We are proposing to change our fitness to practise hearings process, so we only hold hearings when the worker asks for one.
Currently we have to hold a hearing, unless the worker tells us that they do not want one to be held and accept the outcome of the fitness to practise investigation. This means we must hold hearings even in cases where the worker is not engaged in the process and does not dispute the outcome.
What we’re proposing
We propose to only hold hearings when the worker disagrees with the outcome of our fitness to practise investigation and asks for a hearing to resolve the disagreement.
We’d like this change so we can focus our resources and improve the fitness to practise process and the support available to those going through it.
Who will this change affect?
The number of workers on our Register who have their fitness to practise investigated is very small (1.9%) and of this number, only 15% have a sanction imposed on their registration because their fitness to practise is impaired. Most workers agree to these sanctions.
Our analysis shows that when the worker hasn’t engaged with the fitness to practise process, the outcome of the hearing is the same as what we initially proposed.
Tell us what you think
Read more about our proposed changes in the Opt-in Hearings Consultation survey and tell us what you think. It should take around five minutes to complete.
The consultation closes on 16 October.
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