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{{org_field_name}}

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

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Professional Boundaries Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide clear guidance to all employees of {{org_field_name}} on maintaining professional boundaries while delivering care and support services. Establishing and maintaining appropriate professional relationships is essential to protect the dignity, rights, and well-being of the people we support, as well as to uphold the integrity and reputation of {{org_field_name}}.

This policy ensures that all staff understand their professional responsibilities and the importance of ethical conduct, thereby preventing conflicts of interest, inappropriate relationships, and breaches of trust. This document also sets out how {{org_field_name}} manages professional boundaries efficiently and how any concerns regarding boundary violations will be addressed.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all employees, including care workers, support staff, supervisors, and management within {{org_field_name}}. It also applies to agency staff, volunteers, and contractors engaged in providing care services on behalf of the organisation.

3. Legal and Regulatory Framework

This policy is informed by, and must be read in line with, the following current legislation, standards and regulatory guidance applicable to care at home services in Scotland:

• Health and Social Care Standards: My support, my life – these set out what people should expect when using health, social care or social work services in Scotland and underpin rights-based, person-led and outcome-focused care.
• Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) Codes of Practice for Social Service Workers and Employers (effective from 1 May 2024) – these set out the standards of practice and behaviour expected of workers and employers, including requirements relating to professional boundaries, gifts and money, conflicts of interest, reporting concerns, accountability and public trust.
• Care Inspectorate – A quality framework for support services (care at home, including supported living models of support) – this supports self-evaluation, scrutiny and improvement and reflects the expectation that people experience compassion, dignity, respect, rights-based care, and that personal planning reflects people’s outcomes and wishes.
• Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 and the Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011 – including the requirement to provide care in a manner that supports welfare and safety, and Regulation 5, which requires each person using the service to have a written personal plan prepared within 28 days, made available to them, and reviewed when requested, when needs change, and at least every six months.
• Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 – where a person has impaired capacity, any decision affecting their welfare must follow the principles of the Act and involve any lawful welfare proxy or representative as appropriate.
• Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 – where boundary concerns amount to, or may indicate, harm, exploitation, neglect, coercion or abuse, the organisation will take action in line with adult protection duties and local safeguarding procedures.
• Equality Act 2010 – staff must not discriminate, harass or victimise any person using the service, carer, colleague or representative, and must promote equality, dignity, inclusion and respect.
• Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR – all personal information must be handled lawfully, fairly, securely and only for legitimate work-related purposes.
• Human Rights Act 1998 – all practice under this policy must respect the person’s dignity, privacy, family life, autonomy, participation and least restrictive care.

This policy must also be read alongside organisational procedures on safeguarding, whistleblowing, complaints, confidentiality, social media, personal planning, incident reporting, duty of candour, and disciplinary processes.

4. Definition of Professional Boundaries

Professional boundaries are the clear limits that protect the integrity of the care relationship. In care at home services, staff hold a position of trust and may have access to a person’s home, personal information, routines, finances, family relationships and private life. Professional boundaries are therefore essential to make sure that care and support remain safe, respectful, person-led and free from exploitation, favouritism, coercion or dependency.

Maintaining professional boundaries means that staff must:

• use their professional power and authority responsibly;
• maintain relationships that are open, positive and focused on agreed care and support outcomes;
• avoid conflicts of interest and declare them promptly;
• follow organisational rules about gifts, money, property, digital communication and confidentiality; and
• avoid any conduct, in or out of work, that could undermine public trust, place a person at risk, or call their suitability to work in social care into question.

5. Key Areas of Professional Boundaries

5.1 Personal Relationships

Employees must maintain professional relationships with people using the service, their relatives, carers and representatives at all times.

Employees must not:

• form romantic or sexual relationships with any person they support;
• pursue, encourage or respond to any relationship that could exploit the person, create dependency, impair professional judgement or compromise safe care;
• socialise with a person using the service, or members of their family, outside work in a way that blurs professional boundaries, unless this is part of an agreed support arrangement authorised by management and clearly recorded in the person’s personal plan.

Where an employee has a pre-existing relationship with a person using the service, or with someone closely connected to them, this must be declared immediately to the Registered Manager. A risk assessment must be completed and the organisation will decide whether alternative staffing or other safeguards are required.

Employees must not use their role to seek friendship, emotional reliance, personal loyalty, private support, favours, influence, or any other personal benefit from a person using the service or those connected to them.

5.2 Financial Boundaries

Employees must maintain strict financial boundaries with people using the service.

Employees must not:

• borrow money from, or lend money to, any person using the service, relative, carer or representative;
• hold bank cards, PIN numbers, cheque books, cash or financial documents unless this is an expressly authorised part of the support package, subject to organisational procedures, risk assessment, recording and management oversight;
• buy items from, sell items to, or otherwise enter into private financial arrangements with a person using the service;
• become involved in wills, legacies, inheritance, property transfers, gifts of significant value, or decisions about financial affairs for personal benefit;
• ask to be named, or agree to act, as a beneficiary, executor, attorney, appointee, signatory or financial decision-maker for a person using the service unless there is a pre-existing lawful relationship which has been declared in writing to the Registered Manager and formally risk assessed.

