Home Care Contracts, Notice and Switching Provider

Term and notice

Regulated home care is a service that should start and stop as needs change, so a fair contract has no minimum term. The notice period to end the service should be short: two to four weeks is usual. Be wary of anything longer, of deposits, or of charges for ending the service. Starling Homecare’s terms give a 90-day arrangement at the start in which the client can stop at any time, and 28 days’ notice after that.

Visit cancellation

Providers plan carers’ rounds in advance, so a visit cancelled at short notice is usually charged in full and one cancelled with more notice is charged less or not at all. The contract should say what the notice periods and charges are. Starling Homecare charges in full for a visit cancelled with less than two days’ notice, because the carer is paid for that time; longer notice attracts a lower charge or none, as set out in our Client Terms and Conditions. Charges are only ever waived at the director’s discretion.

Fees

The fee sheet is part of the contract and should set out every rate: visit lengths, weekday and weekend, bank holidays, overnight, live-in, mileage, and what is not included. Fees change over time and the contract should say how much notice you get of an increase. Starling Homecare’s current fees are on the cost of home care in Hertfordshire page.

The contract should say how often the care plan is reviewed and confirm that reviews are free; charging for a review is a sign that the plan is being treated as a product rather than a duty. It should set out the complaints procedure and name the registered manager. It should say how your personal data is held and who can see it, and confirm that you can see the care plan and visit records. And it should say what happens to those records if you leave: the provider must keep them for the period the regulations require, and you are entitled to a copy of the care plan to pass to a new provider.

Invoicing and payment

Most providers invoice weekly, fortnightly or monthly in arrears. The contract should state the frequency, the payment method and what happens if an invoice is late. Starling Homecare invoices every two weeks in arrears, with payment by direct debit as a general rule. Where a professional deputy or attorney pays, the invoice goes to them.

Families often stay with a poor provider because they fear a gap in care. Done properly there is none. First, choose the new provider using the six steps, and tell them you are switching so they can plan the handover. Second, have the new provider carry out its assessment and write its care plan while the old provider is still visiting; ask the old provider for a copy of the current care plan and medication record, which you are entitled to. Third, give notice to the old provider in writing with an end date that matches the new provider’s start date, and confirm it in writing. Fourth, tell the GP surgery, the pharmacy and any district nurse the date of the change. Fifth, on the handover day, the new provider’s first visit is the next scheduled one after the old provider’s last. Keep a note of the key safe code change if there is one.

A provider can also give notice, for example where it can no longer staff the package safely or where needs have grown beyond what home care can meet. A good provider gives the full notice period, explains why, and helps the family find an alternative, including advising when a care home or NHS funding should be considered. It should never leave a person without care. If a provider ends a service suddenly and the person is at risk, contact Hertfordshire County Council’s adult social care team, which has a duty under the Care Act 2014 to meet urgent needs.