Staff policies and procedures

In this document, “Bina”, “the Company”, “we”, “us” and “our” mean Bina Pathways Ltd (company number 16667031).

BINA PATHWAYS LTD · Revised 9 November 2026 · BP-HB-2026-11-10-v9

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This handbook tells employees and managers how BINA PATHWAYS LTD supplies staff safely, supports its employees and handles concerns. It applies to care, healthcare and education assignments in England, with task and setting annexes where needed. Paused sectors require a separate scope review before work resumes. The Company remains responsible for its employment and agency duties; the host remains responsible for the service it runs.

The directors own this handbook and must record adoption, competent role appointments and operational contact cover in BP-REG-2026-10-30-v1. Staff receive the full current handbook and their assignment information. Short induction summaries are reminders and must link to these full procedures. No one may mark a missing statutory check complete or treat this handbook as authority for an unassessed clinical or restrictive task.

Using the reporting routes

For immediate danger or a serious medical emergency call 999. Do not wait for management permission. For Bina operational, employment, safeguarding or privacy concerns use 07337541218 and admin@binapathways.co.uk. If one director is involved, request the other director. If both are involved or the response is unsafe, use the appropriate external authority directly and arrange an independent company reviewer. Email is not an emergency service.

Before every placement the coordinator gives the employee a completed Assignment Safety Card with the host supervisor, safeguarding lead, Bina duty contact and backup, local child and adult safeguarding routes, LADO route where relevant and out-of-hours arrangements. The coordinator must verify the routes for the assignment location. No 24-hour availability is claimed unless an actual duty arrangement is recorded and tested. An unanswered internal contact must never delay urgent external protection.

1 Governance and safe placement

Before accepting a requirement

The booking lead obtains the hirer's legal identity, location and relevant registration; the actual job, staffing level, supervision, hours, risks, break cover and competence required; and any driving, lone working, medication or physical-intervention duties. Recruitment checks each worker against the requirement and work restrictions. The commercial lead checks signed terms and insurance scope. Do not fill a shift with an uncleared worker or promise a specialist task outside approved scope.

Authorising supply

Only an authorised approver may mark a file fit for work, recording name, date, evidence and any restrictions. The booking team must see the current approval and task restrictions, not medical history or an unrestricted personnel file. Essential clearance that expires or is withdrawn pauses the affected work until reassessed. The coordinator records the agreed assignment and sends the worker and client the relevant confirmation before work.

Oversight and change

Directors review incidents, complaints, compliance expiry, staff welfare, hours, outstanding debts and corrective actions monthly during launch. Record the owner and due date for every action and evidence before closure. Any proposal to assess needs, direct individual care or manage a care package requires a documented registration, competence, insurance and contract review before acceptance. A policy cannot transfer a statutory duty away from the person who holds it.

2 Safer recruitment and role clearance

Required checks

Recruitment obtains a complete chronological history, verifies identity and prescribed right to work, discusses gaps, checks qualifications and professional registration appropriate to the role, and determines the correct DBS workforce, level and barred-list eligibility from actual duties. Obtain overseas evidence where relevant and evaluate its limits. A universal DBS expiry date must not be invented. The recheck frequency and triggers follow role risk and current requirements.

The normal company reference standard is two independently verified professional references, including the most recent relevant employer where possible, plus a personal reference. A personal reference does not replace professional suitability evidence. Where the normal standard cannot be met, recruitment records the reason and obtains a director's decision on a lawful alternative. That decision cannot waive statutory or applicable school requirements. For relevant vulnerable-person work, obtain and offer the references required by the Conduct Regulations to the hirer.

Verification and decisions

Check a referee through an independent organisational contact where possible, compare dates and duties, clarify inconsistencies and record the actual reviewer and date. A submitted form or signature is not proof of verification. Preserve the original response and make any correction as a dated clarification. Never invent dates, endorsements or assurances. Assess disclosed convictions and suitability fairly, using role relevance and legal restrictions.

Continuing checks

Maintain a role matrix with each required check, result, evidence location, reviewer, date, expiry or recheck date and restriction. Prescribed right-to-work checks and follow-up are not replaced by a share-code screenshot alone. Recruitment pauses affected work when essential evidence is absent. A conditional offer is not clearance. Provide a written school checks assurance and the host's identity-arrival check for education supply.

