Articles in ‘Health and Social Care’ Category

Our May 2020 employment law update for health and social care providers includes an update on the Job Retention Scheme, details of potential cost savings where staff take holiday during furlough leave and the latest guidance on the SSP rebate scheme.

It feels like a long time since March. During the first wave, care services were put under unprecedented pressures. Now that the second wave is upon us, our Health & Social Care team is providing an update on the state of play in key areas.

2020 has been one of the most traumatic years for the social care sector in living memory. Whilst its impact will be long felt, care providers will be looking for clarity, security and a return to normality in 2021.

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has announced the sale of Mavern House Nursing Home in the hamlet of Shaw, near Melksham in Wiltshire, to Welford Healthcare. RWK Goodman acted on behalf of the sellers.

The government has published its white paper outlining proposed reform of the NHS and social care.

A poll by social care experts RWK Goodman reports that almost three quarters (73%) of social care providers would like to make a Covid vaccination a condition of employment for new members of staff. That condition would include exceptions for those who can’t have the vaccine on medical or other protected grounds.

A Care Quality Commission consultation on a new regime of regulating care providers will close on 23 March. It proposes a radical reform of care home assessments, including the prospect of changes to ratings without inspections.

Our recent poll found that whilst 53% of care providers had over 80% of staff vaccinated against Covid-19, 20% are operating with more than 40% of their workforce unvaccinated. In the vast majority of cases, this was due to workers being unwilling or unable to have the vaccine.

At the start of the year, CQC launched a consultation, entitled “Consultation on changes for flexible regulation”, which is focused on health and social care providers. So what are the implications?

In one of the most eagerly awaited judgments for the care sector, the Supreme Court has confirmed that it will hand down its decision in Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake (the “Mencap case”) on Friday 19 March 2021.

The Supreme Court today (19 March 2021) gave care providers a lifeline, saying that they do not have to pay staff the National Minimum Wage when working ‘sleep-in’ shifts.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published its response to the Government consultation on making vaccines mandatory in care homes.