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Covid-19 FAQs

Published: 27 March 2023

As information, guidance and practice about Covid-19 is becoming established and less subject to rapid change, we are no longer maintaining the Covid-19 FAQs or the Covid-19 compendium. For key information, visit our Covid-19 information pages and the following links.

Guidance for Adult social care

Guidance for early learning, school aged childcare and childminder settings

Guidance for Children and Young People (CYP)

Other useful links for all social care settings

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Customer Support Adviser

Published: 06 September 2017

Role: Customer Support Adviser

Salary: £30,495 - £31,740 

Hours: 35 hours per week

Location: Flexible (Any Care Inspectorate office)

Contract: Temporary until 30 April 2025

About us

We are the national regulator and scrutiny body responsible for providing assurance and protection for people who experience care services, their families, carers and the wider public, as well as supporting delivery partners to improve the quality of care for people in Scotland. Our vision is that people across Scotland experience high quality care that meets their needs, rights and choices.

We are a scrutiny body that supports improvement. We inspect individual care services and we also work with other scrutiny bodies to inspect the social care and social work services people are experiencing in their local areas.

Our desire is to achieve an effective and balanced way of working, that enables us to meet organisational needs and achieve a work-life balance that promotes wellbeing and collaboration opportunities. We are moving towards an expectation that all staff will work collaboratively, within and across teams, in person, for approximately 40% of their working week.

Starting salary

Please bear in mind that new entrants start on the grade minimum for the role. However, we have a generous benefits package which you will find on our website.  

About the role

Due a member of the team going on secondment, we are looking for a Customer Support Adviser to join our team. As a member of the Customer Support team, you will answer incoming calls to the organisation, respond to enquiries and questions, pass callers on to appropriate colleagues when necessary, provide information and undertake general administrative and clerical tasks to support the contact centre team.  You will be flexible to support the overall contact centre approach and strive for excellence in this area of business. 

About you

You will have an excellent understanding of customer service practice with good verbal communication techniques.  You will be able to draw out and gather the correct information and gain confidence from callers, leaving every calling customer with a sense of efficient service and being valued. In addition, you must have good IT skills, be able to work to tight deadlines in an organised manner and be able to work effectively as part of a team.

To apply

You’ll find more information in the job profile and person specification.

If you would like more information or an informal discussion, please contact Angela Kerr, Customer Support Officer, on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

If you believe that your expertise and motivation make you suitable for this post, please download and complete an application form (and our online equal opportunities form) and return by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by no later than 8am on Monday 16 September 2024.

It is anticipated that interviews will take place no sooner than 4 October 2024.

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Equality and diversity

Published: 05 December 2014

At the Care Inspectorate, we believe that people in Scotland should experience a better quality of life as a result of accessible, excellent services that are designed and delivered to reflect their individual needs and promote their rights.  We are committed to advancing equality of opportunity, eliminating unlawful discrimination and fostering good relations between all protected characteristics.

Our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion

  • We ensure that the voice of people who experience care is reflected in all our work
  • We promote fairness, equality, diversity and inclusion in all that we do
  • We promote dignity and respect and human rights for all
  • We recognise and value individual differences and the contributions of all
  • We treat people fairly and according to their needs
  • We have a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of discrimination, harassment, bullying or victimisation
  • We have a culture where everyone feels valued and included.

As an organisation, our work, has a focus on people’s rights, choices and individual outcomes, the things that matter most to people. We continue to strive to put equality and diversity at the heart of all we do and that’s why we made equality and diversity a key principle of our Corporate Plan.

Equality, diversity and inclusion statement of intent

At the Care Inspectorate we’re committed to creating a culture that embraces equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging for everyone.

At the Care Inspectorate we value, celebrate and fully embrace to the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion. This requires us all to recognise and respect each others’ differences. Creating an inclusive work environment where we all feel a sense of belonging helps us to do our best work, which results in the best possible outcomes for people who experience care.

We are a values-driven organisation, which means our values inform and guide everything that we do. Our key values of being person-centred, fair and respectful are the most relevant to equality, diversity and inclusion. We expect everyone to follow the principles that are set out in the Health and Social Care Standards as well as any relevant individual codes of practice.

As an employer, we want to increase the diversity of our workforce and would especially welcome applications from disabled people, people from a minority ethnic background, people of all ages, men (as we have a 79% female workforce) people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community and people with care experience. We want a workforce that reflects the wider Scottish population that we serve.

Photo of the Care Inspecotrate's strategic leadership team.

Signed by our strategic leadership team

The strategic leadership team have signed this statement to demonstrate our commitment to leading inclusively and to show accountability on making equality, diversity and inclusion integral to the way we do things around here.

Meeting our Equality Requirements

Like other public bodies in Scotland, we are required to meet the requirements of the General and Specific Public Sector Equality Duties, as set out by the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012. We report on our equality obligations under the legislation every two years.  

Publications

In our dual role as a scrutiny and improvement body and a public sector employer, we are committed to meeting our legal obligations in all aspects of our work. We are covered by general and specific equality duties arising from the Equality Act (2010) which helps us to integrate equality into our day-to-day work. We report on our equality obligations under the legislation every two years. Here are our publications:

 

Our policies and strategic workforce plan 

We appreciate and value our workforce and have a range of family friendly and flexible working policies available. We are proud of the range of inclusive work practices we offer colleagues.

We offer equalities training to our workforce and this is built into our induction and includes our managers and leaders. We have a supportive and respectful organisational culture that values equality and diversity and promotes inclusion for our workforce. Our robust people management policies and processes ensure people are treated with dignity and respect in an environment where bullying, harassment, discrimination and victimisation are not tolerated.