3 Safeguarding children

Recognise and respond

A child is anyone under 18. Recognise abuse, neglect, exploitation, grooming, online harm, discrimination, child-on-child harm and risks arising from a person's communication needs. Listen without leading questions, do not promise secrecy, record exact material words and obtain emergency help when needed. Do not confront a suspected perpetrator or conduct an independent investigation.

Report and refer

Tell the host safeguarding lead and Bina duty manager immediately, unless doing so would increase risk or compromise evidence. The designated Bina lead records the safety decision, checks that the concern reaches children's social care without delay and follows the local referral process. Any employee may refer directly if a child may be at risk. Do not wait for parental permission where seeking it could increase risk or obstruct protection. Discuss with safeguarding professionals how parents are informed.

Follow up

Record event and report times, facts, the child's words, injuries, witnesses, actions, recipients, reference numbers and current safety. Confirm the referral was received. If the response is absent or the child remains at risk, use the authority's escalation procedure and record each attempt. Share only necessary information and restrict access. The lead arranges appropriate support and learns from the event without interfering with police or social-care enquiries.

4 Safeguarding adults and mental capacity

Involve the adult, seek their wishes and recognise abuse, coercion, exploitation, self-neglect, domestic abuse, financial harm and organisational harm. Obtain urgent clinical or police help where needed. Report promptly to the host and Bina leads and refer to the relevant local adult safeguarding authority where indicated. Uncertainty about the section 42 threshold is not a reason to ignore a concern.

Seek consent to sharing where appropriate and record it. Sharing without consent requires a justified lawful basis, for example serious risk, coercion, risk to others or a legal duty. Record the rationale and share the minimum needed. Do not assume every adult safeguarding concern automatically overrides privacy or the adult's wishes.

Presume capacity where the Mental Capacity Act applies and provide practical decision and communication support. Capacity is decision-specific and time-specific; an unwise decision alone does not establish incapacity. Refer a doubtful capacity decision to the responsible professional, recording support given. Best-interests action must follow the applicable process and be least restrictive. Family agreement alone does not authorise detention, restraint or treatment. The Act can apply from 16; 16- and 17-year-olds also remain within children's safeguarding arrangements.

The host owns the relevant care assessment and lawful authorisations. Staff check and follow the actual plan and report an unlawful or unclear restriction. Bina follows up referral receipt, unresolved risk and persons-in-positions-of-trust arrangements, using an external route if the provider is implicated.

5 Allegations against staff and suitability investigations

The recipient makes people safe, records the account and reports it to the safeguarding lead without testing the allegation through an informal disciplinary interview. Preserve original messages and records. The director makes a documented proportionate risk decision on adjusted duties, supervision or temporary removal. Suspension is neutral and is not automatic. Consider alternatives and the effect on the person raising the concern and the employee.

For allegations meeting the local child-related criteria, the lead contacts the relevant LADO within one working day and immediately for urgent protection. For adults use the local safeguarding and persons-in-positions-of-trust route. Follow police and safeguarding advice before an internal interview or disclosure that could compromise an enquiry. Bina checks its own DBS and professional-regulator duties independently of any host notification.

Where Bina removes or would have removed a person from regulated activity because the legal harm or risk criteria are met, assess and make any required DBS referral. Resignation, an agency move or another authority's report does not remove that duty. Record the threshold decision and evidence. Treat the employee fairly and disclose sufficient information at the lawful stage to allow a response.

Confirm any temporary removal in writing with the reason, pay decision under the agreement and law, welfare contact and next review within seven calendar days, or sooner if circumstances change. Review necessity regularly. On closure record the actual outcome, support, any corrected information and deployment decision. Do not turn a disputed or unsubstantiated allegation into a finding of guilt. Apply the appropriate retention rules, including special rules for school allegations.

6 Whistleblowing and speaking up

Employees may disclose reasonably believed wrongdoing in the public interest, including unsafe care, legal breaches, concealment or relevant harassment, to Bina or an appropriate external route. Personal grievances normally use the grievance procedure, but a concern may engage both processes. Staff do not need proof or Company permission to make a protected disclosure. Company language about honesty does not replace the statutory protection test or impose a good-faith condition.

