Domiciliary care reference checks — lone working, vulnerable adults, CQC evidence
Domiciliary care workers visit vulnerable adults alone in their homes. CQC Regulation 19 requires written references covering three years of history — with specific questions about conduct in unsupervised settings. RefAssure automates the whole process from 99p per reference, no subscription.
Domiciliary care reference checks — what CQC requires and why lone working risk matters
Why lone working changes the reference questions you need to ask
Domiciliary care presents a specific safeguarding risk that residential care does not: the worker operates alone, in a private setting, with limited supervision. A domiciliary care worker who behaves appropriately in a team environment may behave very differently when unsupervised. A reference that asks only about general performance does not address this risk.
CQC inspectors reviewing domiciliary care recruitment files expect to see references that address the specific nature of the role. Questions about conduct in unsupervised settings, reliability for solo visits, and any concerns about behaviour with vulnerable people are all relevant — and RefAssure domiciliary care templates include all of them as standard.
Three years of history and employment gaps in domiciliary care
CQC requires references covering three years of employment history. For candidates with multiple employers, agency placements, or gaps in employment, multiple references are needed. RefAssure allows providers to send references to multiple referees for a single candidate — each returning as a separate PDF with its own audit trail.
Domiciliary Care Reference Checks — questions answered
CQC Regulation 19 requires at least two written references covering three years of employment history, obtained directly from referees before the worker starts. For domiciliary care, references must include explicit questions about suitability to work with vulnerable adults in unsupervised home settings, conduct when working alone, reliability, and disciplinary history.
Domiciliary care workers operate alone in service users homes with minimal supervision. A generic reference that asks only about performance does not address this specific safeguarding risk. CQC expects references appropriate to the risk profile of the role.
Most domiciliary care references return within 1 to 3 days with RefAssure. Requests are sent instantly and automated chasers go out if referees do not respond — fast enough for most care recruitment timescales.
Yes. Agency and bank domiciliary care workers require the same CQC Regulation 19 reference checks as permanent staff. The provider retains safe recruitment responsibility.
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CQC-compliant references for Domiciliary Care Reference Checks.
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Written consent, safeguarding questions, full Regulation 19 audit trail — the same compliant evidence on every appointment. Role-specific templates, automated chasing.
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