Fee waivers for social care workers: Common questions answered

Q. What is the PVG fee waiver for social care workers? 

A. The Scottish Government Budget for 2026/27 included a commitment to improve wider terms and conditions for workers, including help with payment of Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) checks. 

Q. Why has the PVG fee waiver been introduced? 

A. The PVG fee waiver has been introduced because the Scottish Government recognises the exceptional contribution of the social care workforce, and the vital role that they play within our communities. Fairer working conditions are essential to making social care the attractive and rewarding career which it should be. 

Q. Who qualifies for the PVG fee waiver? 

A. The PVG fee waiver applies to workers within social care commissioned services in the private, voluntary and independent sectors. 

To qualify for PVG fees to be waived, the person applying for the role must: 

• have started a new job or taken up a new position with your existing employer in an eligible role (see below), and 

• have applied for a PVG check from 1 August 2026. 

To be eligible for this, the worker must be working in a new role of: 

• manager 

• supervisor 

• practitioner 

• support worker 

and be working in one of the following areas: 

Adult services  

• care homes 

• care at home services 

• day care services 

• housing support 

• adult placement services 

• respite services 

Children’s services 

• care homes for children and young people 

• residential school care accommodation 

• secure accommodation services 

• care at home and housing support for under 18-year-olds  

Personal Assistants (PAs) 

• PAs directly paid by an employer receiving funding through self-direct support Option 1 and/or Independent Living Fund Scotland. This includes PA’s working with children.  

Q. Are Early Learning and Childcare roles included in the waiver? 

A. No. This waiver has been introduced to support and strengthen recruitment and retention within the Adults’ and Children’s Social Care sectors, where there are well-recognised challenges and workforce shortages. By removing the financial barrier of PVG fees, the aim is to encourage more individuals to enter and remain in these critical roles. At present, the waiver is limited to workers within these sectors. However, should the pilot scheme demonstrate positive outcomes, there may be scope to extend and broaden the programme to additional sectors in future years. 

Q. Can local authority social care workers access this waiver? 

A. No. This 2026/27 waiver has been introduced to support and strengthen recruitment and retention within the Adults’ and Children’s Social Care sectors workers currently delivering care in commissioned services within the private, voluntary and independent sectors.  

Q. Can I access this waiver for rechecking my existing staff? 

A. No. They must have started a new job or taken up a new position with your existing employer in an eligible role and have applied for a PVG scheme disclosure from 1 August 2026. 

Q. I started the application just before 1 August 2026. Can I benefit from this waiver? 

A. No. The waiver only applies to applications started on or after 1 August 2026.  

Q. I use Level 1 and Level 2 Disclosures in my social care organisation for roles that are not regulated roles. Can I access the fee waiver for them? 

A. No. It only applies to PVG scheme disclosure applications.   

Q. Is PVG free for anyone else? 

A. PVG scheme disclosures continue to be free for volunteers for qualifying voluntary organisations, regardless of the sector.  

Q. How long does this fee waiver run for? 

A. The fee waiver will operate from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027.  

Q. I work for a social care organisation. What do I need to do to access this waiver? 

A. Please apply for PVG as normal and ensure that the prefix “FSC” is clearly included in the Position Applied For field, along with the job title itself. You should select invoice as the method of payment to allow you to proceed with the application, but the charge will not in fact be added to your next invoice.  

Q. I am a Personal Assistant. How do I access this waiver? 

A. PAs should submit an offline application by email. Please ensure that the prefix “FSC” is clearly included in both the Position Applied For field and the Personal Employer section of the application form. The submission email must also include “FSC” in the subject line. The payment section of the form should be left blank. 

Q. Can I get a refund for PVG applications I started before 1 August 2026? 

A. No. The fee waiver only applies to applications started on or after 1 August 2026.   

Q. I applied for PVG after 1 August 2026 and I/my employee paid for this. I now know this qualifies for the PVG fee waiver for social care workers. Can I get a refund? 

A.  If you have paid for an application but believe you should have got it free as a result of this scheme, please contact Finance Operations DSFinanceOps@disclosurescotland.gov.scot  with how you meet the eligibility criteria and we will arrange a refund. For your future applications, please ensure that the prefix “FSC” is clearly included in the Position Applied For field, along with the job title itself. You should select invoice as the method of payment to allow you to proceed with the application, but the charge will not in fact be added to your next invoice.  

Q. I didn’t know about this fee waiver. What have you done to tell providers about this? 

A. The fee waiver launch was published on the Scottish Government website on 18 March 2026 Improving social care pay and conditions - gov.scot. The Scottish Government have also issued a letter to care provider representatives to advise on the launch. 

Q. How do I find out more about this initiative? 

A. You can contact the Scottish Government on this by emailing socialcarefairwork@gov.scot. 

Q. Will the fee waiver continue after 31 July 2027? 

A. The Scottish Government will undertake a review to evaluate the effectiveness of the fee waiver programme. If it is deemed successful and funding allows, the programme may be extended beyond 31 July 2027.