Report to a director or ask for the uninvolved director. If both are implicated, use the appropriate prescribed regulator, safeguarding authority, police or legal advice route and request an independent reviewer. Anonymous concerns are considered on the information available. Confidentiality is protected as far as lawful, but cannot always be guaranteed. Explain necessary sharing rather than promising secrecy.

The recipient acknowledges the concern normally within two working days, assesses immediate safety and legal referral duties the same day where urgent, appoints an uninvolved reviewer and gives an update within ten working days or an explained revised date. The reviewer records evidence, findings and action without compromising external enquiries. Tell the reporter the outcome as far as privacy and law allow. Investigate retaliation separately and promptly. No confidentiality clause prevents lawful reporting, legal advice or trade-union support.

7 Health safety infection prevention and exposure

Before work the host provides site induction on fire, emergencies, first aid, infection controls, sharps, waste, PPE, equipment and known violence or environmental risks. Bina checks that the employee is suitable and that the arrangements exist. Both parties cooperate; neither assumes the other's duty is discharged by a generic certificate.

Use the risk assessment, hand hygiene and current service infection guidance. Required PPE must be available without unlawful charge, suitable and used correctly. Do not attend where an exclusion, illness or unsafe fitness makes it inappropriate; contact Bina for advice. After exposure or injury, make safe, obtain the appropriate first aid and clinical advice urgently, notify host and Bina and preserve factual records. Do not delay emergency treatment to finish paperwork.

Only use moving equipment after relevant training, familiarisation and authorisation, following the person's plan and staffing requirement. Do not improvise lifting or reduce two-person support without a safe reassessment by the responsible service. Use COSHH information for substances and report equipment faults. Stop dangerous work and seek urgent help while arranging safe care and handover where possible.

Record accidents and near misses, including who controlled the site and activity. A director identifies the responsible person for any RIDDOR decision, obtains advice if needed and checks required reporting occurs. Not every incident is reportable. Keep the decision, notifications, corrective actions and review evidence.

8 Lone working violence and missed contact

Lone work requires a written assignment-specific assessment, reliable communication, check-in frequency, agreed response times, backup and an escalation contact who is actually available. Consider the setting, person, behaviour, environment, travel, worker experience, disability or pregnancy and ability to summon help. Do not convert a required two-person assignment into lone working to fill a gap.

At the agreed check-in deadline, the duty contact attempts the worker immediately, then the host and backup route. If safety cannot be established within the risk-assessed period, seek an appropriate welfare response and emergency services where there is a credible immediate risk. The card must state that period; managers must not wait until shift end by default. Record times and decisions.

For threats or violence, use prevention, distance, de-escalation and exit or assistance as appropriate. Do not remain in serious and imminent danger. Arrange urgent help and a safe handover where feasible. Bina supports affected staff, considers police and safeguarding referral, investigates environmental causes and reassesses the assignment before return. Challenging behaviour does not excuse unaddressed staff harassment or unsafe staffing.

9 Driving and transport

Drive only where the assignment is authorised and the licence, relevant restrictions, vehicle condition and insurance for the actual activity are checked. An ordinary business-use policy may not cover every passenger or paid transport arrangement. Verify the journey, vehicle, passenger needs, seatbelts, child restraints, escort support and emergency plan before agreement.

The driver must meet relevant eyesight and fitness standards, follow DVLA and medical advice, report changes and stop driving if permission or safety is uncertain. Required health information is functional and proportionate and handled with restricted access. Check licence status at authorisation, the recorded review date and after a reported change or incident. Do not use a handheld phone or drive fatigued, impaired or medically restricted.

For a collision stop safely, call emergency services where necessary, obtain help for passengers, follow legal reporting duties and notify Bina and the host promptly. Record facts and insurer details without admitting liability on behalf of the Company. Keep receipts and mileage records under the agreed assignment terms. A non-driver is not expected to transport someone because a last-minute instruction demands it.

10 Medication and delegated clinical tasks

Medication support is permitted only where the assignment includes the task and the host has assessed and authorised the worker for the person, setting and task. Registered work and delegated clinical tasks require the correct registration or delegation, practical competence, supervision and insurance. A training certificate or an online policy acknowledgement does not itself authorise practice.

