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{{org_field_name}}

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

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Team Building Events Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to set out how {{org_field_name}} will plan, approve, deliver and review team building events in a way that supports staff wellbeing, inclusion, communication, learning and morale without compromising the safe, effective and person-centred delivery of domiciliary care services.

Team building activities are intended to promote positive working relationships, reflective practice, staff engagement and retention. In a regulated care setting, all such events must be organised so that:

• the safety, dignity, continuity and quality of care provided to people using the service are not adversely affected;
• staffing levels, skill mix, on-call arrangements and service responsiveness remain safe and effective at all times;
• risks to staff, people using services and others are assessed and managed;
• equality, inclusion, safeguarding, confidentiality and professional standards are maintained; and
• learning, feedback and any concerns arising from events are recorded and acted upon through the organisation’s governance systems.

This policy should be read alongside the organisation’s policies on health and safety, safeguarding, equality and diversity, dignity at work, disciplinary procedures, grievance, whistleblowing, alcohol and substances, data protection, incident reporting and business continuity.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

• all employees of {{org_field_name}}, including care workers, senior care workers, coordinators, office staff, managers and directors;
• bank staff, agency workers, apprentices, students, volunteers and contractors where they are participating in an event organised, funded or endorsed by the organisation;
• external trainers, facilitators, venues and activity providers engaged by the organisation for team building purposes.

This policy covers:

• face-to-face, virtual and hybrid team building events;
• events held on organisation premises, in the community, at third-party venues, or as part of away days;
• events held during working hours or outside normal working hours where they are organised, sponsored or promoted by the organisation;
• travel to and from events where arranged, funded or recommended by the organisation;
• the approval, planning, risk assessment, staffing impact, conduct, safeguarding, accessibility, review and record-keeping relating to such events.

This policy does not replace the organisation’s legal and regulatory obligations under health and safety, safeguarding, employment, equality or CQC requirements; it operates alongside them.

3. Legal and Regulatory Framework

This policy is informed by and should be implemented in line with the following legislation, regulations and guidance, as amended from time to time:

• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and related health and safety legislation, including the employer’s duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of employees and others affected by its activities.
• Equality Act 2010, including the duty not to discriminate, harass or victimise staff or others and the duty to make reasonable adjustments where required.
• Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR, in relation to the lawful, fair and secure processing of personal data, images, emergency contact information and any special category data relevant to event planning.
• Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, in particular:
  • Regulation 12: Safe care and treatment;
  • Regulation 13: Safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment;
  • Regulation 17: Good governance;
  • Regulation 18: Staffing;
  • Regulation 19: Fit and proper persons employed;
  • Regulation 20: Duty of candour, where an event-related incident affects a person using the service.
• CQC’s current assessment framework, including the 5 key questions (safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led) and the quality statement on workforce wellbeing and enablement.

For the avoidance of doubt, team building events are not a substitute for mandatory induction, training, supervision or appraisal arrangements. However, when properly managed, they may support staff engagement, teamwork, communication, wellbeing and learning as part of the provider’s wider governance and workforce arrangements.

4. Types of Team Building Events

{{org_field_name}} may support a range of team building activities where these are appropriate to the service, proportionate in cost, inclusive, and compatible with safe care delivery. These may include:

• reflective practice sessions and facilitated team discussions;
• workshops, learning events and skills development activities;
• wellbeing sessions and mental health awareness activities;
• problem-solving or communication exercises;
• recognition events, staff appreciation activities and social gatherings;
• community participation or volunteering activities aligned to the organisation’s values;
• virtual events designed to include staff who cannot attend in person.

All proposed activities must be suitable for a health and social care workforce and must be capable of being delivered safely. Activities that present avoidable risk, are inconsistent with professional standards, or are likely to exclude, embarrass or disadvantage staff or affect service delivery will not be approved.

5. Planning and Organising Events

All team building events must be planned and authorised in advance by the Registered Manager or an authorised senior manager.

When planning an event, the organiser must ensure that:

5.1 Service continuity and safe staffing

• the event does not compromise the delivery of scheduled care, visits, medication support, on-call arrangements, emergency cover or responsiveness to people using the service;
• adequate staffing numbers, competence and skill mix remain in place at all times;
• participation is arranged fairly and, where necessary, staggered across teams or dates to maintain safe operations.

5.2 Risk assessment

• a proportionate written risk assessment is completed before the event;
• the assessment considers the venue, activity, manual handling risks, slips/trips/falls, first aid arrangements, lone working issues, transport, weather, food safety, alcohol, fire safety, accessibility, fatigue, behaviour risks and emergency arrangements;
• control measures are recorded and communicated to attendees.

5.3 Suitability of venue and provider

• the venue is accessible, safe and appropriate for the proposed activity;
• any external provider is reputable, appropriately insured and competent to deliver the activity;
• relevant licences, insurance and health and safety information are obtained where appropriate.

5.4 Inclusion and accessibility

• staff are consulted where appropriate on event format and timing;
• reasonable adjustments are considered and made for disability, pregnancy, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, language needs, neurodiversity, health conditions and other individual needs;
• no member of staff is disadvantaged because they cannot attend or choose not to attend.

5.5 Confidentiality and professional boundaries

• no confidential information relating to people using the service, staff or the organisation is shared inappropriately during or after events;
• photography, filming and social media use are controlled and consent-based;
• professional boundaries are maintained throughout.

5.6 Safeguarding and incident management

• any safeguarding concern, discriminatory behaviour, harassment, bullying, intoxication-related risk, accident, near miss or other incident arising from the event is managed and reported in line with the organisation’s existing procedures.

5.7 Risk Assessment, Health and Safety, and Emergency Arrangements

Before any event takes place, the organiser must complete a proportionate written risk assessment and obtain management approval.

