Acronym Decoder
"CLA has an ICPC, LADO aware, MASH informed…" — social care runs on acronyms. Search 182 of them, in plain English.
| Acronym | Stands for | Plain English | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Antecedent, Behaviour, Consequence | A recording method that logs what happened before, during and after an incident to help understand the triggers for behaviour. | Both |
| ACEs | Adverse Childhood Experiences | Stressful or traumatic events in childhood, such as abuse or household dysfunction, linked to poorer health and life outcomes. | Children |
| ADASS | Association of Directors of Adult Social Services | The membership body for directors of adult social services in England, which influences national policy. | Adults |
| ADCS | Association of Directors of Children's Services | The membership body for directors of children's services in England, which influences national policy. | Children |
| ADHD | Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder | A neurodevelopmental condition involving persistent inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity that affects daily life. | Health |
| ADLs | Activities of Daily Living | Everyday self-care tasks such as washing, dressing, eating and moving about, used to assess how much support a person needs. | Adults |
| ADM | Agency Decision Maker | The senior officer in an adoption or fostering agency who makes formal decisions, such as whether a child should be placed for adoption. | Children |
| AMHP | Approved Mental Health Professional | A specially trained professional, often a social worker, who co-ordinates Mental Health Act assessments and can apply for a person to be detained. | Adults |
| AP | Alternative Provision | Education arranged for pupils who cannot attend mainstream school, for example because of exclusion or illness. | Education |
| ASD | Autism Spectrum Disorder | A lifelong neurodevelopmental condition affecting how a person communicates, interacts and experiences the world. | Health |
| ASYE | Assessed and Supported Year in Employment | A supported first year in practice for newly qualified social workers, with reduced caseloads and regular assessment. | Both |
| BASW | British Association of Social Workers | The professional association for social workers across the UK, which publishes the profession's code of ethics. | Both |
| BIA | Best Interests Assessor | A trained professional who assesses whether a deprivation of liberty is in a person's best interests under the DoLS scheme. | Adults |
| CAFCASS | Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service | The organisation that represents children's interests in family court proceedings in England. | Children |
| CAMHS | Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services | NHS services that assess and treat children and young people with emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties. | Health |
| CAO | Child Arrangements Order | A court order deciding who a child lives with, spends time with or otherwise has contact with. | Children |
| CCE | Child Criminal Exploitation | Abuse where a child is coerced or manipulated into criminal activity, such as county lines drug dealing. | Children |
| CDOP | Child Death Overview Panel | The multi-agency panel that reviews the deaths of all children in an area to identify learning and prevent future deaths. | Children |
| CEOP | Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command | The National Crime Agency command that tackles online child sexual abuse and exploitation and runs a public reporting service. | Children |
| CHC | Continuing Healthcare | NHS-funded care for adults whose long-term care needs arise primarily from health needs, covering the full cost of their care. | Health |
| CIC | Child in Care | An alternative term for a looked-after child, used by many local authorities and often preferred by young people. | Children |
| CIN | Child in Need | A child assessed under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 as needing extra services to achieve a reasonable standard of health or development. | Children |
| CLA | Child Looked After | The term now preferred by many local authorities for a child in the care of the local authority, replacing LAC. | Children |
| CME | Children Missing Education | Children of compulsory school age who are not registered at a school and are not receiving suitable education elsewhere. | Education |
| CoP | Court of Protection | The court that makes decisions about the property, welfare and finances of people who lack mental capacity. | Legal |
| CoramBAAF | Coram British Association for Adoption and Fostering | The membership organisation that provides guidance, forms and research for adoption, fostering and kinship care. | Children |
| COSHH | Control of Substances Hazardous to Health | Regulations requiring employers to control exposure to hazardous substances such as cleaning chemicals. | Both |
| CP | Child Protection | Work carried out to protect a child who is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. | Children |
| CPN | Community Psychiatric Nurse | A mental health nurse who supports people living in the community rather than in hospital. | Health |
