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{{org_field_name}}

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

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Employee Notice Periods and Resignation Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that {{org_field_name}} has a clear, fair, lawful and consistent process for managing employee resignations, notice periods and staff departures. The policy supports compliance with employment law, the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016, the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017, as amended, Welsh Government statutory guidance for domiciliary support services, Social Care Wales requirements and CIW expectations. It also ensures that staff departures are managed in a way that protects people receiving care and support, maintains safe staffing levels, promotes continuity of care, and prevents avoidable disruption to scheduled domiciliary support visits.

This policy aims to:

• Provide clear guidance on resignation procedures and required notice periods.
• Ensure continuity of care for service users by managing staff transitions effectively.
• Set out the employer’s expectations and employees’ obligations regarding resignations.
• Prevent disruption to service delivery by planning for staff departures in advance.
• Ensure that any resignation or staff shortage that may affect safe service delivery, continuity of care, scheduled visits, the Registered Manager role or Responsible Individual arrangements is escalated promptly and, where required, notified to CIW and/or relevant commissioners.
• Ensure compliance with employment legislation and contractual obligations.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

• All employees and workers of {{org_field_name}}, including domiciliary care workers, support workers, supervisors, coordinators, administrative staff, the Registered Manager and senior managers.
• Persons engaged under a contract for services where their departure may affect the safe and effective delivery of the regulated service.
• Agency workers, insofar as the provider must manage rota changes, continuity of care, handovers and safe staffing when agency cover ends.
• The Registered Manager and Responsible Individual, who are responsible for ensuring that resignations and staff departures are managed without compromising regulatory compliance, service safety or continuity of care.
• HR, rota coordinators and operational managers involved in resignation processing, final pay, annual leave, handover, recruitment, notifications and rota continuity.
• People receiving care and support, and where appropriate their representatives, commissioners or placing authorities, where a staff departure may affect their continuity of care or planned visit arrangements.

3. Legal and Regulatory Framework

This policy is informed by and should be read in conjunction with:

• The Employment Rights Act 1996, including statutory minimum notice requirements, protection from unauthorised deductions from wages, and employment termination provisions.
• The Working Time Regulations 1998, including statutory annual leave and payment for accrued untaken statutory holiday on termination.
• The Equality Act 2010, including the duty to avoid discrimination and to consider reasonable adjustments where relevant.
• The Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016.
• The Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017, as amended, including requirements relating to governance, staffing, continuity of care, staff support, disciplinary procedures, records, notifications, and domiciliary support services.
• Welsh Government statutory guidance for service providers and responsible individuals on meeting service standard regulations, Version 3, March 2024.
• Care Inspectorate Wales requirements, inspection expectations and notification requirements.
• Social Care Wales Codes of Professional Practice and the Code of Practice for Employers of Social Care Workers.
• The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, insofar as continuity, well-being, safeguarding and person-centred support are affected by staff changes.
• ACAS guidance on resignation, notice periods, final pay and workplace dispute resolution.
• Data protection legislation, including UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, where resignation records, exit interviews and employment records are processed.

4. Notice Period Requirements

4.1 Statutory and Contractual Notice Periods

Employees must provide notice in line with their employment contract, which may be longer than the statutory minimum:

• During Probationary Period: 1 week’s notice.
• Care Workers and Support Staff: 2 to 4 weeks’ notice (as per contract).
• Supervisors and Senior Care Staff: 4 to 6 weeks’ notice.
• Registered Manager and Senior Leadership: 8 to 12 weeks’ notice.

The notice periods above are indicative role-based expectations only. The notice period that applies to an individual employee will be the notice period stated in their contract of employment or written statement of employment particulars, provided that it is not less than the statutory minimum. Where the contract specifies a longer notice period than the statutory minimum, the contractual notice period will apply unless {{org_field_name}} agrees in writing to waive or vary it.

If an employee has worked for {{org_field_name}} for one month or more, they must provide at least one week’s statutory notice if not otherwise specified in their contract.