Before support read the care plan, authorised medicine directions, MAR, allergies, consent or capacity arrangements and host procedure. Verify the person, medicine, dose, route, time and record; clarify discrepancies before acting. Do not alter a dose, accept an informal instruction, sign for another person's administration or sign for a medicine not given. Respect refusal and obtain advice using the host's clinical route.

For omission, error, unexpected reaction, stock discrepancy or uncertainty, assess immediate safety, obtain urgent clinical advice or emergency help, notify the host lead and Bina and record the facts, advice and action. Preserve relevant packaging and records. Safeguarding referrals are considered separately. PRN requires clear authorised criteria and outcome records. Covert administration requires the applicable lawful professional process, not family preference alone.

After an error the clinical lead reviews the task and competence before duties resume. Staff never conceal an incident to protect an assessment result. Bina does not provide independent diagnosis, prescribe treatment or authorise a procedure outside its service scope through this policy.

11 Positive behaviour support and restrictive practice

Read the person's communication, support and risk plans before an assignment. Use predictability, sensory adjustments, respectful language, choice, space and de-escalation. Identify foreseeable risks and agree safe staffing and help. A diagnosis, property damage or shortage of staff does not create blanket authority for restriction.

For foreseeable intervention the coordinator verifies the legal framework for the setting and age, individual plan, authorisation, trained techniques, practical competence, supervision and insurance. Different rules apply across care, schools and home settings. Court or deprivation-of-liberty authorisation is not a general permission for any technique. Do not undertake an assignment whose foreseeable requirements exceed competence.

In immediate danger seek help, reduce demand and use the least restrictive lawful response. Any physical intervention must be necessary, proportionate, within lawful authority and competence and stop when the justification ends. Never use pain, an airway restriction or a prohibited technique. Monitor welfare and breathing and obtain medical help where needed. This policy is not physical-intervention training.

Report immediately and record the precise risk, alternatives, people present, technique, start and finish, observations, injuries, medical care, notifications and outcome in the host's approved system and Bina's incident route. Offer an accessible person-centred debrief and staff support. Review preventable causes and the deployment decision before similar work resumes.

12 Incident records complaints and learning

Report safeguarding concerns, injuries, missing persons, medication issues, restrictions, unsafe staffing, harassment, data incidents and near misses. Safety comes before forms. Notify serious matters immediately and make a factual record before shift end where safe, explaining any delay with the actual entry time. Never backdate, overwrite evidence or copy an unverified allegation as fact.

A record states who, what, where and when; material exact words; observations separated from interpretation; risk, injuries and medical help; witnesses; action, referrals and reference numbers; and the current safety position. Make corrections through a dated amendment and preserve originals. Keep care details in the host's approved records, sharing necessary incident information securely with Bina.

Complaints may be verbal or written. Provide communication adjustments and send the concern to management or the uninvolved director. Acknowledge normally within two working days, identify the investigator and aim for a reasoned response within 20 working days. Explain any extension and give a review date. These are Company targets and do not replace specialist statutory routes or deadlines.

The investigator hears relevant people, reviews proportionate evidence and issues findings, reasons, actions and review rights. A review can normally be requested within ten working days, with late requests considered fairly. Use an uninvolved director or external reviewer. Record recurring themes, action owners, deadlines and evidence of change. Safeguarding or criminal concerns must not wait for a complaints outcome.

13 Equality reasonable adjustments and professional conduct

Do not discriminate, harass, bully or victimise applicants, employees or people supported. Assess selection and placement against actual role requirements. A client's discriminatory preference is challenged and recorded; any asserted occupational requirement needs a case-specific lawful review, not routine acceptance. Ask about needed recruitment adjustments without unnecessary pre-offer medical questioning.

Discuss reasonable adjustments, use functional information, obtain occupational-health advice where appropriate and record the agreed support and review date. Share only what the host needs to implement it. Disability, pregnancy and protected leave require careful assessment in attendance, capability and deployment decisions. Equality monitoring remains optional, separated from selection and reported only in non-identifying groups.

Maintain boundaries. Do not borrow, lend, exploit a relationship, accept significant gifts, provide private paid services to a person supported or use personal social media to contact them. Declare gifts and conflicts, use the host's authorised financial procedures and never mix personal and service-user money. Treat different cultures, beliefs and communication needs respectfully. Report a boundary concern early; management records the decision and follows safeguarding where indicated.

