeated staff wellbeing concerns, enforcement action, organisational change or evidence that the policy is not effective.

14. Conclusion

Our domiciliary care company is committed to creating a healthy, safe, and supportive workplace. By promoting employee wellbeing, providing access to occupational health services, and fostering a positive workplace culture, we ensure that our staff can thrive both professionally and personally. This commitment enhances employee satisfaction, reduces absenteeism, and ultimately improves the quality of care provided to service users.

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}}
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