Any support with shopping, handling money, collecting pensions, paying bills or similar tasks must only take place where:

1. this forms part of the agreed care and support package;
2. the person’s capacity, consent and rights have been considered;
3. the arrangement is clearly recorded in the personal plan and risk assessment; and
4. all transactions are recorded in line with organisational finance and record-keeping procedures.

Any concern about financial exploitation, undue influence, theft, pressure, coercion or unusual financial requests must be treated as a safeguarding concern and reported without delay.

5.3 Physical Contact

Any physical contact with a person using the service must be necessary, appropriate, respectful and proportionate to the care or support being provided.

Physical contact must:

• be connected to the delivery of care, support, reassurance or risk reduction;
• take account of the person’s wishes, communication needs, history, culture, trauma and known preferences;
• be provided in the least restrictive and most dignified way possible; and
• be consistent with the personal plan, risk assessment and any specific guidance in place.

Employees must not initiate or continue physical contact for their own emotional needs, for personal comfort, or in a way that could reasonably be experienced as intrusive, coercive, overly familiar or sexually inappropriate.

Where comfort or reassurance involves touch, staff must consider whether the person is consenting, appears comfortable, and whether there is a safer or more appropriate alternative. Any uncertainty, objection, allegation, misunderstanding or concern must be recorded and reported immediately.

5.4 Confidentiality, Social Media and Use of Digital Technology

Employees must protect confidential information at all times and must handle personal data in line with the Data Protection Act 2018, UK GDPR and organisational confidentiality procedures.

Employees must not:

• share personal information about a person using the service except where this is lawful, necessary and relevant to care, safety or safeguarding;
• discuss people using the service, colleagues, incidents or work matters on personal social media accounts;
• post, store, transmit or forward photographs, videos, voice notes, screenshots or other identifiable information about people using the service using personal devices or personal accounts;
• use personal messaging services, including but not limited to WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Snapchat or text message, to communicate privately with a person using the service or their relatives, unless there is a specific organisationally approved arrangement in place for service delivery.

Employees must not “friend”, “follow”, connect with or otherwise engage online with people using the service through personal accounts.

Any use of digital communication, monitoring technology, photographs or video as part of care delivery must be authorised by the organisation, justified for care purposes, and managed in accordance with consent, capacity, privacy, record-keeping and information governance requirements.

5.5 Gifts, Hospitality and Favours

Employees must not seek, encourage or accept gifts, hospitality, benefits or favours that could influence, or appear to influence, professional judgement or create a sense of obligation.

Employees must never accept:

• cash or cash equivalents;
• loans;
• expensive or repeated gifts;
• valuables, property, services, discounts or preferential treatment;
• gifts linked to a will, inheritance or financial decision.

Low-value, one-off tokens of appreciation may only be accepted where this is permitted by organisational procedure, does not create a conflict of interest, and is declared and recorded with the manager.

Employees must not:

• undertake unofficial errands, tasks or favours outside the agreed support arrangement;
• accept payment for additional help privately;
• agree to keep “small arrangements” informal where the matter should properly be recorded and authorised by the service.

Where refusal of a gift may distress the person, staff must seek management advice immediately and a clear record must be made of the decision and rationale.

5.6 Boundaries in Communication

All communication with people using the service, relatives, carers and representatives must be professional, respectful, purposeful and proportionate to the staff member’s role.

Employees must not:

• share personal phone numbers, private email addresses, home addresses or personal social media details;
• communicate in a secretive, flirtatious, sexualised, overly personal, manipulative or emotionally dependent way;
• maintain contact outside work for personal reasons;
• use communication that could shame, frighten, pressure, coerce or silence a person.

All service-related communication must take place through approved work systems and within agreed professional boundaries, unless there is an emergency or a manager has authorised a different arrangement in the person’s interests.

Staff must always take account of the person’s communication needs, preferred method of communication, rights, dignity and understanding when discussing sensitive matters.

5.7 Dual Relationships and Conflict of Interest

Employees must identify and declare any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest as soon as it arises.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• supporting a family member, friend, neighbour or former partner;
• having a financial interest connected to the person or their household;
• receiving gifts, benefits or invitations;
• outside employment or business interests that may overlap with the person using the service;
• involvement in private arrangements that bypass the service.

The employee must inform the Registered Manager immediately. The organisation will assess the risk and decide what action is needed, which may include changes to staffing, additional monitoring, restriction of duties or withdrawal from the care arrangement.

No employee may allow a personal relationship, belief, grievance, financial interest or outside commitment to influence professional judgement, the standard of care provided, allocation of time, decision-making or record-keeping.

5.8 Boundaries, Personal Planning and Risk Assessment

Where any boundary issue is foreseeable, known or has arisen in practice, the organisation will consider whether the matter should be addressed within the person’s personal plan, risk assessment, communication guidance or safeguarding plan.