14 Harassment prevention and response

Bina takes all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and addresses harassment by colleagues, managers, clients, contractors and people encountered through work. The directors assess risks before placement and after a concern, including lone work, night work, power imbalance, previous reports, intimate-care tasks, online communication and client conduct. Provide training, clear standards and reporting options and review whether they work. Keep evidence of action, not just a policy signature.

The worker may report verbally or in writing to a director, the uninvolved director or an appropriate external body. They may bring a supporter to an initial conversation, request adjustments and choose a different contact where possible. Do not require confrontation of the alleged harasser or an informal resolution as a condition of a formal report. Assess immediate separation, supervision, safe transport or withdrawal of supply without penalising the complainant.

An uninvolved investigator explains the process, preserves evidence and hears both accounts fairly. Limit sharing to what is necessary and avoid promises of absolute secrecy. Keep the employee updated at least every ten working days during an active case, with a reason if the timetable changes. Apply disciplinary action where justified, challenge the client and suspend future unsafe supply where controls are inadequate. An assignment change is not a substitute for investigating the risk.

Record outcome, prevention actions, appeal route and follow-up checks. Investigate retaliation, disadvantageous shift allocation or pressure to withdraw a report separately. Coordinate overlapping safeguarding, whistleblowing and police issues. Do not use confidentiality wording to suppress a lawful complaint or disclosure.

15 Disciplinary procedure

Investigation and informal action

For a minor issue the manager may explain the concern, hear the response and agree improvement without a formal sanction. Record the support and expected standard. A serious or repeated concern requires an impartial investigation; distinguish misconduct from capability, illness, protected absence and a training gap. Obtain relevant evidence, preserve originals and consider reasonable adjustments. Investigation is not itself a disciplinary hearing.

Formal hearing

If there is a case to answer, send the employee the allegations, potential outcomes and relevant evidence in reasonable time to prepare, normally at least five working days unless an agreed adjustment or exceptional lawful need requires a different period. Explain the right to be accompanied by a trade-union representative or fellow worker at a qualifying formal hearing and reasonable postponement rights. Consider another appropriate supporter as an adjustment where needed. Use a decision maker who has not investigated where practicable.

At the hearing explain the case, hear the response, allow questions, consider relevant witnesses and adjourn for further enquiries if needed. Decide only after considering the evidence and mitigation. Record the facts found, reasons and proportionality. No predetermined automatic sanction follows the cancellation trigger or a client request.

Outcomes and appeal

Possible outcomes include no action, support, a first written warning normally active for six months, a final warning normally active for 12 months, or dismissal with notice where justified. A serious case may justify a final warning directly. Gross misconduct may justify summary dismissal after a fair process; examples include serious abuse, theft, deliberate falsification or a grave safety breach, assessed on facts rather than the label alone. Confirm the required improvement, support, review and consequences in writing.

The employee may appeal, normally within ten working days of the decision. An uninvolved director or external reviewer hears it promptly, with applicable accompaniment and adjustments, reviews the grounds fairly and gives a reasoned written outcome. Late requests are considered on their circumstances. An internal deadline does not remove statutory rights or external time limits. Keep proportionate confidential records under the retention schedule.

16 Grievance procedure

An employee may seek an informal discussion if they choose, except where safety, seriousness or the circumstances require a formal route. They need not approach a person who is implicated. A formal grievance may be written or supported through an accessible alternative and should explain the concern, relevant facts and the outcome sought. Management acknowledges normally within two working days and identifies an uninvolved person.

Arrange a meeting promptly, normally within ten working days, explaining applicable accompaniment rights and adjustments. Hear the employee, clarify the issues and investigate proportionately, allowing relevant evidence and witnesses. Coordinate related disciplinary or safeguarding matters without suppressing the grievance. Tell the employee if more time is needed and give the next review date.

Give a reasoned written outcome, actions and appeal route. An appeal is normally requested within ten working days and heard by an uninvolved director or external reviewer. Consider a late request fairly. Prohibit retaliation and record any allegation of it separately. Neither procedure requires permission for Acas, legal advice, a regulator or a protected disclosure, and neither extends an external limitation period.

17 Capability probation supervision and support

Explain the role, required competence and review criteria during induction. For a performance issue identify whether training, supervision, unclear instructions, disability, health or working conditions contribute. Meet the employee, agree support, reasonable adjustments, measurable standards and a realistic review period. Record feedback and progress. Do not send an employee into an unsafe task as a performance test.

