Social Care

With social care providers facing so many financial pressures, good legal support is more important than ever. 

We advise a number of charities and businesses who provide social care services and support, and can guide you through areas such as:

• the ever-increasing regulatory and compliance requirements they face
• negotiating (or renegotiating) contracts with councils or NHS trusts
• resolving disputes, including through the use of methods such as arbitration and mediation 
• managing property, from lease negotiations to health and safety requirements
• data protection rules and compliance with the GDPR.

Specialist employment law support

Employment law is high on the agenda for many social care providers, and our employment solicitors have wide experience of dealing with the complex decisions around:

• payment of National Minimum Wage or Scottish Living Wage for sleep-in shifts
• sleep-in shifts versus on-call work
• whether to move from sleepover allowances to hourly rates
• handling sleep-in shift pay arrangements in contractual terms & conditions
• pros and cons of joining HMRC’s Social Care Compliance Scheme
• how to deal with underpayment claims
• compliance with working time regulations for staff doing sleepover shifts
• other employment issues, from equal pay to unfair dismissal to operation of TUPE regulations.

Answers to these employment law issues can vary from provider to provider, and decisions will be strategic as well as legal. In advising you, we will consider the wider context around treatment of staff, recruitment, reputation and financial sustainability.

Multi-disciplinary expertise

In addition, as a full-service law firm, we can bring in specialist solicitors from our other teams if you need support on anything from litigation and dispute resolution to dealing with historic abuse claims.