Our staff networks 

We make time to listen to our colleagues and give them a voice to share their experiences, listen to their ideas and involve them in our work. We have online communities where we discuss equalities issues, one of the most active is our disabilities group, where group members shares lived experience, good practice and ideas for improvement.

The Corporate Equality Group drives the delivery and progress of the actions from our Equality Outcomes and Mainstreaming Report. The group meets on a quarterly basis and supports the mainstreaming of equality in relation to all the protected characteristics listed under the Equality Act (2010) and is sensitive and responsive to intersectional identities.

The LGBT Charter Champion Group is a sub-group of the Corporate Equality Group. The group also meets on a quarterly basis. You can email the group using this address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Faith Group is a self-organised group which mainly meets in our Edinburgh office. The group focuses on faith issues, faith in the workplace and encourages employees to get together as a community in a social setting. This provides an opportunity for connection and awareness raising. 

Race Equality in Employment

In November 2020 the Scottish Parliament Equality and Human Rights Committee published a report on Race Equality, Employment and Skills.  

The Public Sector Leadership Summit on Race Equality in Employment took place in March 2021. At the summit, the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee highlighted the persistent issues that impact on outcomes for minority ethnic people in Scotland moving into, staying in and progressing in employment. 

To help us with this vital work we are pleased to be working with CEMVO Scotland.

Recommendations 

The Committee have asked all public sector bodies to accept their recommendations and commit to taking them forward. 

  1. The Committee recommends those in public authority leadership positions undertake an assessment of their organisation’s understanding of racism and the structural barriers that may exist within their organisations. Public authorities should integrate their ambitions into their next strategic plan. Their strategic goal should be underpinned by specific outcomes and supported by timely monitoring. Public authorities should be transparent about their targets and their progress in delivering their outcomes.
  2. The Committee recommends public authorities should review their recruitment procedures and practice against the Scottish Government’s toolkit and make the necessary changes.
  3. The Committee recommends that all public authorities subject to the Scottish specific Public Sector Equality Duty should, as a minimum, voluntarily record and publish their ethnicity pay gap and produce an action plan to deliver identified outcomes.

Our commitment to the recommendations 

The Care Inspectorate pledge to implement the key recommendations of the Scottish Parliament's Equalities and Human Rights Committee’s Race Equality, Employment and Skills: Making Progress? Report.

As public sector leaders, we will be bold and transparent. We will embed the recommendations into the strategic objectives of our organisation and the performance objectives of our senior leaders. We will use equality data to provide insights on race equality within the Care Inspectorate and we will take responsibility to assess our organisation’s understanding of institutional racism and proactively challenge and change practices that disadvantage minority ethnic communities. Vitally, we will ensure that minority ethnic communities are involved in shaping this change. We recognise that taking forward the recommendations represents not a final, but a further step, and therefore this work will form part of the continuum of activity and training to tackle racial inequality in employment, which will be aligned with the key principles of the Scottish Government Race Equality Framework 2016-2030. It is important that we make this commitment clear, not just to each other, but to our staff and people who experience care, who will hold us to account. We have therefore published this commitment on our website and social media.

We are pleased to share we are a signatory of the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter. We know that ethnic minorities still face significant disparities in employment and progression, and that is something we need to change. The Charter is composed of five calls to action for leaders and organisations across all sectors.  We signed up to taking practical steps to ensure their workplaces are tackling barriers that ethnic minority people face in recruitment and progression and that their organisations are representative of British society today. 

LGBT Charter Champion Group 

We attend Pride events to increase visibility about LGBT issues and to be more proactive about being inclusive for lesbian, gay, bi and trans people as an organisation. Our commitment to inclusion and diversity, and to the LGBT community, has been recognised externally.

In 2018 we were awarded LGBT Youth Scotland’s Foundation Charter award and we are the first regulator in Scotland to receive this award. In July 2020 we were shortlisted for the Proud Scot Employer Award Large Business.

In 2020 we became a Stonewall Diversity Champion as we wanted to ensure that all LGBT staff are accepted without exception in the workplace. In February 2022 we achieved the Bronze Employer Award in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index. In June 2022 we were delighted to be awarded the Large Employer Award by Proud Scotland.

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Click here to watch a short film ‘Return to the Closet?’ by Luminate Scotland. Older members of the LGBTQI+ community worked with artist Glenda Rome to create a film which illustrated their thoughts and feelings around ageing, being part of the community and what care means to them and the support they’d want from care providers – whether at home or in care homes. Luminate commissioned the film with support from LGBT Health and Wellbeing. Luminate’s Principal Supporters are Creative Scotland, The Baring Foundation and Age Scotland. LGBT Health and Wellbeing’s LGBT Age Community Action Project is funded by Comic Relief.

First Minister’s National Advisory Council on women and girls (NACWG)

We are a circle member of the First Minister’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG). The NACWG was set up to advise the First Minister on what is needed to tackle gender inequality in Scotland and you can read their latest report here. We are now part of a group of supporters and advisors who help generate ideas and solutions that will inform NACWG’s work. 

Age Scotland 

We are working with Age Scotland to support our commitment to providing an age inclusive environment where staff feel valued, respected and able to reach their full potential at all ages and stages of their career.

Carer Positive Employer 

We are a Carer Positive Established Employer and are committed to supporting our colleagues who are carers. We have recently made changes to our Carers Policy which means we offer up to five days (35 hours) paid time off to support carers.

Fair Work Framework 

The goal of the Fair Work Framework is to ensure that by 2025, people in Scotland will have a world-leading working life where fair work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals, businesses, organisations and society. 

