Duty of care in health and social care explained

Duty of care in health and social care is the legal and professional obligation to take reasonable care to keep the people you support safe from harm, while respecting their rights and choices. It applies to care providers, registered managers and individual care workers, and it sits behind the rules CQC inspects against, from safe care and treatment to safeguarding and openness when things go wrong.

At a glance

• Duty of care covers providers, managers and every worker who supports a person, in a care home or in someone’s own home.
• In England it is put into practice through the fundamental standards, including Regulations 12 (safe care), 13 (safeguarding), 14 (food and drink) and 20 (duty of candour).
• Wilful neglect or ill-treatment by a paid care worker is a criminal offence carrying up to five years in prison.
• Duty of care does not mean removing all risk. People who have capacity can make choices others think unwise.
• If you are worried, start with the manager, then the council safeguarding team, and use the complaints route for individual concerns.

What does duty of care mean in practice?

In everyday terms, duty of care means thinking ahead about what could harm the person in front of you and taking sensible steps to prevent it. That covers physical safety, such as moving and handling, falls and medicines, but also dignity, emotional wellbeing and protection from abuse or neglect.

It is not a promise that nothing will ever go wrong. The test is whether the care given was reasonable: was the risk assessed, was the worker trained and competent, were the right steps taken, and was the person involved in the decision?

For new care workers, duty of care is one of the 16 standards in the Care Certificate, the national introductory standards for new care workers. Standard 3 covers duty of care, duty of candour, reporting incidents and near misses, and handling conflict safely.

Duty of care is owed at several levels at once:

• The provider (the organisation registered with CQC) must run safe systems, staff the service properly and respond when things go wrong.
• The registered manager is responsible for day-to-day leadership, supervision and making sure policies are followed.
• Each care worker must work within their training, follow the care plan and speak up when something is not right.

Which laws and standards put duty of care into practice?

In England, providers of regulated care must meet the fundamental standards set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Several of them are duty of care written into rules that CQC can enforce.

Our guide to what the CQC is and what it does explains how these standards are inspected, and how to read a CQC inspection report shows where breaches of them appear.

What is the duty of candour?

Duty of candour is the part of duty of care that deals with honesty after something has gone wrong. Regulation 20 requires registered providers to act in an open and transparent way about the care and treatment they give.

When a notifiable safety incident happens, the provider must tell the person, or the person lawfully acting for them, as soon as reasonably practicable. The notification must be given in person, include the facts known at that point, say what further enquiries are planned, and include an apology. A written follow-up must then be sent.

A notifiable safety incident is an unintended or unexpected incident that, in the reasonable opinion of a health care professional, could result in or appears to have resulted in outcomes such as death, impairment lasting at least 28 continuous days, prolonged pain or psychological harm, or shortened life expectancy.

How does duty of care fit with a person’s right to take risks?

Duty of care and a person’s right to choose can pull in different directions. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 gives the framework: adults are presumed to have capacity, everyone must be supported to decide before being judged unable to, and a decision is not proof of incapacity just because others think it unwise. Where someone lacks capacity for a specific decision, anything done for them must be in their best interests and the least restrictive option.

That means a good care home does not simply say no. It talks to the person, explains the risk, looks for a safer way to meet what matters to them and records the reasoning. Read more in our guides to mental capacity assessments and deprivation of liberty safeguards in care homes.

What happens when duty of care is breached?

Consequences depend on what happened. A provider that breaches the regulations can face enforcement action from CQC, and CQC gained a power to prosecute providers directly under its 2015 enforcement policy.

For individuals, section 20 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 makes it an offence for a paid care worker, including supervisors, managers and directors, to ill-treat or wilfully neglect a person in their care. On indictment the maximum penalty is five years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.

Statutory guidance under the Care Act lists ten types of abuse and neglect, including physical, psychological, financial, discriminatory, organisational abuse, neglect and self-neglect. Our guide to signs of neglect by a carer lists warning signs families can watch for.

What can you do if you are worried about someone’s care?

You do not need proof to raise a concern. Work through these steps, moving to the next if the matter is urgent or not resolved:

1. If someone is in immediate danger or has been harmed, call 999 for emergency help.
2. Raise the concern with the care worker’s manager or the registered manager and ask for it in writing if it is serious.
3. Contact the adult social care safeguarding team at the person’s local council if you think abuse or neglect is happening.
4. Make a formal complaint to the provider. If you remain unhappy, you may be able to take it to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
5. Share what you know with CQC, which uses the feedback it receives in its judgements. CQC does not investigate individual complaints, so it is not a substitute for the complaints process.

Care workers who see poor practice are protected by whistleblowing law if they raise a concern in the public interest, and cannot lawfully be treated unfairly or lose their job for doing so. Our guide to how to complain about a care home sets out each step in more detail, and the Care Act 2014 and your rights explains the council’s role.

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the regulators and complaints routes differ. See our guides to Care Inspectorate grades, CIW ratings and RQIA inspections.

Frequently asked questions

Is duty of care a legal requirement?

Yes. In England it is enforced through regulations such as safe care and treatment, safeguarding and duty of candour, and through criminal law for wilful neglect or ill-treatment by a care worker. Professional and employer standards add to this.

What is the difference between duty of care and duty of candour?

Duty of care is the wider obligation to keep people safe and treat them properly. Duty of candour is the specific obligation to be open, tell the person what happened and apologise after a notifiable safety incident.

Can a care worker be prosecuted for neglect?

Yes. Under section 20 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, a paid care worker who ill-treats or wilfully neglects someone in their care commits an offence, with a maximum of five years’ imprisonment on indictment.

Does duty of care mean a care home must stop residents taking risks?

No. A person with capacity can make choices others think unwise. The home’s duty is to explain the risks, offer safer options, record the decision and review it, using the least restrictive approach for anyone who lacks capacity.

Do care workers have a duty to report concerns?

Yes, in practice. The Care Certificate expects workers to report incidents, errors, near misses and suspected abuse under their employer’s procedures, and whistleblowing law protects people who raise concerns in the public interest.

Where to get help next

If you are choosing a service, our guide to person-centred care shows how good providers balance safety and choice. To compare local options, use our care finder, and read what advocacy in social care means if the person you care about needs help to be heard.

Sources

• legislation.gov.uk: Regulation 12, Safe care and treatment
• legislation.gov.uk: Regulation 13, Safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment
• legislation.gov.uk: Regulation 20, Duty of candour
• legislation.gov.uk: Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, section 20
• Skills for Health: The Care Certificate standards
• legislation.gov.uk: Mental Capacity Act 2005, section 1

Reviewed by The Care Panel team on 9 November 2026. This guide is general information about care in England, not legal, medical or financial advice. Rules and rates change; check with your council or an adviser before making decisions.