Employees with less than one month’s continuous employment are not usually required by statute to give notice, unless their contract requires notice. However, {{org_field_name}} expects all staff to give as much notice as reasonably possible to support safe rota planning and continuity of care.

How we manage this efficiently:

• Contracts clearly state notice periods for all roles.
• Exit planning procedures ensure smooth transitions and minimal disruption.

4.2 Employer Notice Period: Termination by Employer

Where {{org_field_name}} terminates employment, the employee will receive the notice required by their contract or the statutory minimum notice period, whichever is greater, unless summary dismissal for gross misconduct is justified following the appropriate disciplinary process.

The statutory minimum notice the employer must give is:

• at least one week’s notice where the employee has been continuously employed for one month or more but less than two years;
• at least one week’s notice for each complete year of continuous employment where the employee has been continuously employed for two years or more but less than twelve years;
• at least twelve weeks’ notice where the employee has been continuously employed for twelve years or more.

Nothing in this policy prevents {{org_field_name}} and the employee from agreeing a lawful payment in lieu of notice, garden leave or an agreed earlier leaving date where this is consistent with the contract and safe service delivery.

4.3 Non-guaranteed Hours Contracts and Domiciliary Care Workers

Where a domiciliary care worker is employed on a non-guaranteed hours contract, {{org_field_name}} will manage contractual arrangements in line with Regulation 42 of the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017, as amended.

Where the regulatory conditions are met, domiciliary care workers will be offered the choice of continuing employment under an alternative contractual arrangement based on the regular hours worked during the relevant three-month period. Where a worker chooses to remain on a non-guaranteed hours contract, the arrangement will be reviewed again after a further three-month period, where applicable.

A written record will be kept of contract discussions, the options offered, the worker’s decision and any agreed contractual change. Resignation, notice and final pay arrangements for workers on non-guaranteed hours contracts will be handled in accordance with their contract, employment status, statutory rights and the need to maintain continuity of care.

5. Resignation Procedure

5.1 How Employees Should Resign

Employees are expected to submit their resignation in writing, either by letter or email, to their line manager or HR. The resignation should state that the employee is resigning, the amount of notice being given, the proposed last working day and any request to use annual leave during the notice period.

Where an employee resigns verbally, the manager must ask the employee to confirm the resignation in writing as soon as possible, normally within 24 hours. Where the verbal resignation is clear and unambiguous, {{org_field_name}} may treat it as a resignation, but managers must take care where the resignation appears to have been made in anger, distress, confusion, during illness, or in connection with a grievance or safeguarding concern.

Where there is any doubt about whether the employee genuinely intended to resign, the manager must seek HR advice before confirming acceptance of the resignation.

5.2 Acknowledging and Processing Resignations

Once a resignation is received:

1. The line manager acknowledges receipt in writing within two working days.
2. HR reviews outstanding annual leave and contractual obligations.
3. An exit interview is scheduled to discuss reasons for leaving and gather feedback.
4. A transition plan is created to ensure service user continuity.

The transition plan must include, where relevant:

• the employee’s current rota, allocated visits, key service users and any specialist duties;
• the effect of the resignation on continuity of care and whether replacement staff are known to the individuals receiving care;
• whether scheduled visits remain achievable, including travel time, care time and rest breaks;
• whether any individual’s personal plan or assessed care needs require a named, specially trained or consistent worker;
• whether any medication support, moving and handling, delegated healthcare task, safeguarding arrangement, language or communication need may be affected;
• whether commissioners, representatives or individuals need to be informed of changes to regular care staff;
• whether recruitment, agency cover or temporary rota changes are required;
• whether the resignation creates a risk that the service cannot continue to be provided safely;
• whether CIW notification is required.

How we manage this efficiently:

• A standard resignation acknowledgment template ensures consistency.
• Exit interviews provide valuable insights for staff retention improvements.

