How to publish company policies for your workers

Every agency has policies its workers must read, such as your code of conduct, safeguarding and whistleblowing. Proving that each worker has actually read them is often the hard part, especially when an inspector or a client asks.

The Agency Policies panel lets you publish each policy as a PDF to the workers it applies to. The policy appears in their profile on the worker mobile app, where they can read and acknowledge it. You can see at a glance who has acknowledged it and who has not, send a reminder with one click, and keep a full record of every version and every change.

Before you begin

You will need a user access level that allows you to edit organisation details.
Have the final, signed off version of each policy saved as a PDF. Drafts and editable formats such as Word documents are not accepted.
Decide who each policy applies to. You can target a policy at particular worker types, particular clients, or everyone.
A policy only reaches workers once you publish it. As soon as you select Add Document, it is issued to every worker it applies to.

Opening Agency Policies

Select Organisation in the left hand menu.
In the column of icons on the right hand side of the screen, select the document icon, which sits just above the settings cog. The icon turns orange when the panel is open.

Understanding the Agency Policies panel

At the top of the panel, three summary cards show where things stand across all your policies:

POLICIES PUBLISHED. How many policies you have published, and how many of them are currently live for workers.
ACKNOWLEDGED. How many acknowledgements your workers have given. This shows N/A when none of your workers match the policies you have published yet.
AWAITING RESPONSE. How many acknowledgements are still outstanding.

Underneath, the table lists every policy you have added:

Policy Document. The policy name, its current version (for example v1), the short note you added, and a Disabled badge if it has been switched off.
Worker Type(s). The worker types the policy applies to, and how many of your workers that covers.
Client(s). The clients the policy applies to. Policies that apply everywhere show All placements.
Created By. Who added the policy, and when.
Acknowledged. How many workers have acknowledged the current version out of how many it applies to, with a progress bar. If no workers match the policy's targeting, it shows No workers match this policy.
Actions. The eye icon opens the policy, the bell icon sends a reminder, and the three dots open more options.

Tip: Check the worker count under Worker Type(s) straight after publishing. If it reads 0 workers, none of your workers currently match the worker types and clients you chose, so nobody will see the policy.

Step 1: Find a template, if you need one

If you do not already have a policy written, the policy template library gives you a starting point.

Select Add new at the top of the panel. The Add Policy Document form opens.
Select Browse policy library in the top right corner. The Policy Template Library opens.
Search for a policy by name, or scroll through the list. The Core policies marked STATUTORY are the ones every agency needs and every worker should read, whatever setting they work in.
Each template card shows:
- The policy name and its reference code, for example AA-POL-C01
- A short summary of what the policy covers and who must read it
- REGULATORS, the bodies the policy is relevant to, such as CQC, Ofsted or the Care Inspectorate
- APPLIES IN, the UK nations it applies to
- KEY LEGISLATION, the laws and guidance behind it. Select Show more to see the full list.

Select the download icon on a card to save the template.
Amend the template to reflect your own services, service users, staffing model and local arrangements, then save the final version as a PDF.

Please note: Templates are provided as guidance only. Care Hires does not draft, review, approve or maintain their content, and downloading one does not make you compliant. Have your amended policy checked by whoever is accountable for compliance in your organisation before you publish it. The policy you publish is your policy, and you remain responsible for its accuracy and for meeting your obligations under CQC, Ofsted and all applicable UK law.

Step 2: Add and publish a policy

Select Add new at the top of the Agency Policies panel.
Enter a Document Name. This is the name workers will see, so make it clear, for example "Safeguarding Adults at Risk".
Add a Note if it helps. This is a short note of no more than 30 characters, shown under the policy name in the table.
Under Worker Type(s), choose the worker types who must read this policy. Leave it as All worker types if it applies to everyone.
Under Client(s), choose the clients this policy applies to. Leave it as All clients if it applies wherever your workers are placed.
Under Policy Document, select Select PDF and choose the final PDF.
Select Add Document.

A message confirms that the policy has been published and who it has been issued to. The policy now appears in the table, and in the profile of every matching worker on the mobile app.

Tip: Use a client filter for policies that only apply at certain placements, such as a client's own lone working procedure. Workers placed elsewhere will not be asked to read something that does not apply to them.

