Model Support Contract

1 This support contract is between:

……………………………………………………………….. (Insert name of support provider)

also referred to in this contract as “the Support Provider” or “we” or “us”

and

……………………………………………………………….. (Insert name of individual)

also referred to as “you” or “the individual using the support service”

This contract is made on……..………………………………….(insert date) and will continue

until (delete as appropriate)
 one of us ends the agreement or
 it ends on the ……………………(insert date)……………. or
 when the support agreed is fully purchased and delivered or
 one of us breaches the agreement

2 The purpose of the contract

2.1 This contract sets out:

o the support service you can expect to receive from us (while you are living at
(insert address)) (delete if not linked to accommodation);
o the charge for the support service and how you should pay
o details of the support we will provide
o what we expect from you
o what you can expect from us
o both of our responsibilities and commitments

3 Payment of Support Charges

3.1 The money to be paid by you to us for your support at the date of this agreement is
£…………….weekly/monthly (delete as appropriate)

3.2 It is your responsibility to ensure that this charge is paid even if you are entitled to
money from the Local Authority towards paying for your support

3.3 You must pay the charge in advance every Monday / XX of every month/within XX
working days of an invoice from us (delete as appropriate).

3.4 We may increase or decrease the charge by giving you at least 4 weeks/one
calendar month’s notice in writing (delete as appropriate). The notice will inform you
of the new charge and the date it will take start. The charge will not increase above
XX% or more frequently than XX
 3.5 You can pay your charges in the following ways. Let us know which arrangement
suits you best and we can assist you.

 In cash to………………………….
 By cheque made payable to …………………… and sent to …………….
 By standing order or direct debit. Our bank details are …………………… and the
transaction should be identified as ………….......
 By swipe card that will be issued to you (delete change as appropriate)

3.6 If you need other services, for example, interpreting or translation charges we can
book these services for you but you will have to pay for them. The extra services we
agree to arrange for you are ……………………………………………. and this will
cost an additional ……………………………………………………. per …………………

4 Details of the service provided

4.1 The service we provide for you is set out in a plan of support which will be attached
to this contract, see section 5 support plan.

4.2 The key person you have agreed to deliver your support will be
……………………………………… you may also be supported by
…………………………………………………… If either of these people is not
available we will inform you as soon as we know and will offer you a replacement.

4.3 You can contact ………………………………………. on …………………………….

And ………………………………………………………... on ……………………………
The Manager of the service is ………………………….and can be contacted on
………………………………………………….
You can also write to us at ………………………………………………………………….

4.4 In an emergency out of hours you can contact…………………………….

(delete as appropriate)

5 Our Support Standards

We will

5.1 Identify with you what support you want from us and what is most important to you
and agree a plan to deliver this support which will be attached to this agreement.

5.2 Agree the timetable for the delivery of the support we have agreed with you.

5.3 Agree with you how often we should have meetings to review how the support
enables you to get on with your life, what you have achieved, what still needs to be
done and what other work is needed. We will also let you know how you can
request a review outside of these meetings. We will provide feedback to you and,
where this has been agreed with you, those who are important to you.

5.4 Identify with you what risks are involved in what you want to achieve and how best
these can be managed.
 5.5 Include all the people and organisations that you identify are important to you when
we identify from you the support you want, deliver the support and review your
progress.

5.6 Treat you and those important to you with respect and courtesy at all times.

5.7 Ensure we understand and respect what is important to you including your decisions
and choices.

5.8 Ensure that personal information you or others give us about you is treated by us as
confidential and that we comply with data protection law. We will agree with you
when and with whom we should share information.

6 Our responsibilities

6.1 We will ensure that the personal information we may hold about you is protected from
unauthorised disclosure. We will ensure that personal information about you is
confidential to the staff team and their managers who work with you. We will ask your
permission in situations where we are asked to share information with third parties
except in specific circumstances which are specified in our confidentiality policy. A copy
of the policy is available from….

6.2 We will give you information about the way we operate the terms of this contract and
about any or our policies and procedures relevant to the support service we provide.
We will enable you to access information we have on file about you which you have
provided. There will be some circumstances where we cannot give you access to
information and these are specified in our ……………………policy. A copy of the policy
is available from…..

6.2 We will treat you fairly and without discrimination when we do what we agree to do in
this contract

6.3 We will support you in finding an independent advocate or advisor in your dealings with
us.

6.4 We will consult you about the services we provide and about any changes that we
propose.

6.5 We will use a complaints procedure by which you can complain about any aspect of our
service. A copy of the policy is available from ………………………..

6.6 If you are still dissatisfied after all stages of the complaints procedure have been gone
through, you have the right to complain to
………………………………………………………………

6.7 We will use our best endeavours to establish the support that you want to achieve your
goals and to deliver it in the way and in the timescales agreed and set out in your
support plan.

6.8 We will identify with you any risks regarding the delivery of your support and how best
these can managed.
6.9 We will seek to involve those important to you and any other organisation we both
agree would be useful to you in achieving your goals.

6.10 We will provide you with a written or other version of the plan for your support and
notes from any meeting we have with you. If it would be helpful to have other versions
of the plan and meeting notes we will do our best to arrange this.