| CPP | Child Protection Plan | A multi-agency plan setting out the actions needed to keep a child safe after a child protection conference decides they are at risk of significant harm. | Children |
| CQC | Care Quality Commission | The independent regulator of health and adult social care services in England. | Adults |
| CSA | Child Sexual Abuse | Forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. | Children |
| CSE | Child Sexual Exploitation | A form of sexual abuse where a child is coerced, manipulated or deceived into sexual activity, often in exchange for something they want or need. | Children |
| CSPR | Child Safeguarding Practice Review | A statutory review held after a child dies or is seriously harmed and abuse or neglect is known or suspected, to identify improvements to practice. | Children |
| CTO | Community Treatment Order | An order allowing a patient detained under the Mental Health Act to be treated in the community subject to conditions, with a power of recall to hospital. | Adults |
| CWD | Children with Disabilities | A common name for the social work teams and services that support disabled children and their families. | Children |
| CYP | Children and Young People | A general term covering children and young people, usually from birth up to age 18 or 25. | Children |
| DASH | Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment and Honour-Based Violence | A standard checklist used to assess the level of risk faced by victims of domestic abuse. | Both |
| DBS | Disclosure and Barring Service | The body that carries out criminal record checks and maintains lists of people barred from working with children or vulnerable adults. | Both |
| DDP | Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy | A therapy and parenting approach for children affected by trauma and attachment difficulties, focused on building safe relationships. | Children |
| DHR | Domestic Homicide Review | A statutory review held after a death caused by domestic abuse to learn lessons and improve how agencies protect victims. | Adults |
| DNACPR | Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation | A recorded clinical decision that CPR should not be attempted if a person's heart or breathing stops. | Health |
| DoC | Duty of Candour | The legal duty on care providers to be open and honest with people, and apologise, when something goes wrong with their care. | Both |
| DoLS | Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards | Legal safeguards ensuring that people in hospitals and care homes who lack capacity are only deprived of their liberty when it is authorised and in their best interests. | Adults |
| DPA | Data Protection Act 2018 | The UK law, alongside UK GDPR, that governs how organisations must handle personal data. | Legal |
| DSL | Designated Safeguarding Lead | The senior member of school or college staff responsible for safeguarding and child protection, including making referrals. | Education |
| DST | Decision Support Tool | The national form used by a multidisciplinary team to decide whether someone is eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare. | Health |
| DWP | Department for Work and Pensions | The government department responsible for welfare benefits and pensions. | Both |
| EBSA | Emotionally Based School Avoidance | Difficulty attending school caused by anxiety or emotional distress rather than truancy. | Education |
| ECHR | European Convention on Human Rights | The international treaty protecting rights such as liberty, family life and freedom from inhuman treatment, given effect in UK law by the Human Rights Act. | Legal |
| EHA | Early Help Assessment | An assessment used to identify a child's and family's needs early so support can be offered before problems escalate. | Children |
| EHC | Education, Health and Care | The combined assessment process that can lead to an EHC plan for a child or young person with special educational needs. | Education |
| EHCP | Education, Health and Care Plan | A legal document for children and young people up to 25 setting out their special educational needs and the support they must receive. | Education |
| EHE | Elective Home Education | A parent's choice to educate their child at home instead of sending them to school. | Education |
| ELSA | Emotional Literacy Support Assistant | A school teaching assistant trained to support pupils with their emotional development and wellbeing. | Education |
| eMAR | Electronic Medication Administration Record | A digital version of the medication administration record used to log medicines given in care settings. | Health |
| EOTAS | Education Otherwise Than At School | Education arranged by a local authority for a child who cannot attend school, delivered outside a school setting. | Education |
| EPA | Enduring Power of Attorney | An older form of power of attorney, made before October 2007, covering property and financial affairs; replaced by the LPA. | Legal |
| EWO | Education Welfare Officer | A local authority officer who works with schools and families to improve school attendance. | Education |
| EYFS | Early Years Foundation Stage | The statutory framework setting standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to age five. | Education |
| EYP | Early Years Practitioner | A person qualified to work with young children in early years settings such as nurseries. | Education |