The Care Inspectorate can support this vision by ensuring the fair work values run through the organisation and embedding fair working practices into everything we do.  We are committed to building a Scotland which champions fair work practices and a diverse workforce.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 

Our work also supports the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The Convention sets out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children are entitled to. As a public body, we are required to publish a report on how our work supports the various articles of the UNCRC. 2020 is the first year we have been asked to report on the UNCRC. Our next report will be published in August 2023.

Contact us

If you would like to contact us, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us directly by using contactSCOTLAND-BSL.

2023: Equalities Mainstreaming Progress Report April 2021- March 2023.

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Equality impact assessments

Published: 16 December 2015

Equality impact assessments 

As a public body, we are required to assess the equality impact of applying policies, practices, systems and processes. The purpose is to improve outcomes for those who may experience discrimination and disadvantage. This is often referred to as equality impact assessment.

Details of our completed equality impact assessments can be found below.

2024

2023

2022

2021

Pre 2021

All equality impact assessments pre 2021 can be found here. 

 

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Equality impact assessments

Published: 29 May 2024

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

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How we deal with complaints about care

Published: 23 May 2024

Introduction

The Care Inspectorate is the independent scrutiny and improvement body for social care and social work across Scotland.

We regulate, inspect and support improvement of care services for the benefit of the people who use them. We aim to ensure that people receive safe, high-quality, compassionate care that meets their needs and promotes their rights and choices.

We have a statutory duty to deal with complaints made to us about registered care services and this procedure sets out how we do this. Anyone can complain to us about a care service, whoever they are. People who experience care services, care staff and members of the public all have a right to complain about the performance of the services we regulate.

We want this procedure to be:

  • Open: we want it to be easy for people to find and use. We offer it in different formats on request.
  • Transparent: it should tell you clearly what we will do when we receive information and what you can expect from us.
  • Risk-based: we will look at all the information we receive to assess the risks posed to people experiencing the service. This helps us decide what action we take to ensure the safety of people using services.
  • Focused on people’s experience: : we will identify what the outcomes are for people and how these can be improved. We will promote and support learning and improvement in services.

What is a complaint?

We define a complaint as:

‘An expression of dissatisfaction by a person receiving care or support from a registered care service or from one or more members of the public about the care and/or support of an individual or individuals by a registered care service.’

A complaint may relate to:

  • inadequate standards of care
  • failure to uphold the rights of a person using a service, or their relatives or carers
  • a care service’s failure to follow appropriate safe care practices
  • the practice of staff, including treatment by, or conduct of, a member of staff, fitness of staff, inadequate staff training and staff numbers or deployment

How we deal with complaints about care

We are not able to deal with, or investigate complaints that fall under the remit of other organisations such as:

  • we are not able to deal with complaints that fall under the remit of other organisations. 
  • a request for compensation
  • issues that are in court or have already been heard by a court or tribunal.
  • a complaint that has already been upheld by the care service and action taken to change/improve practice.
  • staff employment issues that are covered by contract, grievance and employment conditions.
  • allegations of discrimination, for example race or disability, prior to someone receiving care or support from a registered service. 
  • complaints about social work decisions or contracting with a care service.
  • an attempt to reopen a previously concluded complaint or to have a complaint reconsidered where we have already given our final decision.
  • child and adult protection issues – we will refer complaints of this nature to the relevant authority, such as social work agencies or the police.
  • criminal offences - we will refer complaints of this nature to the relevant authority, such as Police Scotland.

If your complaint is not part of our remit or is better dealt with by another organisation, we will let you know how you can get in touch with the relevant organisation.

Public protection and criminal acts

We have a duty to protect people and we will refer all complaints that we consider have an element of adult or child protection to the relevant social work agencies and/or Police Scotland. Where a complaint may relate to a criminal matter, for example, relating to a theft or an assault, we will refer this to Police Scotland to investigate.

We will let you know that we have referred the complaint but will not ask your permission to share the information. This is because we are legally obligated to share information relating to criminal offences and to public protection.

We will hold this compliant, but not progress the complaint, until the protection issues or criminal investigations have been assessed by the relevant organisations. If the other organisation is going to progress the concerns then we will close the complaint case. If the other organisation is not going to progress the complaint, we will progress the complaint through our resolution pathways.

Time limits for making a complaint

It is important that we investigate complaints as near to the time as possible when the issue arose. This is to allow us to access relevant information and assess the complaint. We will usually only take complaints where the issue arose no more than six months before the complaint is made.

The passage of time may prevent us holding a full and fair investigation. Even where you have given good reason for not raising matters sooner, we still consider the practicality of investigating long past incidents and providing a meaningful outcome, before we agree to progress the complaint.

Normally, we reserve the right to refuse to investigate after six months and instead use the information provided to inform our scrutiny and assurance work. However, we will consider complaints where there are exceptional circumstances which clearly explain your reasons for not raising the complaint within the six-month timescale. The decision on what meets exceptional circumstances will be for us to make and cannot be appealed.

Who can make a complaint?

Anyone can complain to us about a care service, whoever they are. People who experience care services, care staff, and members of the public all have a right to complain about the performance of the services we regulate.

Sometimes a person may be unable or reluctant to make a complaint on their own. You can make a complaint on someone else’s behalf when you confirm that they have given their personal consent or that you are acting as a personal advocate, guardian, or attorney. Where there is limited information about whether you have the person’s consent, or where it appears that you are not legally entitled to their personal information, we will not share their personal information with you, even if we accept the complaint.

