Reference checking for care agencies — compliant at volume, fast for placements
Care recruitment agencies and bank staff providers need CQC-compliant references at scale — without subscriptions that cost more than the placements earn. RefAssure delivers written references with safeguarding questions and full audit trails in 1 to 3 days, from 99p per reference with no monthly fees.
Reference checking for every type of care agency and staffing provider
From a small domiciliary care agency placing 20 workers a month to a national bank staff provider processing hundreds — RefAssure scales with your volume.
Care Recruitment Agencies
Agencies supplying domiciliary, residential and supported living care workers to CQC-registered providers. CQC-compliant references for every candidate on your books — consistent process, compliant evidence, no monthly fees.
Bank Staff Providers
Providers of bank and casual care staff to care homes, NHS trusts and community providers. The same Regulation 19 reference requirements apply to bank workers — RefAssure delivers compliant evidence at the same 99p rate regardless of contract type.
Nursing & Healthcare Locum Agencies
Agencies supplying nurses, healthcare assistants and clinical staff to care and NHS settings. Fast written references for clinical candidates — evidence-ready PDFs for both the agency file and the hirer.
Domiciliary Care Providers
Directly employed domiciliary care teams processing references for new care workers. Role-specific templates with lone working and unsupervised contact questions — CQC Regulation 19 compliant.
Managed Service Providers
MSPs managing care workforce programmes across multiple providers. One account, unlimited users, centralised templates — consistent compliant reference checking across every client site.
Homecare Franchises
Homecare franchise networks needing consistent reference checking across franchisee locations. Standardised templates at network level, individual credit pools at franchise level.
RefAssure vs subscription reference platforms for care agencies
What you actually pay — and what you actually get.
| Subscription platforms | RefAssure | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | £50–£150/month regardless of volume | £0 — pay per reference only |
| Cost per reference | £2–£5+ per reference | From 99p — as low as 80p |
| Quiet month cost | Full subscription still charged | £0 — credits never expire |
| Per-user fees | Often £10–£30 per user/month | Unlimited users — no per-seat fee |
| Contract required | Often 12 months minimum | No contract — credits never expire |
| CQC-compliant evidence | Varies by platform | Yes — every reference, automatic |
| Safeguarding questions | Varies — often add-on | Mandatory — cannot be removed |
| Candidate consent | Varies | Written, timestamped — always |
Care agency reference checking — obligations, best practice and cost
Care recruitment agencies operate in one of the most regulated staffing sectors in the UK. The workers they place have direct access to vulnerable adults and children — and the agencies themselves carry significant legal and regulatory obligations around the quality of their pre-employment screening. Reference checking is central to these obligations.
Legal obligations for care recruitment agencies
Under the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, employment agencies must not introduce or supply a work-seeker to a hirer without taking all reasonably practicable steps to obtain references. For care roles, "reasonably practicable" means written references covering three years of employment history — consistent with CQC Regulation 19 requirements. Agencies that supply workers without completing compliant reference checks are exposing themselves to regulatory and legal risk if that worker subsequently causes harm to a service user.
Beyond the legal baseline, care agencies that can demonstrate robust, documented reference checking are in a stronger position with care provider clients — particularly larger care groups and NHS providers who conduct their own supplier audits and expect evidence of compliant screening practices.
Bank and casual staff — the compliance gap most agencies miss
One of the most common compliance gaps in care staffing is inconsistent reference checking for bank, casual and zero-hours workers. The assumption is sometimes made that because these workers are not permanent employees, the same standard does not apply. It does. A bank care worker visiting a vulnerable adult in their home carries exactly the same risk as a permanent employee — and CQC-registered providers are responsible for ensuring that everyone working in their service, regardless of employment status, has been appropriately screened.
RefAssure charges the same 99p per reference for bank workers as for permanent candidates. There is no volume minimum and credits never expire — making it straightforward for agencies to apply the same standard consistently regardless of contract type.
How care agencies use RefAssure across their consultant team
Most care agencies using RefAssure set up one account with a shared credit pool. Role-specific templates are created at the account level — one for domiciliary care workers, one for care home staff, one for registered managers, one for nursing roles. Every consultant uses the same templates, ensuring consistent CQC-compliant evidence regardless of who sends the reference. Credits are topped up as needed — no monthly overhead, no conversations about subscription renewals.
Care agency & staffing reference checking — every guide
Detailed guides for every care agency and staffing scenario — from high-volume recruitment agencies to bank staff providers and homecare franchises.
Care Recruitment Agency References
Obligations, compliance and cost-effective reference checking for care recruitment agencies.
Bank Staff Reference Checking in Care
CQC compliance for bank and casual care workers — same standard, faster delivery.
Homecare Reference Checking
Reference checking for homecare agencies — domiciliary workers, lone working evidence.
Agency Nurse Reference Checks
Fast written references for nursing agencies — evidence ready for NHS and care hirers.
Residential Care Reference Checking
Reference checking for care home and residential service recruitment and staffing.
Care agency reference checking — questions answered
Care recruitment agencies must take all reasonably practicable steps to obtain references before supplying workers under the Conduct of Employment Agencies Regulations 2003. For care roles this means written references covering three years of employment history with safeguarding suitability questions — consistent with CQC Regulation 19.
Yes. Bank and casual care staff require the same CQC Regulation 19 reference checking as permanent staff regardless of contract type. The risk to service users is identical. RefAssure charges the same 99p per reference for bank workers as for permanent candidates.
RefAssure charges from 99p per reference with no monthly subscription, no minimum spend and no contracts. Unlimited consultants can share one account and credit pool. For high-volume agencies, larger credit packs reduce the per-reference cost to as low as 80p.
Most references return within 1 to 3 days with RefAssure — instant requests and automated chasing. This compares to 5 to 14 days for manual processes and is fast enough for last-minute care placements.
Yes. No per-user fees. Any number of consultants can use the same account with shared credits and standardised templates — one consistent CQC-compliant process across the whole agency.
More care reference checking guides
CQC-compliant care agency references.
From 99p. No subscription.
Instant requests, 1–3 day turnaround, unlimited consultants, safeguarding questions on every reference. Pay per placement — not per month.
From 99p per reference · No monthly fees · Credits never expire · UK data hosting