SUPERVISION POLICY
INTRODUCTION to OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
As a limited company providing a range of services to Local Authorities we recognise the need for regular and effective supervision of our staff, as a means of ensuring the following:
Individuals to feel supported and motivated in their work.
Quality services are delivered to Local Authorities and their service users.
The effective functioning of the organisation.
PURPOSE OF SUPERVISION
Supervision provides an opportunity to review an individuals performance as well as identifying any gaps and skills in training which need to be addressed. It provides the supervisee with the time and space to reflect on practice with constructive support and advice being made available from the supervisor. It is also an opportunity to consider any health, work- life balance and personal issues which may be impacting on performance. Given the nature of the work undertaken by Cheka Safeguarding Services Limited, supervision occupies a very significant role in addressing the impact of that work on members of the company.
Cheka is not a hierarchical company – it is an organismic organisation and thus supervision is undertaken by the Directors in rotation.
THE SUPERVISEE CAN EXPECT
The supervisor has an understanding of the supervisee’s work and workload.
A meeting where guidance and advice, or at least another perspective is available.
Training needs are identified and recorded.
Supervision records are made.
PRACTICALITIES
Frequency – every six to eight weeks. Additional sessions to be requested if required.
Supervisor to secure and confirm appropriate venue.
Supervisor to record Supervision notes and circulate within 10 days. Supervisee to confirm by e-mail that they agree with the record of supervision within 48 hours of receipt.
A copy of each Supervision Record to be held on each Directors file, stored in a secure cabinet. References to individual cases to be confined to the use of initials only to ensure confidentiality.
AGENDA
The following will be consistent agenda items:
Workload – covering the range of services being provided.
Issues/Concerns – which haven’t been resolved with the relevant LA/agency.
Work/Life Balance – to include leave, specific appointments etc.
CPD – looking at training opportunities, reflecting on training identification of learning needs etc.
Further agenda items to be discussed and agreed at the commencement of each supervision
session.
Sub – Contractors Policy
1. Assessing the sub-contractors
Introduction
Subcontractors carry out work on our behalf, and therefore in under the name of Cheka Safeguarding Services Ltd. Accordingly it is essential that they are capable of carrying out the work to a satisfactory standard in a professional and safe manner. Therefore Cheka Safeguarding Services Ltd need to ensure reasonable steps are taken to assess whether or not the subcontractor is able to fulfil the nature of the work required.
What sort of information and evidence should you require?
When considering using any sub-contactors the following information must be requested and evidenced:
References or examples of previous work
It should be a pre-requisite that these can be followed up on and validated
Insurance
These would normally involve all or some of public liability and professional indemnity insurance.
Specific qualifications and certifications
Diploma in social work,
Degree in social work and any other equivalent.
Safeguarding Checks
- Registration Certificates
- CRB and website check for any admonishments
- DBS
Training records
If the subcontractor is asked to undertake a specific piece of work then evidence of relevant training in the area is required.
Proof of registration with Inland Revenue as self employed
A letter confirming that the subcontractor is registered and or have completed self – assessment and having paid National insurance and TAX.
What will Cheka Safeguarding Services do with the information collected?
The information collected will to be treated as a simple tick box exercise but will be reviewed by the Directors to ensure that originals have been seen. This paperwork will then be held at a secure central point to refer to and/or directed to any contractor requiring to view that paperwork. The secure central point is the registered business address.
If a sub – contractor falls short on one or two requirements then alert them to this and give them the opportunity to rectify any issues and request that they this is completed prior to any work being given to them.
Notes should be made of time limited documentation for example Re registration, CRB so that there are clear reminders to check they have been renewed or updated at the appropriate times
What time scales you want work completed by?
Once a each piece of work has been agreed with the sub-contractor then timescales for their completion will be agreed. Should there be a delay in completion then the agreed penalty will be issued by the purchaser of that contract. Penalties will be agreed at the start of that piece of work being started.
2. Employment status
When taking on an individual subcontractor, then we should take great care to ensure that they are not being engaged in a way which would cause HMRC or an Employment Tribunal to consider that they are an employee
Simply stating in writing somehow that the person is a subcontractor is not sufficient as his/her employment status is a question of fact. Therefore it is important that any contract is consistent with self- employment and the relationship is managed consistently with that contract.
The following points and myths should be borne in mind when managing subcontractors:
Insurance Prior to each piece of work being started the subcontractor must ensure that they have the appropriate insurance for that work to be started and completed.
(Just because a contractor has his/her own public liability insurance in place does not mean they are automatically self- employed and in fact this is a factor HMRC would give little weight to when assessing employment status).
Invoices and payment Subcontractors will be paid a price per piece of work for example each form F completed will be paid at a rate of £1500. Each sub- contractor will invoice Cheka Safeguarding Services Ltd once that piece of work has been completed and within the timescale agreed at the time of requesting that piece of work be completed. Each invoice will be made once the work is completed and at the end of the month. Should the sub-contractor fail to meet agreed timescales then an agreed penalty will be adhered to.
( For your information again, getting invoices from your subcontractors does not mean they are not an employee. HMRC or the Employment Tribunal would be more interested in how payment is instead calculated (hourly/day rates are more indicative of employment than price work).
Substitute workers If you have agreed to take on some work on behalf of Cheka Safeguarding Services Ltd but for any unforeseen circumstances you are unable to complete that task then you are able to send a substitute to complete to complete that task as long as you have ensured all the information detailed above is checked and a record is held by you and passed to Cheka Safeguarding Services Directors and can meet the agreed timescales for that work with no difficulties.
(If a subcontractor has the right to send a substitute worker and there is no evidence that right has ever been denied in practice then it will be difficult for HMRC to argue that person is an employee as they do not have to do the work personally).
Length of engagement
Subcontractors will be asked whether they wish to compete a single piece of work. Upon completion of that work, the Directors will consider whether further services are required.
3. Formal contracts
Each piece of work being undertaken by the subcontractor will be put into writing and the fundamental contractual terms agreed before the subcontractor has been taken on and the work started. The scope of the work should be clearly identified, as well as the terms of remuneration and responsibilities and obligations of each party.
Where the relationship is straightforward then a simple but comprehensive written template may be sufficient which can be supplemented with the details of the specific work.
(More complex projects, however, will require more extensive contracts, especially where there is a master contract between you and your client. For example, provisions relating to liquidated damages may need to be stepped down, collateral warranties implemented between the client and subcontractor or interface agreements implemented between two subcontractors.
Obtaining expert advice about what sort of contract you require in advance and getting the correct documentation put in place can save large amounts of money and time in the future if and when something goes wrong. Lawyers will happily admit that they get a lot of business because companies did not put into place proper written documentation).
4. Resolving Problems/ Complaints
It is inevitable that conflicts will arise when work is contracted out to a third party. The likeliness of problems arising can be reduced by having clear and comprehensive contractual arrangements in place (see section 2 above) but will never eradicate them.
By being prepared and able to deal with issues in a constructive and cooperative way clients and contractors can reduce the expense and time required to resolve issues.
The prompt raising of issues through effective monitoring arrangements (see above) can lead to the resolution of issues before they snowball.
With regards to complaints please refer to the complaints policy.Confidentiality and disposal of documents.
5. Confidentiality and disposal of documents.
When sub-contracting a piece of work, the sub-contractor will ensure that all documentation is stored in a secure place and that once that work is completed then they would dispose of appropriately by shredding that information or passing by to the original owner of that information.
Each sub-contractor will ensure that they have a lockable cabinet within their home/office to ensure that documents are stored appropriately.
In addition the subcontractor will not discuss / disclose the nature of the work they are undertaking within any third parties