When we can identify a complainant and have your name and address, we will contact you to discuss the complaint to make sure we have understood your concerns correctly and to update you on any progress and with the outcome of the complaint. We may also share your details with the care service you are complaining about if you agree to this.

Whistleblowing

Our organisation is a ‘prescribed person’ under The Public Interest Disclosure (prescribed Persons) Order 2014. This Act provides protection to workers that make disclosures in the public interest. This means that employees can raise issues of concern (disclosures) in confidence with us about the quality of care that is provided in services that are registered with us. We will use the information we received to improve the services we regulate, and we will protect the person’s identity throughout.

We are legally obligated to share information relating to criminal offences and to public protection. We cannot give advice about the legal protection offered to whistle-blowers. However, if you are an employee or a social work student and you are unsure about how to raise a concern in your workplace, guidance is available on our website. It explains the difference between raising a concern and whistleblowing, and when a person raising a concern qualifies for legal protection under whistleblowing law.

Research has evidenced that people can be reluctant to make complaints because they concerned about repercussion.  In order to support this, you can make complaints in the following ways. 

Complainant confidentiality

If you have told us who you are but you ask us to keep your identity confidential from the care service, we will respect your wishes wherever possible. We will not share your identity with the service without your consent. This option allows us to gather more information about the complaint to assist in our assessment of your complaint and any investigation. It also enables us to feedback directly to you on the findings from the complaint and any actions to support improvement. 

However, there will be exceptions to this. For example, where it appears that a criminal offence may have been committed or the issue you have raised with us is about adult or child protection, we will pass any relevant information to Police Scotland or social work to investigate in line with legislation and we will also pass on your details to them. We will make clear to the agencies that you have requested confidentiality.

If you choose to keep your identity confidential from the care service, this may limit what we can investigate if it may identify you. We will discuss this with you and support you to make some decisions about this.

Anonymous complainants

We take all complaints seriously. Anonymous concerns provide a valuable source of information about how well a service is operating.

You can choose to make your complaint anonymously.  However, being anonymous can limit our assessment or any investigation of the issues raised as we cannot clarify or verify information.  It also means we cannot feedback to you on the outcome of the assessment or investigation.  This includes you being able to contact us for further information on an anonymous complaint you have made. 

It is useful to have someone to discuss complaints made as described above, if possible, we would ask you are a confidential rather than an anonymous complainant. Your contact details, if you chose to make your complaint confidential, will not be shared with the service without your permission. 

Please note: if you choose to remain anonymous, we may share the care aspects of the complaint with the provider and/or service. This will only be if we have assessed the complaint as being suitable for resolution – logged as intelligence. We will not share any identifying factors from the details provided.

Making a complaint directly to the registered care service

Research evidence suggests that complaints are best resolved as close to the point of service delivery as possible. We will encourage you to raise your complaint with the care service in the first instance. All registered care services must have a complaints procedure and are required to record any complaint made by a person using, accessing, or visiting a care service.

Where you are happy to raise the matter directly with the care service, we will not investigate matters further at that time. However, we will record the detail of your contact with us. If you decide that you do not wish to raise your complaint directly with the care service, we may assess your complaint as being appropriate for the service to investigate. In these circumstances, we will let you know we have decided to refer the matter back to the care service and the reasons why.

Complaints involving more than one service

If a complaint relates to the action of two or more registered care services, we will address these separately and give you separate responses following any investigation we carry out at each service.

If the complaint involves another care service or agency that is not registered with us, we will advise you to contact the appropriate organisation directly. If we need to make enquiries relating to a complaint and that means talking to a service not registered with the Care Inspectorate, we will take account of confidentiality, data protection legislation and any relevant codes of practice.

Working with other regulators and public bodies

We work with several other regulators, including:

  • Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)
  • Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
  • Education Scotland (formerly HM Inspectorate of Education)
  • Health and Safety Executive
  • Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS)
  • Local authorities
  • Police Scotland
  • Audit Scotland
  • Scottish Housing Regulator
  • Registrar of Independent Schools
  • Fire and Rescue Services
  • Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland
  • Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO).

If you raise matters that are relevant to the regulatory function of other agencies or to our joint working activities, we may share this information. If we do this, we will let both you and the care service know and keep you informed. Where you raise matters about the competency of staff that must be registered with a professional body, we may redirect you to the appropriate professional regulatory body or make a referral to them ourselves.

Meeting your expectations

We investigate complaints in an independent, impartial, and fair way. We believe that complainants have a right to be heard, understood, and respected and we aim to be as open and accessible as we can.

Following our complaint investigations, we may make requirements to the care services about areas of practice which we expect them to improve. We may not always be able to meet your expectations of what you think the outcome should be. We will discuss with you the actions we can take.

While we appreciate that the cause of a complaint generates strong feelings, we may have to decide that we cannot help if your behaviour or action makes it difficult for us to deal with your complaint.

Examples include:

  • subjecting staff to behaviour that is aggressive, abusive, threatening, or unreasonable
  • persistent refusal to accept our decision about a complaint
  • persistent refusal to accept our explanations about what can or cannot be done about a complaint
  • continuing to pursue a complaint without presenting any new information
  • unreasonably frequent or persistent contact with Care Inspectorate staff.

We have policies and procedures for managing difficult behaviour experienced by our staff. We will work with people to resolve their complaint but where we have concerns about conduct, we will act. This may include allowing only one point of contact in the organisation or to only communicate by email or letter. We will discuss this with you and inform you of any action we will take.

We have a zero tolerance approach to any threatening or abusive behaviour towards our staff and will terminate contact with people who are abusive. We will only terminate contact when all other approaches to support communication have failed. If the contact is unreasonable, we will write to explain this and may terminate further contact.

