Helen Allen reflects on the great partnership that led to the publication of a new guide, launched by Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) which explores how employment status principles apply in practice to support informed, lawful decision-making, while recognising the importance of flexible, personalised support.

At Community Catalysts, our passion is simple: ensuring that people who draw on care and support have as many options as possible — while making sure those options are operating legally, safely and sustainably.

We know how easy it can be — for both individuals and organisations — to drift into grey areas and inadvertently operate outside legal frameworks. So, how do we bring more creative, caring people into the support provider market in a way that feels safe to families and professionals?

With partners we’re working to achieve this and were really pleased to contribute to a new guide, launched by Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) which supports informed, lawful decision-making, while recognising the importance of flexible, personalised support.

Community Catalysts was established in response to Putting People First in 2006 and the wider commitment to personalisation, choice, and control through Personal Budgets and Direct Payments. From the beginning, we wanted to strengthen the care ecosystem by ensuring that people who did not want to employ a Personal Assistant (PA) with their Direct Payment had genuine alternatives. At the time, other personalised options were few and far between.

Our background in the regulated Shared Lives sector gave us specialist knowledge of both the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and HMRC — some might call us anoraks in these areas! That expertise has proved invaluable over the years.  Since then, we have worked with around 90 councils to support market shaping and help build meaningful local choice.

Our approach focuses on designing place-based models that connect with people in their own neighbourhoods and then support them to establish community micro-enterprises. These can operate on a voluntary basis, commercially, or somewhere in-between. The nice distinction is that we don’t support employed PAs. So, from the get-go, there is less room for confusion.

Many micro-providers operate as sole traders or self-employed workers, who need very specific guidance when setting up their business. This is particularly true when navigating CQC and HMRC requirements and especially when offering personal care in people’s homes. It is a complex area. We always direct people to CQC or HMRC where individual circumstances require direct advice. In some cases, people may need CQC registration or need to be employed within particular arrangements.

Our collaborative approach

For two years we have worked closely with colleagues from the National DP Forum, ILG PA, TLAP, Somerset County Council and others, as well as advisors from HMRC, the Low Income Tax Reform Group, Employment Agency Standards, and the CQC. This collaboration resulted in the guidance that will help organisations and individuals review and strengthen their own approaches.

TLAP held a webinar to launch the guide on 21 May which was attended by more than 230 people.  This included representatives from councils we work with — and many we do not — alongside DP support organisations and wider sector colleagues. My colleague, Jill, and I presented at it, showcasing some of the detail in the guide and got people thinking and reflecting on this important area of work.

There was a strong call throughout the session for continued support and advice, and all of us involved in this work remain committed to helping.

Our continuous learning and engagement

At Community Catalysts, we have certainly deepened our own understanding in areas such as live-in care, intermediaries, and employment agencies. We bring that learning back into our teams to help ensure micro-providers do not unintentionally drift — often through goodwill — into arrangements that fall outside legal requirements.

We work closely with the CQC and have been especially pleased to engage more recently with the National Enforcement Team, who value our approach. The councils we support also recognise the importance of this work — not only in expanding choice through micros (which are safe, legal and sustainable) for local residents, but also in strengthening their own CQC assurance and inspection readiness.

We have also consistently reviewed and tested our own advice around employment status, including engaging with PricewaterhouseCoopers in both June 2020 and May 2024 to validate our position and check our advice on self-employment status.

As part of our work with the National DP Forum, we have also contributed to discussions with HMRC during its review of the CEST tool (Check Employment Status for Tax). We provided feedback on some of the language and questions within the tool, particularly where it can be difficult for people to interpret and apply confidently in the care world.

The journey to getting it right is not one we do alone. Collaboration is the key to ensuring the best outcomes and that’s what we’ll continue to do.