UK Health & Social Care Glossary — 30 Key CQC, DBS & Regulatory Terms
Complete terminology reference for UK care providers: CQC Single Assessment Framework, Schedule 3 vetting, DBS checks, and National Living Wage rules.
12.07% Holiday Pay Accrual (Irregular Hours)
The statutory method reintroduced for calculating annual leave entitlement for irregular-hours workers and part-year workers in the UK.
AccessNI Check (Northern Ireland)
The criminal history disclosure service for individuals seeking employment in health and social care services in Northern Ireland.
CQC Quality Statements (34 Statements)
Quality statements are the commitments that health and social care providers must live up to under the CQC Single Assessment Framework.
CQC Regulation 12: Safe Care and Treatment
Regulation 12 mandates that care and treatment must be provided in a safe way for service users.
CQC Regulation 17: Good Governance
Regulation 17 requires care providers to operate effective governance systems and processes to assess and monitor service quality and safety.
CQC Regulation 18: Staffing
Regulation 18 requires providers to deploy sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled, and experienced staff.
CQC Regulation 19: Fit and Proper Persons Employed
Regulation 19 dictates that only persons of good character who possess the necessary qualifications, competence, and physical and mental fitness may be employed in regulated activities.
Care Certificate (Skills for Care)
An agreed set of 15 standards that define the knowledge, skills, and behaviours expected of healthcare support workers and adult social care workers.
Care Quality Commission (CQC)
The CQC is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England, ensuring services provide safe, effective, compassionate, and high-quality care.
DBS Update Service
An online subscription service that allows employers to perform instant status checks on an applicant's existing DBS certificate.
Electronic Call Monitoring (ECM)
The digital verification process used by UK domiciliary care providers to record care workers' arrival and departure times at service users' homes.
Enhanced DBS Check & Barred Lists
An Enhanced DBS check details spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, final warnings, local police intelligence, and checks of the Adults and Children Barred Lists.
Fair Cost of Care
The local authority cost-modelling exercise aimed at establishing sustainable fee rates for domiciliary care and care home services.
Funded Nursing Care (NHS FNC)
The statutory weekly contribution paid directly by the NHS to a registered nursing home toward the cost of care provided by a registered nurse.
HMRC Real Time Information (RTI)
The UK system through which employers report Pay As You Earn (PAYE), National Insurance contributions, and student loans to HMRC on or before every payday.
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
The statutory regulator for 15 health and care professions in the UK, including Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, and Paramedics.
Home Office Right to Work Share Code & IDSP
The digital verification system used by UK employers to check an individual's legal entitlement to work in the UK via eVisa or biometric residence permit.
Home Office Sponsor Licence (Health and Care Worker Visa)
Permission granted by UK Visas and Immigration allowing health and social care providers to sponsor skilled international care workers and registered nurses.
IR35 (Off-Payroll Working Rules)
UK tax legislation designed to ensure that workers providing services via an intermediary (such as a Personal Service Company) pay broadly the same tax as direct employees if they would be regarded as employees had they been engaged directly.
Integrated Care Board (ICB)
Statutory NHS organisations responsible for planning, commissioning, and funding health services and NHS continuing healthcare in their local geographical area.
NHS Continuing Healthcare (NHS CHC)
A package of ongoing care arranged and funded solely by the NHS for individuals who have a primary health need outside hospital.
National Living Wage (NLW)
The legally binding minimum hourly rate that employers in the UK must pay to workers aged 21 and over.
Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC PIN)
The unique personal identification number assigned to registered nurses and midwives permitted to practice in the United Kingdom.
Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training
The government's standardized training programme for health and social care staff on learning disability and autism.
Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG Scheme)
The statutory vetting and membership scheme managed by Disclosure Scotland for individuals working with children and protected adults in Scotland.
Registered Manager (CQC)
A Registered Manager is an individual registered with the CQC who shares legal responsibility with the provider for the quality and safety of regulated care activities.
Schedule 3 Requirements (Staff Vetting)
Schedule 3 specifies the mandatory documentation and checks required for all care staff before deployment.
Single Assessment Framework (SAF)
The modern unified assessment framework introduced by the CQC to assess quality and safety across all health and social care sectors.
Sleep-In Shift Pay (Mencap Supreme Court Ruling)
The legal principle that care workers on sleep-in shifts are only entitled to the National Minimum Wage when they are awake and working, not while sleeping.
Waking Night Shift
A shift pattern where the care worker is required to remain fully awake and alert throughout the nighttime period to provide active support and monitoring.