The risk assessment must consider, where relevant:

• venue safety and accessibility;
• slips, trips and falls;
• moving and handling risks;
• transport and parking arrangements;
• lone working and travelling after dark;
• first aid arrangements and emergency contacts;
• fire and evacuation arrangements;
• food allergies and dietary needs;
• alcohol-related risks;
• weather conditions for outdoor events;
• personal security and behaviour risks;
• the impact on service delivery and staffing cover.

Any attendee must be given appropriate safety information before the event. Where an event presents risks that cannot be adequately controlled, it must be adapted, postponed or cancelled.

6. Budgeting and Funding Considerations

The organisation may allocate a reasonable budget for team building activities where these support staff wellbeing, engagement, learning, retention or service improvement.

All expenditure must:

• be approved in line with the organisation’s financial authorisation arrangements;
• represent value for money and be proportionate to the organisation’s resources and operational priorities;
• be recorded transparently;
• avoid any conflict of interest or appearance of favouritism;
• not compromise expenditure required for safe service delivery, staffing, training, equipment or other regulatory responsibilities.

Staff will not normally be required to pay to attend an official event organised by the organisation. Where optional additional personal expenditure is possible, this must be clearly communicated in advance and attendance must remain genuinely voluntary.

7. Inclusivity and Accessibility

{{org_field_name}} is committed to ensuring that team building activities are inclusive, respectful and accessible.

In planning and delivering events, the organisation will:

• treat all staff with dignity and respect;
• avoid arrangements that could amount to discrimination, harassment, victimisation or exclusion;
• consider and, where required, implement reasonable adjustments;
• take account of disability, pregnancy, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership, and any other relevant individual circumstances;
• offer alternative ways of participating where attendance at a particular event is not suitable or possible;
• ensure that choosing not to attend a voluntary event does not result in any detriment in respect of working relationships, progression, allocation of shifts, training opportunities or appraisal outcomes.

8. Expected Conduct and Participation Guidelines

Attendance at team building events is voluntary unless the event forms part of a mandatory work meeting, training requirement, supervision process or other contractual duty, in which case this will be made clear in advance.

All attendees are expected to:

• behave professionally and respectfully;
• maintain appropriate boundaries with colleagues, managers, third parties and, where relevant, family members or representatives of people using services;
• comply with the organisation’s policies on dignity at work, equality and diversity, safeguarding, confidentiality, data protection, social media, alcohol and substances, and disciplinary standards;
• avoid behaviour that is unsafe, intimidating, discriminatory, sexually inappropriate, bullying, abusive or otherwise inconsistent with the organisation’s values.

Where alcohol is permitted at an event:

• attendance must remain optional;
• non-alcoholic alternatives must be available;
• no pressure must be placed on any person to consume alcohol;
• staff who are on duty, on-call, driving, travelling alone, administering medicines later that day, or otherwise responsible for service delivery must not consume alcohol in a way that could affect safety or professional conduct.

Any concern arising before, during or after an event must be reported promptly to a manager and, where relevant, through incident reporting, safeguarding, grievance, whistleblowing or disciplinary procedures.

8.1 Safeguarding, Speaking Up and Incident Reporting

Any safeguarding concern, accident, near miss, harassment allegation, bullying concern, discriminatory incident, inappropriate behaviour, data breach, or other matter arising from a team building event must be reported without delay in accordance with the organisation’s safeguarding, incident reporting, whistleblowing, grievance and disciplinary procedures.

Managers must take prompt and proportionate action to protect those affected, investigate where appropriate, preserve relevant information and records, and take any immediate steps necessary to reduce ongoing risk.

Where an incident connected with an event affects a person using the service, the matter must also be managed in line with the organisation’s procedures for notifications, duty of candour, safeguarding and liaison with external agencies as required.

9. Evaluation and Continuous Improvement

Following each significant event, the organiser or nominated manager will complete a proportionate review to consider:

• attendance and inclusion;
• staff feedback, including whether staff felt safe, respected and able to participate;
• whether the event supported team cohesion, wellbeing, learning or communication;
• any accidents, near misses, complaints, concerns, safeguarding matters or inappropriate behaviour;
• whether risk controls were effective;
• whether any action is required to improve future events.

Where learning is identified, this must be recorded and, where appropriate, reflected in future planning, risk assessments, management oversight or related policies.

9.1 Record Keeping and Governance Oversight

The organisation will keep appropriate records relating to team building events, which may include:

• event proposal and approval records;
• risk assessments;
• venue/provider checks where applicable;
• attendance records where needed;
• reasonable adjustment arrangements;
• incident, accident or concern reports;
• feedback summaries and review outcomes;
• actions identified and completed.

Records must be stored securely and processed in accordance with data protection requirements. Information from event reviews may be used as part of the organisation’s wider governance, workforce wellbeing, health and safety and continuous improvement arrangements.

10. Policy Review and Updates

This policy will be reviewed at least annually and sooner where necessary, including where:

• legislation, regulations, CQC guidance or recognised best practice changes;
• an incident, complaint, grievance, safeguarding concern or health and safety issue indicates that the policy or its implementation is not effective;
• audit, supervision, staff feedback or governance review identifies a gap or improvement need;
• there are changes to the organisation’s service model, staffing structure or operating arrangements.

The review will consider whether the policy remains proportionate, workable, inclusive and aligned to the organisation’s obligations as a regulated domiciliary care provider.

11. Conclusion

{{org_field_name}} recognises that well-planned team building activities can make a positive contribution to staff wellbeing, communication, learning and retention. In a domiciliary care setting, such activities must be delivered within a clear governance framework so that people using the service continue to receive safe, effective, responsive and person-centred care at all times.

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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.