This may include:

• support with money or shopping;
• use of reassurance and comfort strategies;
• restrictions on contact methods;
• involvement of relatives or representatives;
• arrangements where a person has impaired capacity;
• any known history of exploitation, dependency, trauma, allegations or misunderstandings.

Any restriction on choice, contact or practice must be lawful, proportionate, clearly explained, and kept to the minimum necessary to protect the person’s welfare, dignity and rights.

6. Reporting and Managing Boundary Violations

6.1 Identifying Boundary Violations

A boundary violation occurs where a worker misuses, exceeds or blurs the limits of the professional relationship in a way that may harm, exploit, disadvantage, manipulate, distress or compromise a person using the service, or undermine public trust in the service.

Examples include:

• private or secret contact with a person using the service;
• inappropriate emotional involvement or dependency;
• romantic or sexualised behaviour, comments or contact;
• financial involvement, loans, handling money outside authorised arrangements, or seeking gifts;
• using personal social media or personal messaging to communicate with the person;
• sharing personal contact details;
• spending time with the person outside agreed care arrangements for personal reasons;
• showing favouritism, over-involvement or excluding colleagues and managers from relevant information;
• misuse of confidential information;
• asking the person or family for favours, testimonials, services or personal support;
• becoming involved in wills, inheritance, power of attorney or private contracts;
• using authority, guilt, fear, affection or dependency to influence a person’s choices or behaviour.

Where the concern may amount to abuse, neglect, exploitation or harm, it must be treated as an adult protection and safeguarding matter and reported immediately.

6.2 Reporting Concerns

Any employee who experiences, witnesses, suspects or receives information about a possible boundary concern must report it without delay to the Registered Manager, Safeguarding Lead or on-call manager in accordance with organisational reporting procedures.

Employees must not:

• dismiss a concern as “just friendliness” without reporting it;
• investigate the matter informally themselves;
• keep the matter secret at the request of a colleague, person using the service or family member;
• delay reporting because they are unsure whether the concern is serious enough.

The organisation will determine whether the concern requires:

• immediate protective action;
• safeguarding or adult protection referral;
• review of the person’s personal plan and risk assessments;
• staff suspension or restriction of duties;
• disciplinary action;
• notification to the Care Inspectorate or other authority; and/or
• referral to the SSSC where a worker’s fitness to practise may be impaired.

Workers will be supported to raise concerns and may also use the organisation’s whistleblowing procedure where they do not feel able to report through normal management channels.

6.3 Recording, Review and Duty of Candour

All boundary concerns, discussions, decisions, protective actions and outcomes must be recorded promptly, clearly and factually in line with organisational incident and record-keeping procedures.

Where relevant, the organisation will:

• review the person’s personal plan, risk assessment and communication/support arrangements;
• consider whether other people may be at risk;
• consult with the person using the service and, where appropriate, their representative;
• preserve evidence and records appropriately; and
• take action to prevent recurrence.

Where a boundary breach results in an unintended or unexpected incident that appears to have resulted in death or harm, the organisation will consider and, where required, comply with the organisational duty of candour and associated reporting arrangements.

6.4 Disciplinary and Regulatory Action

Any breach of this policy will be taken seriously and managed under the organisation’s disciplinary procedures.

Depending on the seriousness of the concern, the organisation may:

• implement immediate safeguarding measures;
• restrict duties, amend rotas or suspend the employee while enquiries take place;
• carry out an internal investigation;
• refer the matter to the local authority, police, Care Inspectorate, SSSC or other relevant body;
• take disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

Where there is reason to believe that a worker’s fitness to practise may be impaired, the organisation will consider referral to the SSSC in line with current guidance.

The organisation will keep appropriate records of investigations, decisions and actions taken, and will support affected people, witnesses and staff throughout the process.

7. Training, Supervision and Support

To support safe and lawful practice, {{org_field_name}} will ensure that all relevant staff receive training, supervision and guidance on professional boundaries.

This will include:

• induction on this policy and related procedures;
• training on the SSSC Codes of Practice, including professional boundaries, gifts and money, conflicts of interest, reporting concerns and public trust;
• safeguarding and adult protection training;
• confidentiality, records management, data protection and appropriate use of digital technology;
• capacity, consent and the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 where relevant to role;
• personal planning, risk assessment and outcome-focused care;
• regular supervision and reflective practice to discuss boundary issues, dilemmas, near misses and learning.

Managers must promote an open culture in which staff can discuss ethical practice and professional boundaries without fear, and must take action where staff require further guidance, development or support.

8. Related Policies

This policy should be read alongside:

• Safeguarding and Protection Policy
• Whistleblowing Policy
• Confidentiality and Data Protection Policy
• Supervision and Appraisal Policy
• Code of Conduct Policy

9. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed at least annually, and sooner where there are changes in legislation, regulatory guidance, the SSSC Codes of Practice, Care Inspectorate quality frameworks, learning from incidents, or identified service need. The review will take account of feedback from people using the service, carers, staff, managers and relevant professionals.

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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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