5.3 Escalation, Commissioner Communication and CIW Notification

The line manager must immediately escalate a resignation to the Registered Manager and, where appropriate, the Responsible Individual where the resignation:

• affects the Registered Manager, deputy manager, rota coordinator, Responsible Individual or another key leadership role;
• may result in insufficient suitably qualified, trained, skilled, competent or experienced staff;
• may affect the safe delivery of scheduled domiciliary support visits;
• may affect medication support, delegated healthcare tasks, moving and handling, safeguarding arrangements or other high-risk care tasks;
• may result in missed, late or shortened visits;
• may affect continuity of care for people with complex needs, communication needs, dementia, learning disability, mental health needs, end-of-life care needs or safeguarding risks;
• may affect the service’s ability to operate in line with its Statement of Purpose.

Where a resignation or group of resignations prevents, or could prevent, {{org_field_name}} from continuing to provide the regulated service safely, the Responsible Individual or authorised person must notify CIW without delay using the required CIW notification process. Relevant commissioners and, where appropriate, individuals and/or their representatives must also be informed of any change that may affect the care and support being provided.

All escalation decisions and notifications must be recorded, including the reason for the decision, who was informed, when they were informed, and any action taken to maintain safe service delivery.

5.4 Resignation or Absence of the Registered Manager or Responsible Individual

If the Registered Manager resigns, gives notice, is absent, or proposes to cease managing the service, the Responsible Individual must ensure that suitable interim management arrangements are in place so that the service continues to be managed safely and effectively.

If there is no manager, or the manager is not present at the service for more than 28 days, the Responsible Individual must notify the service provider and CIW and must inform them of the arrangements put in place for effective management of the service.

If the Responsible Individual resigns, is expected to be absent for 28 days or more, is unexpectedly absent, returns from absence, or ceases or proposes to cease acting as Responsible Individual, {{org_field_name}} must follow the relevant CIW notification requirements and put in place arrangements for effective oversight, compliance, monitoring and improvement of the service.

Where a manager or Responsible Individual resignation affects the Statement of Purpose, registration conditions, governance arrangements or safe operation of the service, the Registered Manager, Responsible Individual and provider must ensure that CIW is notified as required and that commissioners and relevant staff are informed of interim arrangements.

6. Working the Notice Period

6.1 Expectations During the Notice Period

Employees are expected to continue fulfilling their duties professionally, safely and in accordance with their contract, job description, policies, procedures, the Code of Professional Practice for Social Care and any applicable professional requirements throughout the notice period.

During the notice period, employees must:

• attend work as rostered unless absent for an authorised reason;
• continue to follow personal plans, risk assessments, medication procedures, safeguarding procedures, lone working procedures and recording requirements;
• complete accurate, timely and factual care records, daily notes, medication records and incident records;
• maintain confidentiality and data protection requirements;
• cooperate with rota changes that are reasonable and lawful;
• complete handovers for service users, colleagues, supervisors and replacement workers;
• return any service user information, care documentation, keys, access codes, equipment, uniforms, ID badges and company property;
• raise any concern immediately where they believe a person’s care or safety may be affected by their departure or by staffing arrangements.

Failure to maintain professional standards during the notice period may be managed under the disciplinary procedure and, where appropriate, may be referred to Social Care Wales, the Disclosure and Barring Service, CIW, safeguarding authorities or the police.

6.2 Using Annual Leave During Notice Periods

Employees may request to use outstanding annual leave during their notice period, subject to management approval and the needs of the service. {{org_field_name}} may refuse or require changes to annual leave requests where this is necessary to maintain safe staffing, continuity of care, handover arrangements or service delivery, provided this is done lawfully.

Where an employee has accrued but untaken statutory annual leave at the termination date, this will be paid in lieu in the final salary. Where an employee has taken more annual leave than they have accrued, deductions may only be made where permitted by the contract or by prior written agreement.

Where an employee is absent due to sickness during their notice period, the notice period will normally continue to run. The employee will not be required to work while certified or accepted as unfit for work, but they must comply with sickness reporting procedures and provide any required fit notes. Managers must consider whether any handover can reasonably be completed remotely or after return to work, without pressuring an employee who is unfit to work.

6.3 Early Release, Waiver of Notice or Garden Leave

{{org_field_name}} may agree to release an employee before the end of their contractual notice period, waive part of the notice period, place the employee on garden leave, or agree a payment in lieu of notice where permitted by the contract and lawful to do so.