| FDAC | Family Drug and Alcohol Court | A problem-solving family court that supports parents in care proceedings to address substance misuse and keep their children where possible. | Children |
| FGC | Family Group Conference | A family-led meeting in which the wider family makes a plan to keep a child safe and meet their needs. | Children |
| FGM | Female Genital Mutilation | The illegal practice of partially or totally removing or injuring a girl's or woman's genitalia for non-medical reasons. | Both |
| FNC | Funded Nursing Care | An NHS payment towards the nursing care element of a place in a nursing home for people not eligible for full Continuing Healthcare. | Health |
| FOI | Freedom of Information | The legal right, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, to request recorded information held by public bodies. | Legal |
| GDD | Global Developmental Delay | A significant delay in two or more areas of a young child's development, such as speech, movement or learning. | Health |
| GDPR | General Data Protection Regulation | The data protection framework, retained in UK law as UK GDPR, setting rules for how personal data must be processed. | Legal |
| GP | General Practitioner | A family doctor providing general medical care in the community and referrals to specialist services. | Health |
| HCPC | Health and Care Professions Council | The regulator for professions such as occupational therapists, paramedics and speech and language therapists. | Health |
| HI | Hearing Impairment | A special educational needs category covering deafness or partial hearing loss that affects a child's learning. | Education |
| HRA | Human Rights Act 1998 | The law that makes rights from the European Convention on Human Rights enforceable in UK courts. | Legal |
| HSB | Harmful Sexual Behaviour | Sexual behaviour by a child or young person that is developmentally inappropriate and may be harmful to themselves or others. | Children |
| HSE | Health and Safety Executive | The national regulator for workplace health and safety in Great Britain. | Both |
| ICB | Integrated Care Board | The NHS body responsible for planning and funding most NHS services in a local area. | Health |
| ICMP | Individual Crisis Management Plan | A personalised plan in residential childcare describing how staff should respond when a specific child is in crisis, including any agreed physical intervention. | Children |
| ICO | Information Commissioner's Office | The UK regulator for data protection and information rights, to which serious data breaches must be reported. | Legal |
| ICO | Interim Care Order | A temporary court order placing a child in local authority care while care proceedings are ongoing. | Children |
| ICPC | Initial Child Protection Conference | The first multi-agency meeting, held after section 47 enquiries, that decides whether a child needs a child protection plan. | Children |
| ICS | Integrated Care System | A partnership of NHS organisations, councils and others responsible for planning health and care services for a local population. | Health |
| IDVA | Independent Domestic Violence Advisor | A trained specialist who supports victims of domestic abuse at highest risk of serious harm or murder. | Both |
| IEP | Individual Education Plan | A school-level plan setting targets and support strategies for a pupil with additional learning needs. | Education |
| IFA | Independent Fostering Agency | A non-local-authority organisation that recruits, trains and supports foster carers and places children with them. | Children |
| IMCA | Independent Mental Capacity Advocate | An advocate appointed to represent a person who lacks capacity and has no family or friends to consult about serious decisions. | Adults |
| IMHA | Independent Mental Health Advocate | An advocate who helps patients detained or treated under the Mental Health Act understand and exercise their rights. | Adults |
| IPC | Infection Prevention and Control | The practices, such as hand hygiene and cleaning, used to stop infections spreading in care settings. | Health |
| IRO | Independent Reviewing Officer | An independent social worker who chairs a looked-after child's reviews and checks the care plan is being followed. | Children |
| ISVA | Independent Sexual Violence Advisor | A trained specialist who supports victims of sexual violence through the criminal justice process and beyond. | Both |
| ISW | Independent Social Worker | A registered social worker commissioned independently, often to provide expert assessments in court proceedings. | Both |
| KCSIE | Keeping Children Safe in Education | The statutory safeguarding guidance that all schools and colleges in England must follow. | Education |
| LA | Local Authority | The local council responsible for services including children's and adults' social care and education. | Both |
| LAC | Looked After Child | A child who is in the care of the local authority, whether under a care order or a voluntary arrangement. | Children |
| LADO | Local Authority Designated Officer | The council officer who manages allegations against adults who work or volunteer with children. | Children |