How to make a complaint

Before we can fully consider your complaint, we must have enough information. When you first contact us, remember to tell us:

  • the name of the care service
  • the full names of people who are affected by the issue or concern
  • details of the incidents or concern which happened during the last six months
  • your full name, an email address and telephone number.

You can complain to us, providing the necessary information in several ways:

Write us a letter and post to:

Care Inspectorate
Compass House
11 Riverside Drive
Dundee
DD1 4NY

Send us an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Call our contact centre on 0345 600 9527 where you can give provide details of your complaint.

Speak to an inspector who you meet in the course of their work in a service. They will note your complaint and details and pass this on to be logged by our contact centre.

Complete the online complaints form available through careinspectorate.com

How children and young people can get in touch

We are committed to keeping The Promise and delivering our responsibilities as a corporate parent. If a child or young person is unhappy about the standard of care they are receiving, or want to talk to someone in confidence, they can now send us a text directly on 07870 981785.

What happens when you contact us

We will assess all complaints received. If we agree your concern is a complaint, we will begin our complaints procedure and within three working days, we will acknowledge your complaint. Following this a complaints inspector will determine the appropriate action. We will contact you at this stage to listen to you, discuss your complaint and ensure we have sufficient information to assess your complaint.

It is for us to determine if the information provided meets our complaint criteria, what elements of the complaint we will investigate, including how these are worded and the appropriate way of handling your complaint using our complaints pathways, shown on the following pages.

Our decision will be final and there is no right of appeal.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received, or you do not believe we have followed the correct process you may submit a complaint against us. This would be dealt with by our professional standards department. Our Procedure for handling complaints about the Care Inspectorate explains what to do if you are unhappy about the way we handled your complaint.

A complaints process that is proportionate and risk based

To respond in a proportionate way, we always assess the risks that a complaint presents so we can decide the right course of action. This ensures we identify, prioritise, and respond quickly to complaints that have caused, or have the potential to cause, negative outcomes for people relating to health, safety, and wellbeing. We have a risk assessment process that allows us to assess the risk identified by a complaint, considering what else we know about the service. This enables us to decide how we will proceed and what action we need to take to achieve the best outcome for people experiencing care.

Adult and child protection

We assess all complaints for any aspects that have any elements of adult and child protection. Any complaints that are assessed as adult or child protection concerns are referred to the lead agency, that can be Social Work Department and/or Police Scotland..

Assessment of risk and pathway action

Our risk assessment process helps us determine the appropriate action to resolve your complaint. There are four routes we can take.

1. We can use the information you have given us as intelligence about the service

We will treat the information you have given us as intelligence and pass it to the inspector responsible for regulating the service. This will help inform future scrutiny activity. Where we have logged the complaint as intelligence we will also inform the provider or service of the concerns in order for them to take any action they deem appropriate. We will take all steps to remove any identifying factors to your identity from the concerns

2. Direct service action – where we talk to the care service on your behalf

Where we assess your complaint as suitable for quick or immediate action, we use direct service action. We will contact the care service on your behalf and ask them to engage directly with you, take action and resolve your complaint. We will discuss this with you before making any contact with the care service.

3. Investigation by the care service provider

We may assess your complaint as appropriate for investigation via the provider’s complaint procedure. If this is the situation, we will ask the service provider to investigate your complaint and reply directly to you within 20 working days. The care service will also provide us with a copy of their response to you.

If you are unhappy with the way the service provider handles your complaint, you can ask us to reassess your complaint for further investigation. We will assess your complaint and decide on any action that may be appropriate.

4. Investigation by us

Not all complaints are suitable for direct service action or investigation by the care service. We use a risk assessment to decide if we will investigate your complaint. Our investigations aim to establish all the relevant facts and give you a full, objective, and proportionate response that includes whether we uphold your complaint.

Our investigating inspector will speak with you and discuss your complaint. They will then write to you to tell you about what areas we will investigate. The areas for investigation are called “heads of complaint.”

Our investigation will include:

  • writing to you to confirm the areas we will be investigating
  • contacting the care service to investigate your concerns
  • examining and assessing evidence, including documentation, and speaking to relevant people
  • writing to you with the outcome of investigation.

Investigation methods

Visits to care services to investigate complaints are usually unannounced which means the provider or service does not have prior notice. However, there may be times when it is appropriate for us to tell the service we are coming. If we do this, we will give no more than three days’ notice (a short notice announced visit).

We use video calls to engage with care providers, staff, people receiving care and families. Video calls are now a regular means of communication along with telephone call and site visits.

We will not tell the care service in advance what the complaint is about or tell them who has complained. We will share this information with them on the day the investigation starts if the complainant is anonymous or has requested to be a confidential complainant, we will not share any identifying factors.

Investigation outcomes

There are two possible outcomes when we investigate a complaint.

Upheld

We say a complaint is upheld where we investigate and find evidence that the cause of the complaint is valid and true. When we have upheld a complaint; we may take action. We will tell both you and the care service about requirements or areas for improvement we expect as a direct result of your complaint.

We will require the care service to provide us with an action plan that details how they will improve outcomes for the people who use their service. We may also re-evaluate the grade awarded to a service following a complaint.

Not upheld

We say a complaint is not upheld where we have investigated and find a lack of evidence to validate the complaint.

Investigation timescales

The following timescales will apply to cases at the investigation stage.

  • We aim to contact you within 10 working days to tell you what we will be investigating.
  • We aim to give you a full response as soon as possible but no later than 40 working days from the time we have decide we can investigate.