Before agreeing early release, the manager must confirm that safe staffing, continuity of care, scheduled visits, handover arrangements and any regulatory notification requirements have been considered. Early release must not be approved where it would create an unmanaged risk to people receiving care and support.

Garden leave may be used where it is necessary and proportionate, including where there are confidentiality, safeguarding, conduct, data security, conflict of interest, business protection or service stability concerns. Employees on garden leave remain employed until the termination date and must remain available for reasonable contact, unless agreed otherwise.

6.4 Domiciliary Visit Schedules During Notice Periods

Where a domiciliary care worker is working their notice period, the rota coordinator must ensure that their schedule of visits remains safe, realistic and compliant. The schedule must clearly identify travel time, visit time and rest breaks where applicable.

Allocated travel time must be realistic, taking into account distance, traffic, parking and other factors that may reasonably affect travel. Allocated care time must be sufficient to provide care and support in accordance with the individual’s personal plan. Visits must not be planned for less than 30 minutes unless one of the permitted exceptions applies.

A record must be kept of the time spent by each domiciliary care worker on visits, travel time and rest breaks. Where visits are changed because of a resignation, the change must be risk assessed and communicated appropriately to affected individuals, staff and commissioners.

7. Final Payments and Exit Process

7.1 Final Salary Payments

The final salary payment will normally be made on the next usual payroll date after the employee’s last day of employment and will include, where applicable:

• basic salary or wages due up to the termination date;
• payment for accrued but untaken statutory annual leave;
• any authorised contractual payments, overtime, enhancements or allowances due;
• any agreed payment in lieu of notice;
• any lawful deductions.

Deductions from final pay will only be made where they are authorised by statute, required by law, permitted by the employee’s contract, or agreed in writing by the employee in advance. This may include deductions for overpaid wages, overtaken annual leave, loans, training fees, failure to return company property or other sums owed, but only where a lawful basis for the deduction exists.

Any deduction for training costs must be supported by a contractual term or written agreement and must be reasonable and clearly explained. Deductions must not be made in a way that breaches National Minimum Wage requirements where those requirements apply.

The employee will receive a payslip or final pay statement showing how final pay has been calculated and explaining any deductions.

7.2 Return of Company Property, Service User Information and Access Items

Employees must return all company property and any service-related items before leaving employment, or earlier if requested. This includes uniforms, ID badges, mobile phones, electronic devices, care planning documents, medication records, MAR charts, access cards, keys, key safe information, fobs, PPE, equipment, confidential information and any property belonging to people receiving care and support.

Employees must not retain, copy, photograph, download, remove or disclose any confidential information relating to {{org_field_name}}, staff, commissioners or people receiving care and support.

Where keys, access codes, care records or confidential information are not returned promptly, the manager must complete a risk assessment and take immediate action to protect individuals, including changing key safe codes, informing relevant persons, reporting data breaches where required, and considering safeguarding action if there is a risk to an individual.

7.3 Reference Requests

References will normally be factual and limited to dates of employment, job title and, where appropriate, brief information about duties. References must be accurate, fair, lawful and not misleading.

Where a safeguarding, disciplinary, capability, conduct, professional registration or fitness-to-practise matter is relevant to a reference, HR and the Registered Manager must seek appropriate advice before responding. {{org_field_name}} will not provide a reference that gives a misleading impression about a person’s suitability to work in social care.

Personal references must not be provided by managers or staff on behalf of {{org_field_name}} unless specifically authorised.

7.4 Resignation During Disciplinary, Safeguarding or Capability Processes

If an employee resigns while subject to a disciplinary, safeguarding, grievance, capability, performance, conduct or fitness-to-practise investigation, {{org_field_name}} may continue and conclude the investigation where it is reasonable and necessary to do so.

The resignation will not prevent {{org_field_name}} from taking appropriate action to protect people receiving care and support, including:

• completing a safeguarding referral;
• notifying CIW where required;
• referring to Social Care Wales or another professional regulator;
• referring to the Disclosure and Barring Service where the legal threshold is met;
• informing the police where a criminal matter may have occurred;
• recording the outcome on the employee’s personnel file;
• ensuring any future reference is accurate, fair and not misleading.