| LD | Learning Disability | A reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities that starts in childhood and lasts throughout life. | Both |
| LeDeR | Learning from Lives and Deaths | The NHS programme that reviews the deaths of people with a learning disability and autistic people to improve care. | Health |
| LOLER | Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 | The law requiring lifting equipment, such as hoists in care settings, to be safe, maintained and regularly inspected. | Both |
| LPA | Lasting Power of Attorney | A legal document letting a person appoint someone to make decisions about their finances or health and welfare if they lose capacity. | Legal |
| LPS | Liberty Protection Safeguards | The scheme created by the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019 intended to replace DoLS, though its implementation has been shelved. | Adults |
| MAPPA | Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements | The framework through which police, probation and prisons manage the risk posed by violent and sexual offenders. | Legal |
| MAR | Medication Administration Record | The document used in care settings to record every dose of medication given, refused or omitted. | Health |
| MARAC | Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference | A regular multi-agency meeting that shares information and plans safety actions for domestic abuse victims at high risk. | Both |
| MASH | Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub | A team where police, social care, health and other agencies share information to decide how to respond to safeguarding concerns. | Both |
| MCA | Mental Capacity Act 2005 | The law setting out how to assess whether a person aged 16 or over can make their own decisions and how to make best-interests decisions for those who cannot. | Adults |
| MDT | Multi-Disciplinary Team | A group of professionals from different disciplines who work together on a person's assessment, care and treatment. | Health |
| MFH | Missing From Home | The status of a child or adult whose whereabouts are unknown and who is considered at risk, triggering agreed reporting procedures. | Children |
| MHA | Mental Health Act 1983 | The law governing the assessment, detention and treatment of people with a mental disorder in England and Wales. | Adults |
| MLD | Moderate Learning Difficulties | A special educational needs category for pupils whose attainment is well below expected levels across most areas of the curriculum. | Education |
| MUST | Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool | A screening tool used to identify adults who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. | Health |
| NAI | Non-Accidental Injury | An injury to a child that is judged to have been inflicted rather than caused by accident, raising child protection concerns. | Children |
| NEET | Not in Education, Employment or Training | A young person, usually aged 16 to 24, who is not in education, employment or training. | Education |
| NEWS2 | National Early Warning Score 2 | A standard NHS scoring system that uses vital signs to spot adults whose health is deteriorating. | Health |
| NHS | National Health Service | The UK's publicly funded health service, free at the point of use. | Health |
| NRM | National Referral Mechanism | The national framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. | Both |
| NSPCC | National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children | A leading children's charity that runs child protection services, research and the Childline helpline. | Children |
| OFSTED | Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills | The inspectorate that regulates and inspects schools, early years settings and children's social care services, including children's homes. | Education |
| OT | Occupational Therapist | A health professional who helps people overcome barriers to everyday activities, often by recommending equipment, adaptations or new techniques. | Health |
| PA | Personal Adviser | The worker who supports a care leaver from age 16 to 25, helping with their pathway plan, housing, education and independence. | Children |
| PACE | Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy | A therapeutic parenting approach, developed by Dan Hughes, used to build trust and emotional connection with children who have experienced trauma. | Children |
| PACE | Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 | The law governing police powers such as arrest, detention and interviews, including the requirement for an appropriate adult for children and vulnerable adults. | Legal |
| PBS | Positive Behaviour Support | A person-centred approach to understanding behaviour that challenges and reducing it by improving quality of life rather than punishing. | Both |
| PEEP | Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan | An individual plan describing how a person who cannot evacuate a building unaided will be helped to safety in an emergency. | Both |
| PEG | Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy | A feeding tube placed through the abdominal wall into the stomach for people who cannot eat or drink safely by mouth. | Health |
| PEP | Personal Education Plan | The education part of a looked-after child's care plan, reviewed each term with the school and social worker. | Education |
