Staffing and Rota PolicyA Staffing and Rota Policy written for your service
- Written for your organisation, not a template with your logo on it
- Read and approved by a person before it carries your name
- Verified against all 19 required elements of the legislation below
- Kept updated when the law changes, so it never quietly goes stale
No subscription needed. First year of updates included, £12 a year after that.
One-off, first year of updates included. Delivered within 2 working days of your details.
Trusted by UK care providers
Let's build your Staffing and Rota Policy
Answer 7 quick questions, about three minutes, and we'll write this policy for your service, in your name, with your people. You can skip anything and add it later.
Asked once, reused for every policy you buy
That's everything we need
0 of 7 answered. You can add the rest at any point before we write it.
- Registered company name
- Trading name (if different)
- Service address
- CQC provider ID
- CQC location ID
- Registered manager
- Nominated individual
Your answers are saved on this device and carried into your order.
Built from the law, checked against the law
The legislation, CQC standards and guidance we analyse to write it.
Your Staffing and Rota Policy is structured from these regulations, then verified against every required element of each one before a person signs it off. If the law changes, your policy is updated and you are told what changed and why.
Regulation 18: Staffing
- A dependency or acuity assessment tool that is applied to actual residents present, reviewed when residents or their needs change, and demonstrably used to generate required staffing numbers on the rota
- A process to reconcile the dependency tool output against the actual rota (hours planned versus hours worked) at defined intervals, by home, to ensure deployment matches assessed need
- Documented competency assessments that are observed, dated, and repeated for all staff (including bank, night, ancillary and agency workers) covering specific tasks, equipment (e.g. this hoist, this sling, this resident), and resident-specific care needs before staff perform those tasks unsupervised
- A mandatory induction process for agency staff that includes verification of their DBS status, qualifications, training and competence (not accepted on agency assurance alone), and orientation to the building, residents, equipment, and emergency procedures before they commence a shift
- A supervision framework that is separate from performance appraisal, provided at defined intervals, and designed to maintain competence, surface concerns, and enable freedom to speak up, with records audited for content not just completion
- Training provision that includes all statutory and mandatory elements: the 16-standard Care Certificate (including Standard 16 on learning disability and autism), moving and handling, infection prevention, safeguarding, Mental Capacity Act and DoLS, fire, first aid, food hygiene, and medicines competence under NICE SC1
Working Time Regulations 1998
- Defines how actual worked hours (not just scheduled hours) are calculated and recorded, including all shifts across multiple sites, agency work, travel time between clients, and sleep-in shifts counted in full as working time
- Establishes a system to monitor and enforce the average 48-hour maximum weekly working time limit, with clear statement that this limit cannot be disapplied or opted out in ways that apply to other provisions
- Specifies that sleep-in shifts count in full towards working time calculations for rest entitlement purposes, even though they may be unpaid or paid at a lower rate for wage purposes
- Establishes a process to ensure eleven hours' continuous daily rest between shifts, including prohibition of day shifts immediately following sleep-in shifts without the required rest interval
- Describes the system for recording when staff miss rest breaks or rest periods due to operational needs (such as resident emergencies) and the specific process for providing equivalent compensatory rest afterwards
- Sets out the procedure for obtaining, recording and regularly reviewing opt-outs from the 48-hour week, including requirement to inform workers of their right to withdraw on three months' notice, with particular safeguards for visa-sponsored workers
Written for your service
What we ask you, so none of it is assumed.
Most policy packs are one document sold to everyone with a find and replace on the home name. Your Staffing and Rota Policy is written from the legislation above and from your answers to the questions below. Where you have told us something, it says so. Where you have not, it sets out what must happen rather than claiming you already do it.
Your registered name, address, CQC numbers and who holds the key roles. About three minutes. Nothing else is asked before you buy.
Asked once in your own account and used across every policy you own, so a second policy never asks you the same thing twice.
Why it matters. A policy that claims you assess your premises annually, when you never have, is not a harmless overstatement. It is a signed statement handed to your inspector. We would rather write what you must do than guess what you already do.
How it is made
From your details to a policy you can stand behind.
The short questions above: who you are, your CQC registration, and the people this policy names.