6.11 We will supervise and support the staff responsible for delivering your support and
provide them with training they need to be able to do their job safely and well.

6.12 We welcome your involvement in the development of services, our operations and the
strategic direction of our organisation and will let you know what opportunities exist for
you to do this.

6.13 We aim to give you a choice as to who will be responsible for delivering your support. If
you do not want a particular member of staff delivering your service we will do our best
to change that staff member as soon as practicably possible, giving you as much
choice as possible.

6.14 We will do our best to have the staff identified in this agreement deliver your support.
For agreed absences, like holidays, we will agree with you who will replace them. If
there is an emergency absence, like a staff member is sick, we will advise you as soon
as we know and let you know what other arrangements are available. If you do not
accept any of the other arrangements you will still be charged for the service. If we, for
any unavoidable reasons, cannot provide the service we have agreed, you will not be
charged for it or if you have paid we will reimburse you.

7 Your responsibilities

7.1 You must co-operate with your staff delivering the support as this will enable you to
make the progress you agreed you wanted to make. This will require you to meet with
the staff delivering your support at the times or frequency agreed.

7.2 You must pay the charge for support as agreed. If you are unable to pay please contact
us immediately. If you do not pay the charges we will have to take action to recover the
debt and any cost involved in this. Our process for recovery of support charge arrears
is attached to this agreement.

7.3 You, your family, friends and/or carers must treat the staff who support you with respect
and courtesy. If you, your family and/or carers harass, threaten or use abusive
language we will review providing you with the service and may withdraw it.

7.4 If we are providing support in your home you must ensure that it is safe for the staff
who are delivering your support. Staff should not be expected to face hazards and
situations that it would not reasonably expect to find when visiting a home, for example
dangerous pets or unsafe electrical equipment. Staff will advise you what is considered
safe and agree with you arrangements to cover pets and smoking
7.5 You must give us the access we need to provide the support as agreed in the plan for
your support. If you do not give us access as agreed we will still charge you for
support.

7.6 You must give us at least 24 hours (change to appropriate time period) notice if you are
unable to make any meeting with the person who delivers your support and agree
another time. If you do not do this we can still charge you for support. If you fail to
keep 3 appointments with us we will assume you no longer require us to deliver support
and take steps to end this agreement.

8 Ending the agreement

8.1 If you want to end this support contract you must give us XX days/weeks notice in
writing to …………………………………. at ………………………………………………….

8.2 We may end the support contract with you by giving you XX days/weeks notice in
writing. The circumstances in which we may give notice include:-

 We both agreed that it is no longer needed or useful for you to receive the
support.
 After a review of your plan for support we believe that the support we can
deliver is not useful for you, you don’t need support or you need a different type
of support.
 You repeatedly refuse to accept the support offered by staff, cancel
appointments or refuse to give staff delivering support access.
 You do not pay the support charge.
 Your or your family, friends or carers do not treat the staff delivering your
support with courtesy or respect including behaviour that harasses or threatens
staff.
 Any organisation who provides you with money for support decides they are no
longer going to provide you with funding and you cannot pay the support
charge yourself.
 Your support is linked to living at a specific address and you are no longer live
or are able to live at that address.

8.3 We reserve the right to terminate this agreement immediately if you, your family, friends
and/or carers present a significant risk to staff because of your or their behaviour.

8.4 If you still owe support charges when this contract is ended we will pursue this and take
action to recover the arrears.

Signature of the parties

Signed on behalf of the Support Provider

……………………………………………………….. (Name)

……………………………………………………….. (Position)

…………………………………………………………Date
 Signed by the Service User
………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………Date

March 2012
Payment of Support Charges – Information for Service Users

1. This procedure sets out the action we will take if you do not pay your support charge.

2. Your support worker will advise you about your entitlement to welfare benefits and
other support that is available to help you pay your support charge.
3. You must pay the charge in advance every Monday / XX of every month/within XX
working days of an invoice from us (delete as appropriate)..

4. Stage 1 – one week/month (delete as appropriate) non payment

If you miss one payment we will contact you in person, by phone or in writing before
the end of that week/month (delete as appropriate) to advise you that you are in
arrears. We will ask you to pay off the arrears in instalments if you cannot clear them
in one payment. We will confirm the agreement in writing.

5. Stage 2 – two weeks/months (delete as appropriate) non payment, non agreement or

failure to keep to agreement
If we are unable to reach a satisfactory agreement with you, or if you do not keep to
the agreement made, we will contact you to give you a further opportunity to discuss
how you can pay the arrears and if necessary we can revise the original agreement.

6. Stage 3
If you do not respond when we try to contact you or if you fail to keep to the
agreement, we will write to you giving you seven days notice of our intention to use
County Court action to recover the debt. This action could include alternative dispute
resolution or mediation but we may instigate a small claims action. We will also
terminate your support contract.

7. If we obtain a Money Judgment against you in the County Court we can ask the court
for costs. If you still do not pay, this can result in your name being entered on the
Register of Civil debts and you may find it difficult to obtain credit in future.

8. Termination of your support agreement may in some cases put at risk your right to
continue living in your home.