Extension to the timescale

Sometimes, we may not be able to meet the timescale. For example, some complaints are so complex that the level of consideration and investigation they need takes us beyond the 40-day limit.

If there are clear and justifiable reasons for extending the timescale, we will tell you the reason for the delay and give you a revised date for completion.

When our investigation is finished

We will call you to let you know the outcome of our investigation and that we will be sending you a complaint report.

The complaint report

We will issue a report to the complainant and complained against, which will detail the:

  • elements/areas of the complaint
  • action we took to investigate
  • evidence to uphold
  • evidence to not uphold
  • conclusion
  • any areas for improvement that we have identified
  • any action the service must take (Requirements).

We will send the complaint report to both the complainant and the complained against at the same time.

Post investigation review

If you believe we have made a mistake in our findings and have come to the wrong conclusion, you can ask for a post investigation review.

You can ask for a post investigation review if you consider that:

  • we made our decision based on important evidence that was inaccurate and you can show this using readily available information
  • you have new and relevant information that was not previously available about the complaint we investigated, and which affects the decision we made.

If you have new information that changes the focus of the complaint we investigated or introduces a new part to the complaint, we may need to start a new investigation.

Whether it is the complainant or the complained against who asks for a post investigation review, we will let both parties know we have received a request and the outcome.

Time limits and timescales for post investigation reviews

If you do not agree with the complaint report, you have 10 working days from receiving it to ask us for a post investigation review. This timescale applies to both parties, and we will wait until the 10 working days are up before deciding whether to carry out a post investigation review.

When we receive your request, an inspector will contact you within five working days to confirm we received it.

Once the 10 working days are up, we will look at your request and review it along with the evidence we have gathered.

We will decide whether to:

  • investigate further
  • update the report to reflect comments received
  • update the outcomes of the complaint
  • make no further changes to the report.

We will write to you to explain the outcome of the review and the decision we have reached. If the complaint has changed, we will issue an amended complaint report and if no changes are made, we will confirm the report you received as final. We aim to do this within 20 working days of the end period for submission of the post investigation response.

Once we have concluded our review and informed you of our final position there is no appeal or review of the complaint outcome.

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How we recruit

Published: 03 April 2024

Recruitment banner our recruitment process blank

How we recruit

Our recruitment process is based on a five-stage model designed to give you the best opportunity to demonstrate your experience and skills.

Stage 1: Apply

If you meet the minimum criteria for the job role, apply as per the method described on the advert. This could be to complete our application form or to submit your CV and personal statement and/or to include a cover letter. If you are an external candidate we will also ask you to complete our equal opportunities form. We’ll send you an automatic email to confirm we’ve received your application.  

Where a person specification asks for an appropriate professional qualification as an essential requirement for the role, we are asking for a qualification in addition to the qualifying educational qualification for the role. For example, a postgraduate course, a leadership or quality management qualification or another qualification relevant to the job role.

To assist us to monitor the effectiveness of our equality and diversity practices, we would encourage you to complete our equal opportunities monitoring form as part of our application process.

Application Form Tips

CV Guidance for Applicants

Cover Letter Guidance for Applicants

Personal Statement Guidance for Applicants

Stage 2: Shortlist

We’ll review your application against the person specification and shortlist it against the qualification, experience, skill and competency requirements for the role.  If you meet our essential criteria and are eligible through either of our guaranteed interview schemes we’ll automatically shortlist you.  

Stage 3: Interview, assessment and selection

If you’re shortlisted, we’ll invite you to attend an interview and other skills assessments relevant to the role.  If you’re successful we’ll let you know that you’re the preferred candidate. 

Stage 4: Selection and conditional offer of employment

As the preferred candidate, we’ll send you a conditional offer of employment setting out your main terms and conditions of employment.  Your conditional offer will be subject to pre-employment checks and satisfactory references. 

Stage 5: Pre-employment checks and confirmed offer of employment

We’ll carry out pre-employment checks so we can confirm your offer of employment. These include:

  • proof of ID / right to work in the UK
  • two successful references, where one is from your current or most recent employer
  • a standard disclosure check
  • occupational health questionnaire and referrals, where appropriate
  • registration and qualifications check, where relevant. 

Once all checks are complete, we’ll agree a start date and formally confirm your offer of employment by providing you with a contract outlining your terms and conditions.

How we recruit inspectors

Our inspector recruitment process also follows the same model with the addition of a two-step selection stage.

Selection assessment 1

If you’re shortlisted, we’ll invite you to complete our online selection assessment. This is a written exercise designed to test your potential to be an inspector.    

Selection assessment 2

If you successfully complete the online assessment, you’ll be invited to attend an interview and complete an exercise.

If you’re successful at this stage, we’ll let you know and confirm next steps.  We’ll either confirm you’re the preferred candidate for a suitable vacancy (based on your specialism and location) or you’ll be invited to join our talent pool for future vacancies.  

For more information about our talent pool please see the FAQs here.

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How we recruit inspectors

Published: 03 April 2024

Recruitment banner our recruitment process blank

We are currently recruiting inspectors for adult services and early learning and childcare servies. Find out more from the job adverts here.

How we recruit inspectors

Our inspector recruitment process also follows the same model as our other roles with the addition of a two-step selection stage, detailed below. 

Selection assessment 1

If you’re shortlisted, we’ll invite you to complete our online selection assessment. This is a written exercise designed to test your potential to be an inspector.    

Selection assessment 2

If you successfully complete the online assessment, you’ll be invited to attend an interview and to speak to your written exercise response on how you would give feedback.

