In Scotland, most people who work in social care services must be registered with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). As an employer, you have a legal obligation to ensure that your staff are registered or have applied for registration within the required timescales. Employing someone in a registrable role who is not registered and not within the allowed application period is a compliance failure that the Care Inspectorate will identify during inspection.
This guide explains which roles require registration, what qualifications staff need, and what your responsibilities are as an employer.
Employer obligations
As a care service provider registered with the Care Inspectorate, your workforce obligations extend beyond simply ensuring staff hold SSSC registration.
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1. Identify registrable roles in your service
Review all staff roles against the SSSC registration categories. Any worker in a registrable role must be registered with the SSSC or must apply within 6 months of starting in the role. Keep a record of each staff member's SSSC registration status, registration number, and renewal date.
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2. Check qualification requirements
Each registration category has specific qualification requirements. Staff who do not yet hold the required qualification must be working towards it within the timescale set by the SSSC (usually within 5 years of first registration for support workers). Budget for training costs and study time as part of your workforce planning.
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3. Ensure PVG scheme membership
All staff working with protected adults or children must be members of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme, managed by Disclosure Scotland. You must check PVG membership before the person starts in role. Existing PVG scheme members can be checked through the PVG online portal. New scheme memberships take approximately 2 to 4 weeks to process.
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4. Support staff through the registration process
Help new staff understand the SSSC registration requirements and support them through the application process. Pay particular attention to the registration deadline (6 months from starting in a registrable role) and ensure staff submit their applications on time.
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5. Monitor ongoing compliance
SSSC registration must be renewed periodically. Set up a system to track renewal dates for all registered staff and prompt them to renew before their registration lapses. A staff member whose registration has lapsed cannot continue to work in a registrable role until it is renewed.
Fitness to practise
The SSSC investigates concerns about registered workers through its fitness to practise process. As an employer, you must:
- Report concerns – if you become aware that a registered worker's conduct, competence, or health may impair their fitness to practise, you must report this to the SSSC
- Cooperate with investigations – provide information, documentation, and access to witnesses when the SSSC is investigating a worker
- Act on SSSC decisions – if the SSSC suspends or removes a worker's registration, you must not allow them to continue in a registrable role
Common reasons for fitness to practise investigations include misconduct towards service users, failure to maintain required qualifications, criminal convictions, and breaches of the SSSC Codes of Practice.
What happens next
Once your workforce registration arrangements are in place, maintain them as an ongoing part of your HR processes. The Care Inspectorate will review your SSSC registration compliance during inspections and expects to see evidence that all registrable staff are registered and working towards their qualifications.