| PIP | Personal Independence Payment | A welfare benefit for people with a long-term health condition or disability that affects daily living or mobility. | Adults |
| PLAC | Previously Looked After Child | A child who was in care but left through adoption, a special guardianship order or a child arrangements order, and remains entitled to certain support. | Children |
| PLO | Public Law Outline | The framework and pre-proceedings process courts and local authorities must follow in care proceedings. | Legal |
| PMLD | Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities | A severe learning disability combined with other significant needs, such as physical disabilities or sensory impairments, requiring high levels of support. | Both |
| POVA | Protection of Vulnerable Adults | An older term, and former vetting scheme, for the arrangements to safeguard adults at risk of abuse or neglect. | Adults |
| PPE | Personal Protective Equipment | Items such as gloves, aprons and masks worn to protect against infection or other hazards. | Health |
| PR | Parental Responsibility | The legal rights, duties and authority a parent or other person has for a child and the child's property. | Legal |
| PRN | Pro Re Nata | Latin for 'as required'; medication prescribed to be given only when needed, such as for pain, rather than at set times. | Health |
| PRU | Pupil Referral Unit | A type of school that educates children who cannot attend mainstream school, often following exclusion. | Education |
| PSHE | Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education | The school subject in which pupils learn about health, relationships, safety and living in the wider world. | Education |
| QS | Quality Standards | The nine standards in the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 that describe the outcomes children's homes must achieve. | Children |
| RCCW | Residential Child Care Worker | A practitioner who cares for children living in children's homes, supporting their daily lives, development and wellbeing. | Children |
| RCPC | Review Child Protection Conference | A follow-up multi-agency meeting that reviews a child protection plan and decides whether it is still needed. | Children |
| Reg 40 | Regulation 40, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 | The requirement to notify Ofsted and other relevant agencies of serious events, such as a child's death, serious injury or allegation of abuse. | Children |
| Reg 44 | Regulation 44, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 | The requirement for an independent person to visit a children's home each month and report on the safety and wellbeing of the children. | Children |
| Reg 45 | Regulation 45, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 | The requirement for a children's home to review the quality of its care at least every six months and produce a report. | Children |
| ReSPECT | Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment | A personalised plan recording a person's preferences and clinical recommendations for their care in a future emergency. | Health |
| RHI | Return Home Interview | An independent interview offered to a child after a missing episode to understand why they went missing and what happened. | Children |
| RI | Responsible Individual | The person appointed by a provider to supervise the management of a registered service and represent the organisation to the regulator. | Children |
| RIDDOR | Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 | The law requiring employers to report specified workplace deaths, injuries, illnesses and near misses to the Health and Safety Executive. | Both |
| RM | Registered Manager | The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day management of a care service. | Both |
| RSE | Relationships and Sex Education | The statutory school subject covering healthy relationships, consent and, in secondary schools, sex education. | Education |
| RSW | Residential Support Worker | A member of staff in a residential home who provides day-to-day care and support to the people living there. | Children |
| s.117 | Section 117, Mental Health Act 1983 | The duty on the NHS and local authorities to provide free aftercare to people who have been detained under certain sections of the Mental Health Act. | Adults |
| s.17 | Section 17, Children Act 1989 | The legal duty on local authorities to provide services to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need. | Children |
| s.20 | Section 20, Children Act 1989 | Voluntary accommodation of a child by the local authority with parental consent, without a court order. | Children |
| s.31 | Section 31, Children Act 1989 | The provision under which a court can make a care or supervision order if a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. | Children |
| s.47 | Section 47, Children Act 1989 | The duty on a local authority to make enquiries when it suspects a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. | Children |
| SAB | Safeguarding Adults Board | The statutory multi-agency board in each local authority area that oversees adult safeguarding arrangements under the Care Act 2014. | Adults |
| SALT | Speech and Language Therapist | A health professional who assesses and treats communication difficulties and swallowing problems. | Health |