If you’re successful at this stage, we’ll let you know and confirm next steps.  We’ll either confirm you’re the preferred candidate for a suitable vacancy (based on your specialism and location) or you’ll be invited to join our talent pool for future vacancies. 

For more information about our talent pool please see the FAQs below.

FAQs about inspector recruitment

What qualifications do I need to become an inspector?

To become an inspector, you must be registered with, or able to register, and hold a qualification that meets the registration requirements of one of these regulatory bodies:

  • Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)
  • General Teaching Council (Scotland) (GTC)
  • Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) 
  • General Medical Council (GMC) Health and Care Professions Council (applies to the following roles only: occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and practitioner psychologists)
  • Other equivalent professional bodies for the UK nations

Inspectors eligible to apply for registration with the SSSC must hold a suitable practice qualification at SCQF level 9. For more information on the list of suitable qualifications please see the section below.

Inspectors must also hold or undertake one of these appropriate regulator's awards:

  • Regulation of Care Award
  • PDA Scrutiny and Improvement Practice (Social Services) SCQF level 10

Qualifications that meet the Scottish Social Service Council’s (SSSC) registration requirements

SCSWIS authorised officer – Care Inspectorate inspector (primary and secondary officer)

There are two qualification requirements
1. Practice
2. Regulatory

Practice qualifications

BA Childhood Practice
Postgraduate Diploma in Childhood Practice
BA Social Pedagogy (University of Aberdeen)
BA (Hons) Social Work (or equivalent)
PDA Childhood Practice at SCQF Level 9
SVQ Social Services and Healthcare at SCQF Level 9
SVQ Social Services (Children and Young People) at SCQF Level 9

Regulatory qualifications

PDA Scrutiny and Improvement Practice (Social Services)
Regulation of Care Award (ROCA)
European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM)

Practice qualifications we also accept

SVQ 4 Children's Care Learning and Development at SCQF Level 9

SVQ 4 Health and Social Care at SCQF Level 9


Qualification meeting requirements of other regulatory bodies (practice requirement)

A qualification meeting the registration requirements for the following professional groups regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council:

• occupational therapists
• physiotherapists
• speech and language therapists
• practitioner psychologists.

A qualification meeting the registration requirements of the General Teaching Council (Scotland), Nursing and Midwifery Council or the General Medical Council

Degree/Diploma in Community Education as recognised by the Standards Council for Community Learning and Development for Scotland Approvals Committee

Qualifications which are no longer available, but we continue to accept (regulatory requirement)

Public Service Improvement Framework (PSIF)

If you have not found the information you need about your qualification and SSSC registration, please contact the SSSC using the web form on their contact us page.

What experience do I need to become an inspector

To become an inspector, we need you to have senior professional experience, expertise and knowledge of adult social care or health care, early learning and childcare or children and young people sectors.

You should also have experience of lead responsibility for complex professional practice through case management, managing people, projects or resources. We welcome applications from candidates with these professional backgrounds.

table

What support will I get to maintain my professional registration?

Maintaining your registration with your professional body is a core requirement for all inspectors.  To support this, we’ll provide you with access to a range of learning activities for your continuing professional and personal development.  Our learning management system automatically records all of your learning and we’ll support your re-validation with your professional body.  You’ll also participate in regular supervision and peer learning activities through our LEAD (learn, experience, achieve and development) performance and development process. 

All inspectors are also expected to undertake our Professional Development Award in Scrutiny and Improvement (Social Services) at SCQF level 10.

What is the salary and grade for the role of inspector?

The role is on an Inspector grade 7. Starting salaries are non-negotiable and all new staff start on the grade minimum for their role. Please see the current starting salary on the advert for the current recruitment campaign.

Following six months service, you will receive an annual increment on 1 April each year until you reach the top of the grade.

How much flexibility is there in terms of working hours and location?

Our inspectors work flexibly and you’ll work 140 hours over each four week period. This equates to 35 hours per week.

We have offices across Scotland and we support a range of flexible working arrangements including homeworking and hybrid working.

Once I apply, how long will it be before my application is considered?

We accept applications from prospective inspectors all throughout the year. We have two recruitment periods each year and your application will be considered during the next recruitment period, following your application submission. 

How long does the selection process take?

Our selection process is based on a two-stage assessment. Depending on the volume of applications we receive, we aim to complete each recruitment period within three months of the adverts closing date. Our recruitment team will communicate regularly throughout the recruitment period to ensure you’re up to date on the status of your application and you have all of the information you need to participate in our selection process.

What happens after I've been offered a role?

We’ll carry out pre-employment checks so we can confirm your offer of employment. These include:

  • proof of ID / right to work in the UK
  • two successful references, where one is from your current or most recent employer
  • a PVG check
  • occupational health questionnaire and referrals where appropriate
  • registration and qualifications check

Once all checks are complete, we’ll agree a start date and formally confirm your offer of employment by providing you with a contract outlining your terms and conditions.

I've been invited to join the inspector talent pool. What does this mean?

If you successfully complete our selection process, we’ll either confirm you’re the preferred candidate for a suitable vacancy (based on your specialism and location) or you’ll be invited to join our talent pool for future vacancies.

Our talent pool is our bank of candidates who have successfully completed the inspector selection process and are available to be appointed to suitable vacancies, based on their specialism and location.

As a member of our talent pool, you’ll be a valued candidate and we’ll:

  • monitor and identify suitable vacancies that we can offer you based on your specialism and location
  • share regular updates about our vacancies, recruitment plans and other relevant Care Inspectorate news.

You don’t need to reapply for future inspector vacancies for up to two years.

Unfortunately, depending on our vacancies, we may not always be in a position to offer a role to all talent pool candidates.