Step 3: Track who has acknowledged a policy

Select the eye icon beside a policy to open it. The top of the window shows the version, who published it and when, the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS count with a progress bar, and the policy's status, such as Active.

There are four tabs:

DOCUMENT. The policy PDF exactly as workers see it. You can zoom, download or print it from the viewer's toolbar.
VERSIONS. Every version you have published. Each one shows the version number, a Current badge on the version workers are being asked to read, the date it was published and by whom, how many workers acknowledged it, and a link to download that version's PDF.
NOT ACKNOWLEDGED. Every worker who has not yet acknowledged the current version, with their Worker ID, name and email address. Use the search box to find a worker by name or worker ID.
AUDIT. A dated timeline of everything that has happened to the policy, such as when it was created and when each version was issued, and to how many workers.

Step 4: Send a reminder

When workers have not acknowledged a policy, you can nudge all of them at once.

Select the bell icon. You will find it beside the policy in the table, and beside the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS count when the policy is open.
A reminder is sent to everyone who has not acknowledged the current version.

The bell is greyed out when there is nobody to remind, for example when every worker has acknowledged or when no workers match the policy.

Tip: Open the NOT ACKNOWLEDGED tab a few days after sending a reminder. Anyone still listed is worth a direct conversation before their next shift.

Step 5: Publish a new version

When a policy changes, publish a new version rather than adding it again. This keeps the full history in one place, so you can always show which version each worker acknowledged.

In the table, select the three dots beside the policy, then select Publish new version. The Update Policy Document form opens with the current details filled in.
Update the Document Name, Note, Worker Type(s) or Client(s) if anything has changed.
Select Select PDF and choose the new version's PDF.
Decide whether workers must acknowledge again. Require every worker to acknowledge this version is ticked by default.
- Leave it ticked for significant changes. Every worker it applies to will be asked to acknowledge the new version.
- Untick it for minor changes, such as a typo or a formatting fix.

Select Publish Document.

The new version replaces the old one in the worker app and becomes the Current version. Earlier versions stay on the VERSIONS tab.

Please note: Acknowledgements already given stay recorded against the previous version. They do not carry over to the new one, so if you ask workers to acknowledge again, your acknowledgement count starts from zero for the new version.

Step 6: Disable a policy

Disable a policy when it no longer applies, for example when it has been replaced by a different policy altogether.

Select the three dots beside the policy, or the three dots in the top right corner when the policy is open.
Select Disable policy.
Check the summary, which shows how many workers are in scope, the version and the worker types.
Select Disable policy to confirm, or Cancel to keep it live.

A message confirms that the policy has been removed from the worker app. In the table, the policy is greyed out and shows a Disabled badge.

Disabling a policy:

Removes it from the worker app, so workers can no longer read or acknowledge it
Keeps every acknowledgement already recorded, so nothing is deleted
Can be reversed, as you can enable the policy again at any time

Good habits worth adopting

Publish only final, approved versions. Workers are acknowledging the document in front of them. A draft with tracked changes or placeholder text undermines the record you are building.
Name policies the way your workers would. "Safeguarding Adults at Risk" is clearer on a phone screen than "POL-SAF-003 v2 FINAL".
Version, do not duplicate. Adding the same policy twice splits its acknowledgement history in two, which is exactly what an inspector will ask about.
Check the worker count every time. A policy targeted at the wrong worker types reaches nobody, and the table will tell you so straight away.
Review your policies at least once a year. Use Publish new version for each update, so your audit trail shows that reviews actually happened.

If something looks wrong

The table shows 0 workers or No workers match this policy. None of your workers match the worker types and clients you chose. Publish a new version with the right worker types or clients, and check that your workers have worker types assigned on their profiles.

A worker says they cannot see a policy. Check that the policy is not disabled, and that the worker's worker type and placements match the policy's targeting. Then check that the worker has the mobile app set up and is signed in.

A worker acknowledged a policy but now appears under NOT ACKNOWLEDGED. A new version has probably been published with Require every worker to acknowledge this version ticked. Their earlier acknowledgement is kept on the VERSIONS tab against the previous version.

You uploaded the wrong PDF. Publish a new version with the correct PDF straight away. If workers have already acknowledged the wrong document, keep Require every worker to acknowledge this version ticked so they acknowledge the correct one.

If something still does not look right, contact our Support Team with the name of the policy and what you expected to see.