Care home rota in Wales: the staffing rules and how to show your working

There's no legal staffing ratio for care homes in Wales. The duty is in Regulation 34 of the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017: at all times, deploy enough suitably qualified, trained, skilled, competent and experienced staff for the people you support, and be able to show how you decided the numbers. Your rota is the main evidence that you did.

This guide covers what the law says, what the Welsh Government's statutory guidance adds, how to show your working, who is allowed on the rota, and the extra rules for home care.

What Regulation 34 says (law)

• 34(1): a sufficient number of suitably qualified, trained, skilled, competent and experienced staff must be deployed at all times, having regard to the statement of purpose, people's care and support needs, helping them achieve their personal outcomes, and the other regulations.
• 34(2): where anyone in a care home has been assessed as needing 24-hour nursing care, there must be a sufficient number of suitably qualified registered nurses deployed at all times.
• 34(3): you must be able to demonstrate how you decided the types of staff deployed and the numbers of each type.
• 34(5): using temporary staff or non-guaranteed hours contracts must not stop people getting the continuity of care you've decided is reasonable for them (Regulation 22).

What the statutory guidance adds

The Welsh Government's statutory guidance (version 3, March 2024) expects:

• a "demonstrable, measurable and systematic approach" to deciding staff numbers and skills, considering the statement of purpose, people's assessed needs and dependency, the environment and equipment, and the mix of knowledge and skills needed;
• staffing levels and skill mix reviewed continuously as needs change;
• arrangements to cover sickness and absence;
• emergency procedures that keep enough suitable staff for both the emergency and the routine work;
• in nursing care, enough nurses who are "responsible, accessible and present", and evidence of how you decided the number.

"Systematic" doesn't have to mean a paid dependency tool. It means you can explain, in writing, why you staff each shift the way you do, and what would make you change it.

Showing your working: a simple staffing statement

Keep a one-page staffing statement for each unit and review it monthly, or whenever needs change. For example (illustration only, not a recommended ratio):

Then make sure the rota matches it, day by day. The gaps CIW looks for are the ones between what you said you need and what you actually put on, especially nights, weekends and bank holidays.

If you couldn't cover safely, that may be notifiable: the statutory guidance lists insufficient staff among events that prevent safe running. See CIW notifications.

Who can go on the rota: fitness of staff (Regulation 35, law)

A person isn't fit to work at the service unless, among other things:

• they have the qualifications, skills, competence and experience for the work;
• you hold the Schedule 1 information, including a DBS certificate, available for inspection;
• care workers are registered with Social Care Wales no later than six months from starting (or a later date CIW agrees in exceptional circumstances), and managers are registered as social care managers. Nurses and other registered professionals are excluded. See Social Care Wales registration.

DBS renewal is stricter than many managers realise:

Agency staff: the statutory guidance says they should have the same checks as your own staff, with evidence, and get an introduction to the service covering the statement of purpose, core policies and supervision arrangements.

Supervision and training on the rota

The statutory guidance under Regulation 36 says staff have one-to-one supervision no less than quarterly, an annual appraisal, and registered nurses get the opportunity of clinical supervision. Supervisions only happen if they're on the rota. See supervision and appraisal for care staff and keep a training matrix so you can see who's in date before you put them on.

Welsh language

Regulation 24 (law) says you must take reasonable steps to meet people's language needs. The statutory guidance says providers evidence their commitment to deliver, or work towards, actively offering a service in Welsh to people whose first language is Welsh. CIW says its inspectors check whether Welsh is offered without people having to ask (the Active Offer), which is the core of the Welsh Government's "More than just words" framework.

For the rota, that's good practice rather than a fixed rule: know which staff speak Welsh, and plan so that people whose first language is Welsh have Welsh speakers around them, including at night.

The Responsible Individual's oversight

The Responsible Individual (RI) must visit each place at least every three months and meet staff and the people supported (Regulation 73, law), and the statutory guidance says those visits include looking at records. Staffing records are worth including: planned versus actual cover, agency use, sickness and short shifts.

Home care: schedules of visits (Regulations 41 and 42, law)

For domiciliary support services:

• Schedule of visits: prepare one for each domiciliary care worker and give them a copy. It must show travel time, visit time and rest breaks separately.
• Travel time must be realistic for the distance, traffic and parking. Travel from home to the first visit and from the last visit home doesn't count.
• Visit time must be enough to deliver the personal plan and not less than 30 minutes, unless condition A, B or C in section 8 of the 2016 Act applies. The statutory guidance gives examples, including a visit only to check the person is safe and well, consistent with the arrangements (condition B), and a visit cut short at the person's request (condition C). Keep a clear record whenever one applies.
• Records: keep a record of time each worker spends on travel, visits and rest breaks.
• Non-guaranteed hours (Regulation 42): after the three-month qualifying period, a worker who has worked regular hours must be offered a contract with at least their average weekly hours over the previous three months (or fewer, if they prefer). The guidance says review again after a further three months for anyone who stays on non-guaranteed hours, and keep a record of the discussion.

Travel time also matters for pay: see home care travel time and minimum wage, which applies across the UK.

Rota checklist for Welsh care services

• Staffing statement per unit, reviewed monthly; rota matches it on every period
• Registered nurse on every period where anyone needs 24-hour nursing care
• Nobody past six months without Social Care Wales registration
• DBS checks in date; agency staff checked and inducted
• Supervisions at least quarterly; Welsh speakers planned across shifts
• Short shifts reviewed and, where needed, notified
• Home care: schedules of visits issued, 30-minute rule met, time records kept

How ShiftComplete helps

ShiftComplete's rota is built around safe cover. You set day, twilight and night periods, the minimum staff for each, and required roles (a nurse on every nursing shift, a senior carer on every shift). The rota shows each period as covered or short, and publishing with a gap asks you to confirm. You get a warning if you put someone on whose mandatory training, DBS, right to work or visa has lapsed. Gaps can go out as open shifts to selected bank staff, and the published rota is on every phone.

It doesn't hold Social Care Wales registration in the staff compliance file, but you could track it as a course on the training matrix with a three-year refresh period and a photo of the registration. For home care there are visit runs with estimated travel time between visits, check-in and check-out, late and missed visit alerts, planned versus actual reports and a minimum wage check that includes travel time.

It costs £2.49 per active staff member per month, with no minimum or contract, and the first 60 days are free with no card needed. See our care home rota software guide, or go straight to the care homes page, nursing homes page or home care page.