Service User Agreement and Contract for Care

A plain-English contract for care home residents and home care clients, written around the CMA’s consumer law advice on fees, deposits, notice and fees after death.

Editable Word document
21
10pages
Guidance notes included
aml consultancy solutions

Care providers

Service User Agreement and Contract for Care

About this document

What it’s for

The written agreement between your service and the person you care for (or the person paying). It sets out the care, the fees and what they include, how fees can change, deposits, absences, notice, what happens on death and how to complain. It has care home and home care options throughout.

When to use it

  • For every self-funding resident or home care client, before care starts
  • Alongside a council or NHS contract for funded people, to cover the personal terms
  • When re-issuing contracts after a review of your terms or fees

What’s inside

The document is laid out in the sections below. Each one comes with a plain-English guidance note explaining what it does and what to change.

  1. Definitions and interpretation
  2. About this agreement
  3. Start date and trial period
  4. Assessment and care plan
  5. The services we will provide
  6. Home care visits
  7. Fees
  8. Paying the fees
  9. Deposits and payments in advance
  10. Fee reviews and increases
  11. Funding by a local authority, the NHS or another person
  12. Absences and hospital stays
  13. Your rights and how we will treat you
  14. Your room, belongings and money
  15. Your responsibilities
  16. Ending this agreement
  17. If you die
  18. Our liability and insurance
  19. Concerns and complaints
  20. Your personal information
  21. Changes to this agreement
  22. General

Also included

  • Information given before the agreement was signed
  • Inventory of valuable items at the Start Date (care home)
  • Part A – Main fees
  • Part B – What the main fees include
  • Part C – Extras (charged only if you choose them)
  • Part D – Payment details

How to complete it

  • Choose the care home or home care wording at each Option and delete the other
  • Complete Schedules 1–4 with the person’s details, fees, extras and visit plan
  • Give it, with your key information, before the person commits – not on arrival day
  • Sign with the person, or their attorney or deputy, and give them a copy

Key points to check

  • Fee increase, deposit and death terms against the CMA advice (CMA96)
  • Funded residents: your council contract takes priority – check for conflicts
  • Means-test thresholds and your index for fee reviews before each issue

Our templates are professionally structured starting points for UK businesses, not legal advice. For anything complex, unusual or high-value, have your final version checked by a solicitor.

Included in the pack

Care providers

£20

for every document in this category

Editable Microsoft Word files

Guidance notes in every document

Written for UK businesses

Download and keep

Get the packSee every document in this pack →

Need more than one category?

Documents All-Access gives you every category for 12 months for £295.

Compare options →

Need it tailored?

We can adapt any template to your business, or write a document from scratch.

Talk to us →