It’s my home, not your workplace: respect, privacy and everyday choice

What this message means

‘It’s my home, not your workplace’ challenges a culture where staff routines take over someone’s home. You are an adult receiving support, with your own tastes, relationships and plans. Staff do work there and need safe working arrangements, but that does not make it their home. The phrase expresses a principle of respectful support; it is not a separate law or an exemption from health and safety duties.

Choose your everyday life

Plan support around what matters to you: getting up, eating, going out, resting and seeing people. Explain your communication, cultural and sensory preferences. Staff preferences are not a reason to choose your clothes, television, meals or bedtime. If your requested support cannot be provided, ask why and discuss alternatives with the provider and funder. Staffing arrangements should be reviewed instead of treating the rota as the final answer.

Entering your home and private rooms

Agree how staff announce themselves, knock, wait and check whether you want help. Record who has keys and when they may use them. Personal care and private conversations need privacy. A key or job role is not blanket permission to enter whenever convenient. Plan any necessary overnight checks with you. Emergency action or other lawful access may sometimes be needed; the reason should be clear and recorded.

A home should feel like a home

Discuss how rooms are used and what makes you comfortable there. Staff should not assume they can turn your lounge into an office, invite colleagues to meetings or cover your walls with workplace notices. Agree any necessary equipment, record storage, staff space and handover arrangements with you and other residents. Look for options that preserve privacy and ordinary use of the home. An agreed practical arrangement is different from staff taking over.

Is there a staff office in my home?

Ask what the room is used for, who agreed to it and whether it is part of the space covered by your housing agreement. CQC recognises some supported-living arrangements where staff keep records in a room with residents’ permission, and some separate office arrangements. An office is not automatically wrong, but staff should not simply take over your living space. Discuss privacy, meetings, access, costs and alternatives. Ask your landlord and provider to explain their agreements; care homes and supported living have different arrangements.

Are staff notices displayed in my home?

Look together at rotas, signs, rules and noticeboards. Ask why each is there, who needs it and whether you were involved in choosing its location. Could staff information go in a folder or secure work system instead? Your personal care, health or behaviour information should not be exposed to visitors or other residents. Some safety or legally required information may need to remain visible; ask for an explanation and a suitable place. Include housemates’ views about shared walls and rooms.

Should staff use phones while supporting me?

A phone or tablet may help staff check your care plan, write necessary notes, contact a professional, find travel information or help you communicate. Staff should explain why they are using it and involve you where useful. A personally owned phone can be authorised for work, so its ownership alone does not tell you whether the use is appropriate. You can ask what the device is being used for without needing to see someone else’s private information.

Your attention and safety needs come first

Personal scrolling, games or unrelated chats should not take attention away from the support you need. Even a work task can be inappropriate at a moment when you need help or close supervision. Staff must maintain the care and attention your plan requires. A brief urgent personal call or an agreed break may need a different arrangement, with necessary care covered. Ask the manager to explain the phone policy and agree how staff will respond when you need their attention.

Phone use, privacy and speaking up

Care information must be handled through approved, secure arrangements. Authorised use of a staff member’s own device needs the provider’s rules and safeguards; your information should not go into private chats or personal social media. You can say: “Please explain why you are using your phone. I need your help now.” If distraction keeps happening, tell the manager when it happened, what help was delayed or missed and what you want changed. Ask for a review with an advocate if useful.

Do staff charge devices in my home?

Ask whether a phone, tablet or other device is staff property or equipment needed to provide your support. Discuss whether it should be charged in your home, where, for how long and who pays for the electricity. Staff should not assume they can use your charger or other belongings. Check your care and housing agreements before assuming costs are included or that a particular repayment is due. Agree safe arrangements that keep your own sockets and equipment usable; avoid unplugging equipment needed for essential care.

Is the internet or landline only for staff?

Ask who owns and pays for the broadband, Wi-Fi and landline, what each is for, and what was agreed with you. A separate staff network or work phone can protect confidential information and may need restricted access. You do not automatically have a right to staff passwords or work systems. Separately, discuss suitable internet and phone access for you, including private calls, accessibility and costs. Ask why any restriction affects you and whether another arrangement would work. If you pay for a service you cannot use, ask the provider or landlord to explain the charge.

Your belongings and personal information

Agree any help with your post, money, food, phone or other belongings. Staff should ask before using, moving or disposing of your possessions. Care records should be kept securely; intimate information should not be displayed where visitors can read it. Ask for handovers and conversations about you to happen privately, with your involvement where you want it. Staff should speak with you rather than talk over you.