Probation reviews occur during the three-month period and before its end. Confirm success or a justified written extension and agreed support; under the standard agreement total probation does not exceed six months. If employment may end, use a fair process with the appropriate notice and an appeal. Probation does not cancel statutory protections.

Provide supervision at a frequency proportionate to role and deployment risk, with an initial check after the first assignment, at least every three months while actively deployed and sooner after a serious incident, concern or role change. Supervisors check welfare, practice, competence, learning, incidents and work restrictions and record actions. Annual appraisal reviews overall development. Professional or service-specific supervision requirements may be more frequent and take precedence.

18 Attendance sickness and return to work

Employees report sickness, delay or inability to attend to Bina and the host as soon as reasonably possible, normally before shift start. The duty manager checks immediate staffing and welfare, arranges safe cover and records the information and any necessary infection or clinical advice. If a call is not possible, use the safest accessible alternative and explain the reason. Do not demand unnecessary diagnoses or advise an unwell person to work unsafely.

Record genuine sickness separately from misconduct. Three employee-initiated cancellations with less than 24 hours' notice in a rolling 12 months initiate a review. Check that each shift was accepted and each event is correctly recorded, hear the employee and consider emergencies, disability, pregnancy, protected leave and circumstances beyond control. Declining an offer does not count. Apply adjustments to triggers where required. The review does not impose a fine or automatic dismissal.

Use self-certification initially and a fit note when legally required. Payroll assesses SSP, qualifying days, average earnings and current rules and explains any refusal with required information. Arrange a proportionate return-to-work discussion and assess phased work or occupational-health advice. Keep medical information separate and restrict it. If long-term absence affects work, consult, obtain appropriate advice, consider adjustments and alternatives and follow a fair process with appeal before any dismissal decision.

19 Family leave time off and flexible working

Statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental, unpaid parental, neonatal care, parental bereavement, carer and dependant rights are considered under their own eligibility and notice rules. Contact management as early as reasonably possible; an emergency dependant request can be made as soon as practicable. The manager records the request, supplies current information, considers evidence proportionately and confirms entitlement, dates and pay separately. Do not treat day-one leave eligibility as automatic statutory-pay eligibility.

Pregnancy and return-to-work risks are assessed with the employee and host, with safe adjustments or alternatives and any applicable paid suspension rights. Antenatal and other protected appointment rights are considered separately. Leave does not remove holiday accrual or required carry-over. Managers must not count protected absence as misconduct or use it to disadvantage shift allocation.

Employees may make a statutory flexible-working request from day one. Management discusses it, considers the actual business circumstances and reasonable adjustments separately, and follows current time limits and permitted reasons for refusal. Confirm the outcome and any agreed variation in writing and offer an internal review. Requesting predictable arrangements or declining a voluntary opt-out is not a disciplinary matter. Future legislative changes are applied when commenced and applicable.

20 Working hours breaks night work and fitness

Before confirming work the coordinator records relevant hours across jobs, travel, rest, night work and restrictions. Normally apply the adult 48-hour average over the relevant reference period, a 20-minute uninterrupted break when work exceeds six hours, 11-hour daily rest and the applicable weekly rest. A separate voluntary opt-out does not waive rest or night-work protections. Review the actual exception and compensatory rest rather than assuming care work is exempt.

A break requires genuine relief from duties. Record interruption and pay treatment accurately and obtain safe cover; do not deduct a break the worker could not take. Do not extend a shift simply because replacement cover is late without reassessing fatigue, legal limits and safety. Escalate to the host to manage its staffing. Nothing requires remaining in serious and imminent danger.

Provide a free appropriate health assessment for eligible night workers before assignment and at suitable intervals, protect its confidentiality and consider recommended adjustments. Assess young workers separately before accepting any under-18 placement. Staff report fatigue, medication effects, alcohol or substance impairment without concealing risk. Respond fairly and obtain clinical advice where needed; a safety disclosure alone is not proof of misconduct.

