Care worker onboarding software that gets every file ready for CQC
GettingDocs is care worker onboarding software for UK care agencies and domiciliary care providers. Amy messages each new carer on WhatsApp or email, from your own domain, with only what her file still needs: the Enhanced DBS certificate, a work history with every gap explained, the Care Certificate, the moving and handling certificate. She checks every photo and PDF that comes back and files it on the carer’s record in your ATS, so rotas get filled and the file is complete when CQC or a care home asks to see it.
Thanks, Amy · Copperbeck Care Staffing
A new package of care starts Monday. Your carer is ready, but her file is two documents short.
On Thursday the council confirms a package: four calls a day for a woman leaving hospital, starting Monday. You have a carer nearby with two years in a care home who wants the hours. Before her first call, her file needs a full employment history with every gap explained, a reference from her last care employer, her Care Certificate, her moving and handling training and car insurance that covers business use. Here is the same weekend, twice.
- Thursday
Interview done. Between rota calls, the coordinator emails her the list of eleven missing items.
- Thursday night
She sends her DBS certificate and passport. The training certificates are in a folder at her mum’s.
- Friday
Her work history arrives with eight months unaccounted for in 2021. Nobody spots it until the file check.
- Saturday
Her car insurance is social, domestic and pleasure only. The office is closed, so nobody tells her.
- Monday morning
The file still fails the check, and the first call is at 7:30.
The package goes to another provider, or the first week of calls is covered by a carer already on overtime.
- Thursday
She is marked as placed in your ATS. Amy messages her on WhatsApp with the eleven items still missing.
- Thursday night
Her DBS certificate and passport arrive from her phone and are filed on her record as they land.
- Friday
Amy’s list asked for a history with every gap explained, so hers arrives with a line for 2021: eight months caring for her dad.
- Saturday
Amy’s reminder asks for car insurance with business use. She checks her policy, adds business use with her insurer and sends the new certificate.
- Sunday
The last training certificates arrive. The file is complete and the coordinator confirms Monday’s calls.
She makes her 7:30 call on Monday. Your coordinator spent the weekend on the rota, not on the phone.
Three steps, and nobody chases anybody
When a carer is placed or cleared to start, Amy messages her on WhatsApp or by email from your own domain, listing only what her file still needs. She replies from her phone between calls with a photo or a PDF. No portal, no login and nothing to install.
Each file is filed as it arrives, then Amy checks it is the right document and readable. A blurry DBS certificate or the wrong training certificate goes back with the reason, and she sends reminders at the time you choose until the file is complete.
Documents are attached to the carer’s record in Zoho Recruit, Recruit CRM or Crelate, and copied to Google Drive if you want. Coordinators can see who is cleared before building the rota, and the file is together when an inspector or a care home manager asks for it.
- Enhanced DBS certificate
- Employment history with gaps explained
- References
- Care Certificate
- Manual handling training certificate
No portal, no login. Only what is still missing is ever asked for.
The care staffing compliance checklist Amy collects
Regulation 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 says that everyone working in a CQC-regulated service, agency staff included, must be fit and proper, and Schedule 3 lists what has to be on file to show it. Most care worker files are built from these four groups. Choose a placement type to see a typical file, and Amy asks each carer for exactly those documents.
