CALA Gateway

CALA Gateway

CALA Gateway

The CALA Gateway scheme offers employment guidance and comprehensive targeted support which is aimed at assisting committees/employers to re-examine working practices and help them to take steps to meet the additional pressures arising from management, financial and employment responsibilities.

For Highland based groups, an initial visit will be made to the centre by a member of the CALA management team who will review existing documentation relating to employment practice and a report will be produced giving the committee/employer guidance as to gaps within their current policies and procedures in relation to staffing. This will ensure that employers are aware of essential employment law compliance and good practice recommendations.

Alongside the written report the group will receive support materials to address these identified gaps in their practice. Areas for review will include:

  • safer recruitment
  • contractual rights of staff
  • discipline and grievance procedures
  • financial review of staff costs in relation to income

Ongoing email support in relation to employment issues will be offered to the group with tailored advice to suit their individual needs.

To take advantage of the CALA Gateway scheme, you must be a CALA member. Click here to learn more about CALA membership. 

For more information on the CALA Gateway scheme please contact our Inverness office on 01463 222569

Useful information and links for managers and committees 

Click on the individual toggles for further information

Advice on pensions

As an employer, you must automatically enrol certain members of your workforce into a pension scheme and make a contribution towards it. The Pensions Regular website tells you all you need to know and seems easy to navigate. If you require further assistance, please email [email protected] 

Guidelines for Paying Staff and Statutory Payments

Once you have employed a member of staff there are certain procedures that must be adhered to.

P45 & P46
It is an employer’s responsibility to tell HMRC that the employee now works for them and to use the correct tax code for that employee. If your employee has a current P45, the information on this form should be used. If not, your employee will need to complete a P46.

Download the P46 form.

Personal Details
In order to enter the employee on a payroll system, there are certain pieces of information that are required. Download an example Employee Personal Details Form.

Minimum Wage
The Government sets minimum wage bands and employers must pay at least the minimum wage. These generally change each October and there are different rates depending on the age of the employee. Access the latest minimum wage rates.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
Statutory Sick Pay is usually payable to all staff. An employer is responsible for paying SSP to an employee who meets certain qualifying conditions, such as earnings meeting the Lower Earnings Level, or when the employee has given notification of inability to work, etc.

Further general information on SSP.
List of qualifying conditions for payment of SSP

Highland Council Childcare and Early Education Service

Learn more about Highland Council ‘Funded early learning and childcare

Informing Care Inspectorate of Committee Changes

Just a reminder for our committee-run member groups – when you are changing your elected office bearers, the Care Inspectorate would like to stress the importance of informing them of any changes in office-bearer details. The Care Inspectorate will complete checks as necessary on new office bearers including a chairperson’s references and PVG

The ‘Change of Relevant Information Form’ can be found within the ‘Guidance on eForms system update Service accounts’ (January 2018).

Legislation to support practitioners

Browse our Practitioner Portal for useful advice and links including information on the National Health and Social Care Standards and the Curriculum for Excellence

Recruitment and employment

A Recruitment and Selection Policy should ensure that you operate safe recruitment procedures and that individuals are selected solely on the basis of their ability to do the job, the contribution they can make to the centre’s effectiveness and their potential for development. The policy should take into account:

  • The National Health and Care Standards
  • The Scottish Social Services Council Code of Practice for Employers
  • The Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003
  • The Equality Act 2010
  • The Protecting Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007

The CALA Gateway Recruitment and Selection Policy will take you through the steps necessary for recruiting and employing staff. The policy is accessible to all our members on their membership site.

Further information can also be found under the ‘Employing People’ section of the gov.uk website

Check if someone can work in the UK

To find out if a potential employee has the right to work in the UK and what documents employers should by clicking here 

You can also use this tool to find out which documents you need to produce to prove you’re eligible to work in the UK.

Rehabilitation of Offenders
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 sets out to improve the rehabilitation prospects of people who have been convicted of a criminal offence and served their sentence. The Act provides that anyone who has been convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to less than two and a half years in prison can be regarded as rehabilitated after a specific period with no further convictions. After this period the original conviction is considered to be spent. The general rule is that, once a conviction is spent, the convicted person does not have to reveal it and cannot be prejudiced by it. This means that if they are asked on a job application or at a job interview whether they have a criminal record, they do not have to reveal it or admit its existence.

In addition, an employer cannot refuse to employ someone or dismiss someone because of a spent conviction. There are, however, some categories of employment to which the Act does not apply and for the purposes of which spent convictions are still to be disclosed, these include paid or voluntary work in child care positions and care services.

Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG)
The Protecting Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 (also known as the PVG Scheme) provides the legislative framework for a new vetting and barring scheme aimed at those working with children and protected adults. People who work or volunteer to work with children and/or protected adults should apply for scheme membership just once. Their scheme records will then be kept up to date which means that they no longer undergo a time-consuming Disclosure procedure each time they change posts.

There are two very separate registers within the scheme:-

  • Regulated work with Children (A child is defined as a person under 18)
  • Regulated work with Adults (A protected adult is defined as a person aged 16 or over who is in receipt of either, care services, health services, community care or welfare services)

If someone you are about to employ is already a member of the PVG Scheme but is currently ‘working with adults’, you will need to ensure they join again under the ‘working with children’ category.

If they are already a member of the PVG Scheme under the ‘working with children’ category – you will need to obtain a ‘Scheme Record Update’.

Downloads & Links

PVG Scheme – for regulated posts (work with children and/or protected adults)

Disclosure Scotland (PVG for volunteers in regulated work with children and/or protected adults)

Disclosure Scotland

SSSC Registration and PRTL (Post Registration Training & Learning)

All childcare workers should apply for SSSC registration within six months of taking up employment within the sector. In addition, everyone registered with the SSSC has to meet post-registration training and learning (PRTL) requirements and over your five year registration period, you must complete 10 days or 60 hours.  Undertaking PRTL, writing about it, and submitting it to SSSC, makes sure you continue to be suitable for registration.

Find out more about SSSC Registration and PRTL

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