If you would like to chat to us about our recruitment process or a particular job, please get in touch with our HR team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Subcategories

Inspector - Early Learning and Childcare (ELC)

The early learning and childcare expansion… 

Role: Inspector - Early Learning and Childcare (ELC)

Location: Forth Valley, Borders, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh & Glasgow

Salary: £31,083 - £39,069 plus excellent benefits

Hours: 140 hours to be worked over a 4-week period

Contract: Permanent or 2-year secondment (would be considered)

Join us and make a difference – for you, for everyone

It’s our job to ensure care for everyone, everywhere in Scotland is as good as it can be. If you are as passionate about high-quality care as we are, and you’re experienced in your field, we’d love to hear from you.

About us

As a national scrutiny body that supports improvement. We inspect care services and partnerships across Scotland, report on the quality of care people experience, and support improvements in services to facilitate improvements in outcomes for people.

We inspect care services individually. We also work with other scrutiny bodies to inspect the social care and social work services people are experiencing in local areas.

We champion high-quality care whenever we encounter it across the thousands of inspections, we carry out each year, and we work closely with all care providers to support them to improve all the time. We collaborate with other organisations too, supporting improvement across public services. Our work plays a big role in reducing health and social inequalities between people and communities.

We are looking for talented people to join us in making a difference - specialists who understand how to put people’s needs, rights and choices at the heart of delivering social services – and how to lead improvement too. Our 600 staff work with services across the public, voluntary and private sectors. We have offices across Scotland and many of our staff work from home.

About you

Whether early or established in your career, you will share our determination that care, social work and justice services should work well for people – every time. You’ll be confident about what good-quality care looks like and how to deliver it. You’ll be good at analysing information and evidence. You will have excellent writing skills for narrative inspection reports that are clear, concise and focused on outcomes. You will be confident in working with a wide range of people and at supporting and advising on improvement.

You’ll currently be working, or have significant experience in, social care, social work, health, children’s services, early learning, child protection, or community learning and development. You will be registered or eligible to register with a professional body like the SSSC, NMC or GTC.

About the role

Our care inspectors work with care services: childminders, nurseries, care homes, care at home, housing support and a host of other specialist services. A specialist in your field, you may have helped lead a service and have a strong track record in delivering quality. You’ll be adept at leading improvement and influencing others. You will work with people experiencing care, and care service providers, managers and staff.

Why join us?

We strive to be a great employer, knowing that competitive salary, leave and pension schemes are only part of that. We pride ourselves on the values we hold, person-centred; fairness; respect; efficiency and integrity - all supported with a culture of care and kindness.

We believe in collective leadership and innovation. You’ll have a lot of autonomy to manage your own work and use the professional skills you’ve honed during your career – but in new ways. Starting on day one, our learning and development support will help you become confident in the craft of scrutiny and in supporting improvement. Because a lot of your role is about sharing effective practice across Scotland, the impact you can have on experiences and outcomes for people is significant. You will draw on management and leadership skills you’ve developed in the past.

We’re proud to be a progressive, supportive employer – we’re happy to talk about flexible working with you and we’re members of the Disability Confident Scheme, aiming to make the most of the talents disabled people can bring to the workplace.

New appointments will normally be placed on the minimum grade for the role; a higher starting salary may be offered in exceptional circumstances only.

ELC expansion

The Scottish Government is committed to expanding the provision of funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) from 600 hours to 1140 hours per year by 2020. The expansion of ELC is aimed to support the reduction in the poverty-related attainment gap and improve long term outcomes for children and families.

Due to the ELC expansion programme we are looking for 7 further ELC Inspectors in addition to the “business as usual” Inspector campaign launched recently.

Principles and aims

The priority for the expansion to 1140 hours is to improve children's outcomes and close the poverty-related attainment gap. In addition, the expansion aims to support parents into work, study or training. The Scottish Government's four principles of the ELC expansion are: quality, flexibility, affordability, and accessibility.

The Scottish Government has stated that quality is 'at the heart' of the expansion and that achieving a high-quality ELC experience for children is a key objective.

Use and provision

A 2018 survey found that the main reason why parents use funded ELC is that they consider it beneficial for their child's learning and development. In addition, parents reported using the funded hours to either work, increase the number of hours they work, or look for work.

Funded ELC in Scotland is delivered by a wide range of providers including nurseries, crèches and playgroups, from across the public, private and third sectors. A small number of childminders also deliver funded ELC, but the Scottish Government hopes this number will increase under the expansion to 1140 hours.

Criteria to apply

  • We require you to hold a relevant qualification (minimum SCQF Level 9), register with either the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) or any other relevant professional body and undertake PVG checks.
  • You must also be prepared to do a Professional Development Award in Scrutiny and Improvement (Social Services) at SCQF level 10 with appropriate support from the organisation.
  • You will have a minimum of three years recent and demonstrable management experience in a relevant field. You must also be willing to travel with overnight stays as required.

Before you apply

  • Please contact the relevant body directly to resolve any queries you have regarding registration or eligible qualifications for registration (SSSC, NMC and so on) before submitting your application.
  • For an informal chat about the job role, please contact (Who?) You or Kim Connolly, Team Manager on 07766133161
  • For all other queries, please contact Human Resources at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

To apply

  • If you are interested, please see the minimum criteria to apply as an Inspector and the specific guidance and directions to apply. Thereafter, click on the gateway questions link to apply.
  • Your completed application form (campaign number C39 only forms) and equal opportunities form should be returned to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.no later than Monday, 14 October 2019 at 8.00am.
  • We anticipate that selection days will take place in the week commencing Monday, 18 November 2019.