Identity, right to work and Enhanced DBS checks9 of 9 documents
- Passport (or other photo ID, as proof of identity)
- Recent photograph (Schedule 3 asks for one with the proof of identity)
- Right to work documents (share code or passport)
- Enhanced DBS certificate (with the adults’ barred list check, and the children’s list where the service supports under-18s)
- DBS Update Service confirmation (if the carer has subscribed)
- Overseas criminal record certificate (if the carer has lived outside the UK)
- Proof of address
- PVG scheme membership (Scotland, in place of the Enhanced DBS)
- SSSC registration (Scotland, within six months of starting)
Employment history, references and fitness to work4 of 4 documents
- CV
- Employment history with gaps explained (the full history, with a written reason for every gap)
- References (conduct in past health or social care work, and why it ended)
- Health declaration (fitness for the role, after reasonable adjustments)
Care Certificate, care qualifications and mandatory training8 of 8 documents
- Care Certificate (all 16 standards, or proof it is under way)
- Level 2 or 3 adult care diploma (an older NVQ or QCF in health and social care counts)
- Manual handling training certificate (moving and handling of people, including hoists)
- Safeguarding training certificate (safeguarding adults, and children where relevant)
- Medication administration training certificate (with the latest competency assessment)
- First aid at work certificate (or basic life support training)
- Learning disability and autism training certificate (the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training)
- Statutory and mandatory training certificates (infection prevention, fire safety, food hygiene, information governance)
Driving, pay and terms for domiciliary care work10 of 10 documents
- Driving licence (carers who drive between calls)
- Car insurance with business use
- MOT certificate (cars over three years old (four in Northern Ireland))
- National Insurance number
- P45 or HMRC starter checklist
- Bank details form
- Emergency contact details
- Key Information Document acknowledgement
- Signed terms of engagement
- 48-hour week opt-out (only if the carer chooses to opt out)
Choose social care when you sign up, or later in Settings, and every document on this list is set up for you. UK accounts also come with Right to Work, DBS Certificate, CV and Driving Licence built in, and on Pro you can add your own document types for a local authority or a care home group that asks for more.
Domiciliary care recruitment software for every kind of placement
A carer doing home visits, a live-in carer and a support worker in a supported living house each need a different file. Chase rules read your ATS to decide who is chased and for what, so each placement type gets its own list.
Domiciliary care
Calls in people’s own homes, often starting the day a hospital discharge is confirmed, with a car, the right insurance and an MOT on file.
Live-in care
Carers who live with one person for weeks at a time, where a care diploma, medication training and dementia experience are usually expected.
Residential care home shifts
Agency carers covering day and night shifts in care homes, each home with its own induction and training list.
Nursing home shifts
Care assistants and senior carers working alongside nurses in nursing homes, often with medication and clinical skills training.
Learning disability and supported living
Support workers helping adults with a learning disability or autism live in their own homes, with the Oliver McGowan training on file.
Documents land in the ATS you already use
Social care staffing questions
What documents does CQC expect in a care worker’s file?
Schedule 3 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 lists them: proof of identity with a recent photograph, a DBS certificate with any barred list information, evidence of conduct in past health and social care work and why it ended, relevant qualifications, a full employment history with a written explanation of any gaps, and information about health relevant to the role. Agencies usually add right to work, training certificates and their own terms.
Does Regulation 19 apply to agency care workers?
Yes. CQC treats agency and bank staff as employed for Regulation 19, so the service using them must be satisfied they are fit and proper. In practice care homes and councils ask the agency to confirm the checks are done and to share the file, which is why a complete file matters before the first shift.
Does GettingDocs check DBS certificates or right to work?
No. GettingDocs collects the documents and checks each one is the right document and readable. It does not look up the DBS Update Service, run a right to work check with the Home Office or contact referees. Your compliance team still does those checks and makes the decision, but it starts from a complete file instead of a half-finished one.
How do we get care workers to explain gaps in employment history?
Ask for it up front rather than at the final file check. Amy asks every carer for an employment history with gaps explained, in those words, so the reasons arrive with the dates instead of in a phone call a week later. Your compliance team still reads the history and decides whether each explanation is satisfactory.
What about care workers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
The checks are similar, but the names change. In Scotland, carers need PVG scheme membership from Disclosure Scotland rather than a DBS certificate, and most must register with the SSSC within six months of starting. Care workers in Wales register with Social Care Wales, and in Northern Ireland with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council, with criminal record checks through AccessNI. Set up a list for each, and Amy asks every carer for the right one.
Can carers send their documents without downloading an app?
Yes. Carers reply on WhatsApp or by email with a photo or PDF from their own phone, often between calls or at the end of a shift. No portal, no login and nothing to download.
Get care workers cleared before the first call
See Amy build a care worker’s file over WhatsApp on a 15 minute call.
