The Ethical Care Charter
UNISON’s Ethical Care Charter was set up in 2012 to benefit care workers and the people they look after.
It established a set of minimum standards designed to improve the safety, quality and dignity of care, particularly for those receiving home care services.
The Charter focuses on ensuring clients are given the time and attention they need and that care workers are treated fairly, with stable employment conditions, decent pay, and adequate training.
On this page
What is the aim of UNISON’s Ethical Care Charter?
The over-riding objective behind UNISON’s Ethical Care Charter is to establish a minimum baseline for the safety, quality and dignity of care by ensuring employment conditions which:
- do not routinely shortchange clients;
- ensure the recruitment and retention of a more stable workforce through more sustainable pay, conditions and training levels.
Rather than councils seeking to achieve savings by driving down the pay and conditions that have been the norm for council, they should be using these as a benchmark against which to level up.
The Ethical Care Charter
Stage 1
The starting point for commissioning of visits will be client need and not minutes or tasks. Workers will have the freedom to provide appropriate care and will be given time to talk to their clients.
The time allocated to visits will match the needs of the clients. In general, 15-minute visits will not be used, as they undermine the dignity of the clients. Homecare workers will be paid for their travel time, their travel costs and other necessary expenses, such as mobile phones.
Visits will be scheduled so that homecare workers are not forced to rush their time with clients or leave their clients early to get to the next one on time.
Those homecare workers who are eligible must be paid statutory sick pay.
Stage 2
Clients will be allocated the same homecare worker(s) wherever possible.
Zero-hour contracts will not be used in place of permanent contracts.
Providers will have a clear and accountable procedure for following up staff concerns about their clients’ wellbeing.
All homecare workers will be regularly trained to the necessary standard to provide a good service (at no cost to themselves and in work time).
Homecare workers will be given the opportunity to regularly meet co-workers to share best practice and limit their isolation.
Stage 3
All homecare workers will be paid at least the Living Wage Foundation’s Living Wage (as of April 2025 it is currently £12.60 an hour for the whole of the UK apart from London. For London it is £13.85 an hour. If Council employed homecare workers paid above this rate are outsourced it should be on the basis that the provider is required, and is funded, to maintain these pay levels throughout the contract.
All homecare workers will be covered by an occupational sick pay scheme to ensure that staff do not feel pressurised to work when they are ill, in order to protect the welfare of their vulnerable clients.
Guidance for councils and other providers on adopting the charter
Seeking agreements with existing providers
Convene a review group with representation from providers, local NHS and UNISON reps to work on a plan for adopting the charter – with an immediate commitment to Stage 1 and a plan for adopting Stages 2 & 3.
Start by securing agreement for a review of all visits, which are under 30 minutes. The review will include getting views of the homecare workers and client (and/or their family) on how long the client actually needs for a visit and what their care package should be.
Looking for savings
Are providers’ rostering efficiently – for example, are there cases of workers travelling long distances to clients when there are more local workers who could take over these calls?
How much is staff turnover costing providers in recruitment and training costs?
How much are falls and hospital admissions among homecare clients costing the NHS and could some of these be prevented by longer calls and higher quality care?
Are there opportunities for economies of scale by providers collaborating around the delivery of training and networking/mentoring for workers?
Are there opportunities for collaboration between providers to achieve savings on procurement of mobile phones, uniforms and equipment for workers?
The commissioning process
UNISON’s evidence, along with that of other bodies such as the UKHCA, shows that working conditions are intrinsically bound up with the quality of care.
When councils are conducting service reviews and drawing up service improvement plans, the Charter will provide a helpful benchmark for ensuring service quality – whether for an improved in-house service or in relation to externally commissioned services.
Where a decision has been taken to commission homecare externally, identify how the elements of the Charter will be included as service delivery processes, contract conditions or corporate objectives in the invitation to tender documents. It must explain how these are material to the quality of the service and achieving best value.
Service monitoring
Work with providers and trade unions to agree how service quality will be monitored and compliance with the Charter assured.
Build regular surveys of homecare workers into this process to gain their views and consider establishing a homecare workers panel from across local providers who can provide feedback and ideas on care delivery.
The provisions of this Charter constitute minimum and not maximum standards. This charter should not be used to prevent providers of homecare services from exceeding these standards.
Councils that have adopted the Ethical Care Charter
East Midlands
Nottinghamshire; Nottingham City
Greater London
Barking and Dagenham; Camden; Croydon; Greenwich; Hackney; Hammersmith & Fulham; Haringey; Lewisham; Islington; Newham; Southwark; Tower Hamlets; Westminster
North East
Gateshead (1+2); Hartlepool; Redcar & Cleveland
North West
Cheshire West and Chester; Cumbria; Halton; Knowsley; Lancashire (stages 1+2); Liverpool (stage 1); Manchester (stage 1); Sefton; Trafford; Wirral
Scotland
Aberdeen; East Ayrshire; Fife; Inverclyde; North Ayrshire; North Lanarkshire; Renfrewshire; South Lanarkshire; Stirling
South East
Brighton & Hove; Milton Keynes; Perth & Kinross; Plymouth; Portsmouth; Reading; Southampton
South West
Bristol council; Cornwall
Wales
Blaenau Gwent
Yorks and Humberside
Leeds (stages 1+2); Sheffield; York council; Hull; Rotherham.
Legal disclaimer
The information contained within this article is not a complete or final statement of the law and is based on the laws of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
While UNISON has sought to ensure that the information is accurate and up to date, it is not responsible and will not be held liable for any inaccuracies and their consequences, including any loss arising from relying on this information. If you are a UNISON member with a legal problem, please contact your branch or region as soon as possible for advice, or for non-employment matters call UNISONdirect.