It's 6:40 on a Saturday. A care home needs two carers on the floor by 7. You have carers free, but one has a DBS update due and the other's moving and handling training ran out last week. Can either of them go?
On most systems, someone has to open three files to find out. By the time they have, the home has rung another agency.
That's the problem care staffing software has to solve, and it's why so much of the software on the market almost fits a care desk and never quite does. This guide covers what makes care different, what the law asks of you in each of the four UK nations, the questions to ask before you buy, and the kinds of system you'll come across.
Why care breaks general recruitment software
Most recruitment software was built for permanent placement, where a role stays open for weeks. A care desk fills shifts, often the same day, often at night or at the weekend. Shifts repeat, overlap and get cancelled an hour before they start.
The checks don't stop at the first placement either. Training expires. DBS certificates age. Registration with the workforce regulator has deadlines in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. A carer who was cleared in March may not be cleared in October, and the software has to know that before you put them forward.
Then there's pay. Nights, weekends and bank holidays often carry different rates, and the hours a carer actually worked rarely match the rota exactly. If timesheets and pay sit in a different system from the shifts, someone types everything twice.
What the law asks of you
Social care is regulated separately in each UK nation, with its own law, regulator and criminal record check. You follow the rules of the nation the carer works in.
In England, the care home or home care provider holds the duty under Regulation 19 and Schedule 3 of the 2014 Regulations. An agency that only supplies care workers doesn't register with CQC, so it meets the duty through its clients: the provider needs evidence of the carer's conduct in previous care work, a full employment history with a written explanation of any gap, and an enhanced DBS check. The regulations don't set a number of references. Our guide to CQC safer recruitment goes through who is responsible for what.
In Wales, the 2017 Regulations ask for two written references, including one from the last employer, and evidence that the carer's language skills suit the people they'll support. Care workers in care homes and home care must register with Social Care Wales within six months of starting. Checks are through DBS.
In Scotland, social care employment agencies aren't registered with the Care Inspectorate, but their carers must register individually with the SSSC. The Care Inspectorate's guidance asks for two relevant professional references, one from the current or most recent employer, and carers in regulated roles must be members of the PVG scheme.
In Northern Ireland, domiciliary care agencies and nursing agencies are regulated by RQIA in their own right. They need two references, one from the present or most recent employer, and an enhanced AccessNI check. A care home can't let an agency carer work with residents until the agency has confirmed in writing that it holds the required information, and that the references are genuine.
So the first question your software needs to answer about any carer is which nation they're working in, because the list of checks follows from that. Our guide to care worker references covers the reference rules in more detail.
The buyer's checklist
Whatever kind of system you're looking at, ask these in the demo and watch how the answers land.
On the shift
- At 6:40 on a Saturday, can it tell me which carers are cleared, free and close enough for a 7am start?
- Can I fill a shift from my phone while the care home is still on the line?
- Does it stop me putting forward a carer whose DBS, training or registration has lapsed?
On the checks
- Does it know which nation each carer works in, and change the checks to match?
- Does it keep the written explanation for every gap in a carer's employment history?
- Can it produce the confirmation a Northern Ireland care home needs before an agency carer starts, without someone writing it by hand?
On references
- Does it chase a referee who hasn't replied, or does that land back on a consultant?
- Can it reach a registered manager the way they actually answer, by phone or text, and not only by email?
- What happens when the referee's first language isn't English?
On timesheets and pay
- Do timesheets come from the same shifts I booked, or from a separate system?
- Does it work out night, weekend and bank holiday rates, or does someone do that in a spreadsheet?
On the people
- Can a carer confirm a shift or send a document without logging into a portal?
- If a consultant leaves on Friday, does the desk still run on Monday?
The kinds of software you'll meet
Rostering systems built for care homes
These are good at planning a home's own staff across a week. They're written for the provider, so they rarely handle what an agency needs: many clients, carers moving between them, and checks that belong to the agency.
Agency platforms built for care staffing
These handle shifts well and usually track documents and expiry dates. Look at how they handle references. Many send an email and wait, which is where most of the delay in clearing a carer comes from.
General recruitment CRMs
These keep candidates and clients tidy, but they were designed for jobs that stay open for weeks. Shifts, timesheets and pay usually need add-ons or a second system.
Spreadsheets and email
A lot of care desks still run on these. They cost nothing up front and work until the agency grows, a consultant leaves, or an inspector asks to see how a carer was cleared.
Where PassQ fits
PassQ is the CRM for temporary recruitment agencies, built to do the desk work around the relationships you already have. In social care, it clears your carers: references, DBS, right to work and qualifications, chased and checked, with every attempt logged.
The voice agent starts on the day a carer registers. It calls the previous registered manager, calls back later the same day if nobody picks up, and texts or tries WhatsApp if the last agency won't answer the phone. If a gap turns up in the employment history, it goes back and asks for the explanation. If the referee's first language isn't English, it speaks to them in their own.
PassQ also watches the expiry date on every check, so a carer whose clearance has lapsed isn't put forward for a shift.
Shifts, timesheets and pay run on the same system. A shift comes in, PassQ ranks who is cleared, free and close enough, and you place them. It costs £249 a month with unlimited users, plus £35 for each carer you clear. See PassQ for social care agencies, the pricing, or book a demo.
The short version
A care desk needs software that knows, at any minute, which carers are cleared, free and close. That means checks that follow the nation the carer works in, references chased by phone as well as email, expiry dates it watches for you, and timesheets and pay on the same system as the shifts. Ask every supplier the checklist above, and ask what's live today.
Frequently asked questions
What is care staffing agency software? It's the system a social care agency runs its desk on: carers and clients, shifts, the checks each carer needs before they can work, timesheets and pay. The test is whether it can tell you, at 6:40 on a Saturday, which carers are cleared, free and close enough to cover a 7am shift.
Does a care staffing agency need to register with CQC? In England, an agency that only supplies care workers to other organisations is exempt from CQC registration. The care home or home care provider holds the Regulation 19 duty, and the agency meets it by giving that provider what Schedule 3 asks for. Home care agencies that also manage care workers in people's homes do register. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules.
How many references does a care worker need? It depends on the nation. In England the regulations set no number, but ask for evidence of conduct in previous care work and a full employment history with any gaps explained in writing. Wales and Northern Ireland ask for two written references, one from the last or most recent employer. Scotland's guidance asks for two relevant professional references, one from the current or most recent employer.
Which criminal record check does a carer need? An enhanced DBS check in England and Wales, PVG scheme membership in Scotland, and an enhanced AccessNI check in Northern Ireland.
Is PassQ built for social care agencies? Yes. PassQ is a CRM for temporary recruitment agencies, social care included. It clears your carers, with a voice agent that calls previous registered managers and switches to the referee's own language. It ranks who can cover each shift, keeps the timesheets and works out the pay.