21 Pay holiday deductions and expenses procedure

The standard basic rate is £12.76 gross. Eligible staff receive 12.07% rolled-up holiday on relevant pay, separately itemised, approximately £14.30 combined. Apply higher agreed, statutory and agency-worker entitlements. Payroll checks the legal holiday method for each leave year and employee, actual working time, minimum wage and lawful deductions. Required training and travel cannot be omitted merely because the rota shows fewer hours.

Staff submit actual hours and business mileage by the 20th cut-off for monthly payment on the last calendar day of the month, brought forward to the preceding working day where needed. Payroll pays undisputed evidenced time and investigates missing approval, clocking errors and disputed time promptly. Client non-payment does not delay earned wages. The employee receives an itemised payslip and an explanation of changes. For a correction after payday, agree and record the earliest practical payment or lawful recovery rather than a surprise deduction.

The holiday year is January to December. Record accrual, leave taken, pay method, sickness or family-leave treatment, reminders, carry-over and final reconciliation. Respond to leave requests promptly, normally within five working days, using statutory notice rules, and offer alternatives if refusing. Keep required holiday records for at least six years. Staff must have a real opportunity to rest even with rolled-up pay.

Employee-funded DBS and permitted portable training costs require an actual-cost Charges Schedule before agreement and a minimum-wage and agency-rule check. No work-finding fee or unlawful PPE or safety-training charge applies. Reimbursement follows the agreed expense schedule and evidence. Verify bank changes independently and apply the financial controls in the governance manual.

22 Agency worker rights and assignment changes

Agency-worker protections may apply to an employee supplied to a hirer. The coordinator gives access information about shared facilities and vacancies from day one, subject to the lawful facilities exception. Record the hirer, role and all relevant prior assignments, including those through another agency, so the qualifying clock can be assessed.

Before the usual 12-week qualifying point, request the hirer's comparator pay, holiday, working hours, rest and other applicable basic conditions and document the decision. Assess breaks, pregnancy and family leave and a substantively different role under the actual rules. Do not artificially rotate roles or agencies to avoid rights. Escalate missing comparator information to management and record efforts and any adjustment.

Before a material site, duty, hours or pay change, reassess safety, competence, work restrictions and rights and obtain the employee's agreement where required. Update the assignment and KID or contract information when necessary, retaining the prior version. A client may remove someone from duties for immediate safety, but Bina decides employment consequences through its own fair process.

23 Education assignments

Recruitment applies the current Keeping children safe in education requirements for the actual role and records checks, dates, evidence and restrictions. This includes relevant identity, right-to-work, qualification, overseas, DBS and barred-list checks and any additional role-specific prohibition or disqualification checks where applicable. Do not request an ineligible check or assert that every teaching assistant needs every teacher check.

Send the school the required written checks notification before supply. For information disclosed on a certificate, follow the applicable KCSIE sharing requirements securely. The school checks that the person who arrives is the person checked and supplies its safeguarding, behaviour, emergency, online-safety and reporting induction. Record the designated safeguarding lead and deputy, location and contact routes before work.

Specify age group, SEND responsibilities, classroom supervision, intimate-care arrangements, medication boundaries and any foreseeable physical intervention. A care qualification is not automatic classroom competence and a teaching role is not authority for clinical care. Use the school-specific assignment annex and current policy versions. Allegations follow both Bina and the school/LADO procedures without a competing internal investigation.

24 Continuity and policy access

The duty manager keeps an accessible secure rota and contact list, nominated deputy, manual time-record route and instructions for system failure. On an unfilled or cancelled critical shift, tell the host immediately, record attempts to find suitable cover and allow the host to manage safe staffing. Never disguise a no-show or substitute an uncleared person. Reconcile manual records into the system with the original time and author intact.

Directors maintain payroll cover, backup access and a tested recovery process. Test loss of a key manager, booking-system outage, failed reminder or email, missed clock-out, disputed hours and payroll interruption. Record actual results, owners and remedial action. No test entry is marked complete without evidence.

Staff can obtain the full current handbook and an accessible format through management. Record the exact version supplied and date, allow questions and arrange support. Receipt is not a waiver of rights or evidence of practical competence. Review the handbook annually and earlier after a legal change, serious incident, material service change or audit finding. Keep withdrawn versions for the justified audit period and remove them from issue.

Operational update BP-HB-2026-11-10-v9 · 10 November 2026. Earlier signed versions remain preserved; acknowledgement is recorded through the authorised policy-update route.