One section per required element of the legislation, in your name, with your people.
Automated checks against every required element, then a person reads it before it ships.
When legislation changes, your policy is updated and you are told what changed and why.
Common questions
What you are actually buying.
What exactly do I receive?
A complete Staffing and Rota Policy written for your organisation, in your dashboard and as a print-ready PDF on your own letterhead. It names your service, your registration details and your leads, because you gave us them.
Is this a template?
No. Each policy is written for the organisation buying it, structured from the legislation itself, verified against 19 required regulatory elements, and read by a person before it carries your name.
How quickly will I get it?
Within 2 working days of you completing the short questions above. Most arrive sooner.
What happens when the law changes?
We monitor UK care legislation continuously. When something affecting this policy changes, your copy is updated and you are told what changed and why. The first year of updates is included, then £12 a year per policy.
Can I edit the policy myself?
No, and deliberately so: we stand behind every word we approve. If something needs changing, tell us and we amend and re-verify it, so it always remains a document we can both defend to an inspector.
What if I need more than one policy?
Most services do. The Statutory Starter Pack covers the twenty policies every CQC-registered service is expected to hold, and the Complete Policy Library covers all 66.
Why CareStream
Policies written the way an inspector expects to read them.
Before you buy
What the document actually looks like.
Every section it contains, and a page of the real thing. We show the structure and the personalisation rather than the wording, because the wording is what you are paying us to write for your service.
Contents of your Staffing and Rota Policy
- Purpose and scopewho it covers
- Legal and regulatory frameworkcited in full
- Definitions used in this policy
- Roles and responsibilitiesyour people, named
- Procedure, step by step
- Recording, reporting and escalation
- Training and competency
- Monitoring, audit and review
- Related policies and documents
- Version control and approvalsigned and dated
Section 4 · Roles and responsibilities
Who is accountable, by name
Overall accountability for this policy rests with your registered manager, supported by your nominated individual. Day to day responsibility sits with your named lead, who is the first point of contact for staff at your service address.
The remaining wording is written for the organisation buying it, so it is not shown here.
“The inspector asked for evidence and I had it on screen before she finished the sentence.”
Registered Manager · 48-bed nursing home, West SussexRelated policies
More policies your service may need.
More statutory and operational policies CareStream writes for your service, personalised, human-reviewed and kept updated, exactly like this one.
Safer Recruitment and DBS Policy
Fit and proper persons, DBS checks, references and ongoing suitability under Regulation 19.
Whistleblowing and Freedom to Speak Up Policy
Raising concerns safely, PIDA protections, and your speak-up arrangements.
Disciplinary and Grievance Policy
Fair, ACAS-aligned disciplinary and grievance procedures.
Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Policy
Meeting the Equality Act 2010 and human rights obligations in care delivery and employment.
Fit and Proper Persons Policy
Directors and managers meeting Regulation 5, at appointment and continuously.
Supervision and Appraisal Policy
Regular supervision and annual appraisal under Regulation 18, with frequencies and records.
Compared
The four ways care services get a policy.
We have compared what each approach does rather than naming competitors, because products change and the comparison should still be true next year.
| CareStream | A policy pack | A consultant | A free template | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Questions asked at the point of purchase, so it is personalised rather than blank | ||||
| Written for your service, naming your manager and your leads | ||||
| Structured from the regulations, every required element checked before it is sent | ||||
| A branded companion document setting out the law it was written against | ||||
| Read and approved by a person before it carries your name | ||||
| Prints on your own letterhead with a sign-off and version block | ||||
| Named role holders update everywhere when the person changes | ||||
| Kept current when the law changes, and you are told what changed | ||||
| Turnaround stated before you buy | ||||
| Your staff can ask it questions in their own language | ||||
| What it costs | £39 to £79 per policy, one-off | £250 to £995 for the pack | A day rate, typically £400 upwards | Nothing |
Prices are the published rates of the common alternatives as at September 2026, for comparison only.
Training
Owning the policy is half of it
An inspector asks whether your staff understood it, not whether you hold it. Ninety eight modules written and kept current by us, to the same regulations, from £25.99 per staff member with no subscription.