The employee will be given a reasonable opportunity to participate in any ongoing process where appropriate, even if they have left employment.

8. Exit Interviews and Staff Retention Strategies

8.1 Purpose of Exit Interviews

• Identify reasons for resignation and potential areas for improvement.
• Assess staff satisfaction and workplace culture.
• Gather feedback on training, management support, and working conditions.

8.2 Conducting Exit Interviews

• Exit interviews are voluntary but encouraged.
• A confidential questionnaire allows employees to share honest feedback.
• Key findings are used to improve retention strategies.

How we manage this efficiently:

• HR compiles quarterly reports on exit interview trends.
• Action plans are developed based on recurring feedback.

Exit interview information will be reviewed as part of workforce monitoring, quality assurance and service improvement. Themes relating to pay, travel time, rota pressure, missed breaks, workload, training, supervision, management support, bullying, discrimination, safeguarding culture, whistleblowing or unsafe staffing must be escalated to the Registered Manager and Responsible Individual.

Where exit interview trends indicate risks to staff retention, continuity of care, safe staffing or the ability to deliver the Statement of Purpose, an action plan must be developed, monitored and reviewed.

9. Handling Resignations Due to Workplace Issues

9.1 Resolving Underlying Issues

Where an employee indicates that they are resigning because of workplace concerns, {{org_field_name}} will, where appropriate, offer an opportunity to discuss the concern and consider whether it can be resolved. This may include informal resolution, mediation, supervision, management review or use of the grievance procedure.

Where the concern relates to unsafe care, abuse, neglect, improper treatment, poor practice, staffing levels, missed visits, whistleblowing, bullying, harassment, discrimination or victimisation, the matter must be escalated immediately to the Registered Manager and/or Responsible Individual and managed under the appropriate policy. Safeguarding concerns must be referred in line with the Safeguarding Policy and Wales Safeguarding Procedures.

Employees must not be discouraged from raising concerns, making protected disclosures, contacting CIW, contacting Social Care Wales, or raising safeguarding concerns with the local authority or police where appropriate.

9.2 Withdrawal of Resignation

An employee may request to withdraw their resignation. Any request must be made in writing as soon as possible. {{org_field_name}} is not required to agree to withdrawal once a resignation has been accepted, but each request will be considered fairly and consistently, taking into account the circumstances, the timing of the request, whether the resignation was clear and voluntary, whether the employee was distressed or unwell, whether any protected characteristic or reasonable adjustment is relevant, whether replacement arrangements have already been made, and the needs of the service.

The decision must be confirmed in writing and recorded on the employee’s personnel file.

10. Related Policies

This policy should be read alongside:

• Workforce Planning and Staff Retention Policy (DCW31).
• Grievance and Complaints Policy (DCW15).
• Disciplinary Policy and Procedure.
• Safeguarding Policy.
• Whistleblowing Policy.
• Staff Support, Supervision and Development Policy.
• Recruitment, Selection and Safer Recruitment Policy.
• Rota Management / Scheduling of Visits Policy.
• Lone Working Policy.
• Medication Policy.
• Moving and Handling Policy.
• Confidentiality and Data Protection Policy.
• Records Management Policy.
• Payroll and Final Salary Payment Policy (DCW35).
• Annual Leave and Sickness Absence Policies.
• Notice Period and Redundancy Policy (DCW44), where applicable.

11. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed at least annually, or sooner where required due to legislative change, Welsh Government guidance, CIW requirements, Social Care Wales requirements, employment law developments, inspection findings, safeguarding learning, workforce trends, complaints, staff feedback, or any incident indicating that resignation or notice arrangements have affected safe staffing, continuity of care or service delivery.

The Registered Manager and Responsible Individual are responsible for ensuring that this policy remains current, is implemented in practice, and supports compliance with the Statement of Purpose and regulatory requirements.

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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}}
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