Daily notes and records about me

Ask what staff write about you, whether the wording is respectful and how your views are included. Agree how you can read or discuss notes and find out who can see them. Necessary recording does not require you to approve every entry, but you can challenge errors or inappropriate sharing. The daily notes guide explains these points and includes a worksheet.

Can I have a pet?

Needing support does not automatically rule out a pet. Ask for your wishes and the help you would need to be considered. Check any required housing permission, shared-home arrangements, costs and the animal’s welfare before deciding. Staff should explain specific concerns and explore what could work. Our Having a pet guide covers supported living, care homes, asking permission and planning daily care and backup help.

Visitors and relationships

Support should help you maintain relationships, private conversations and time with people important to you. Blanket rules such as ‘no partners’ or ‘visitors must leave when night staff arrive’ need challenge. Any particular concern must be considered individually, with an explanation of the lawful basis for restrictions. A shared home also requires respect for other residents’ privacy and safety. Housing arrangements can affect practical options; staff disapproval alone is not a lawful reason to control an adult’s relationship.

Consent and decisions

A learning disability does not remove your right to decide. Staff must support communication and assess capacity for the particular decision if there is a proper reason for doubt. An unwise choice is not proof of incapacity. Consent to care is ongoing, not a one-off signature. If you lack capacity for a specific decision, the Mental Capacity Act process must be followed, including your involvement, wishes, best interests and less restrictive options. Family or staff do not gain unlimited authority over you.

Safety without unnecessary control

Both residents and workers need protection from harm. Appropriate equipment, training and individual risk assessment can help support continue safely. A provider does not have to deliver unsafe care because it has been requested. However, ‘health and safety’ should not be used as an unexplained answer to every choice. Ask what the actual danger is and what safer alternatives were considered. If support needs to change, ask for an agreed plan for essential care.

Restrictions need reasons and review

Locked cupboards, limits on leaving, surveillance or constant supervision may interfere with rights. Ask why each arrangement is needed, who agreed it, what legal authority applies and when it will be reviewed. A care plan or behaviour support plan does not itself provide legal authority. Control or restraint must be necessary and proportionate; any deprivation of liberty requires lawful authority. Seek independent advice about the particular arrangements and use the linked liberty guide.

Shared homes and different housing rights

In a shared home, everyone’s wishes matter. Agree common arrangements together, with communication support, rather than letting staff impose one person’s routine on everyone. Tenants, homeowners and care-home residents can have different housing rights. All should receive respectful care. In supported living, ask about separate housing and support agreements and changing support without losing your home. Get advice before ending agreements or refusing essential support.

How am I asked about what happens in my home?

Ask to be involved before routines, room use or equipment change. Choose how to take part: a private conversation, pictures, a communication aid, a house meeting or support from an advocate. A house meeting should not replace asking you about your own choices and privacy. Ask staff to record what you want, any disagreement, the decision and its reasons. Agree who will act and when you will review it. Urgent safety action may sometimes come first; ask what happened and review the arrangement afterwards.

If people do not listen

Ask for the provider’s accessible complaints process and keep dates and examples. Your care must not be made worse because you complain. You can also contact the council or NHS commissioner. CQC can use information about regulated care but does not resolve individual complaints for you. Raise abuse, coercion or neglect with the council’s adult safeguarding team; call 999 if someone is in immediate danger. Use the linked safeguarding, advocacy and complaints guides for next steps.

Films and resources for discussion

The resources below include the ‘It’s My Home’ film published by Open Future Learning, inspired by Adrian Kennedy’s poem and Sam Sly’s work. Citizen Network also hosts Sam Sly’s ‘Hands Off It’s My Home!’ toolkit. Learning Disability England shares films about the Reach Standards. They can help people and teams discuss everyday support. These resources express values and good practice; individual legal questions still depend on current law and the person’s circumstances.

Smells and fragrance in my home

You can ask supporters to avoid perfume or aftershave and use fragrance-free toiletries when they are with you. Agree suitable cleaning and laundry products too, while meeting hygiene needs. Put the arrangements in your support plan and tell new staff before they arrive. Our sensory guide explains how to ask for this support.

Your home and daily life

Rooms, belongings and privacy

Is there a staff office?

Notices on your walls

Why is a staff member using a phone?

I need your attention

Phones and your private information

Charging staff devices

Staff internet and phone

Notes about you

Can I have a pet?

Relationships and shared spaces

Your choices and house rules

Ask for changes and get help

Ask me before changes

Strong smells in my home

What you can do next

More useful links