| SAR | Safeguarding Adults Review | A statutory review held when an adult with care and support needs dies or is seriously harmed and abuse or neglect is suspected, to learn lessons. | Adults |
| SAR | Subject Access Request | A request under data protection law by which a person can ask an organisation for copies of the personal data it holds about them. | Legal |
| SBAR | Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation | A structured communication tool used to hand over concerns about a person's health clearly and quickly. | Health |
| SDQ | Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire | A short questionnaire used to screen children's emotional and behavioural wellbeing, completed annually for looked-after children. | Children |
| SEMH | Social, Emotional and Mental Health | A special educational needs category for pupils whose emotional or mental health difficulties affect their behaviour and learning. | Education |
| SENCO | Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator | The teacher in a school responsible for organising support for pupils with special educational needs. | Education |
| SEND | Special Educational Needs and Disabilities | The umbrella term for learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for a child to learn than most children of the same age. | Education |
| SENDIASS | Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service | The free, impartial service in each area that advises parents and young people about SEND rights and support. | Education |
| SGO | Special Guardianship Order | A court order appointing a carer, often a relative, as a child's special guardian with enhanced parental responsibility until the child is 18. | Children |
| SLCN | Speech, Language and Communication Needs | Difficulties with speaking, understanding language or communicating socially that affect a child's learning and relationships. | Education |
| SoP | Statement of Purpose | The document every registered care service must have describing what it does, who it is for and how it delivers care. | Both |
| SOVA | Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults | An older umbrella term for the policies and procedures used to protect adults at risk from abuse and neglect. | Adults |
| SpLD | Specific Learning Difficulty | A difficulty affecting a particular aspect of learning, such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or dyscalculia, rather than general ability. | Education |
| STOMP | Stopping Over-Medication of People with a Learning Disability, Autism or Both | An NHS programme to reduce inappropriate use of psychotropic medication for people with a learning disability or autism. | Health |
| SW | Social Worker | A registered professional who assesses need and risk and supports children, adults and families to improve their safety and wellbeing. | Both |
| SWE | Social Work England | The regulator that registers social workers in England and sets professional standards. | Both |
| TAC | Team Around the Child | A group of practitioners from different services who meet with the family to plan co-ordinated support for a child. | Children |
| TAF | Team Around the Family | A group of practitioners who work together with a family to deliver a co-ordinated early help plan. | Children |
| TILE | Task, Individual, Load, Environment | The four factors assessed when planning safe moving and handling of people or objects. | Both |
| UASC | Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Child | A child claiming asylum in the UK who is separated from their parents and is cared for by a local authority. | Children |
| UC | Universal Credit | The main means-tested welfare benefit for working-age people, replacing several older benefits. | Adults |
| UTI | Urinary Tract Infection | An infection of the bladder or urinary system which, in older people, can cause sudden confusion or delirium. | Health |
| VAWG | Violence Against Women and Girls | The umbrella term for crimes disproportionately affecting women and girls, including domestic abuse, sexual violence and stalking. | Both |
| VI | Visual Impairment | A special educational needs category covering sight loss that affects a child's access to learning. | Education |
| VSH | Virtual School Head | The local authority officer responsible for promoting the educational achievement of looked-after and previously looked-after children. | Education |
| WTSC | Working Together to Safeguard Children | The statutory guidance setting out how agencies in England must work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. | Children |
| YJS | Youth Justice Service | The local multi-agency service, formerly known as the youth offending team, that works with children who offend or are at risk of offending. | Children |
| YOI | Young Offender Institution | A custodial establishment for young people sentenced or remanded by the courts. | Legal |
| YOT | Youth Offending Team | The multi-agency team that supervises children who have offended and works to prevent reoffending; now often called the Youth Justice Service. | Children |
No matches. Missing an acronym you think we should add? Tell us.
About this glossary
Definitions are one-sentence orientations, not full guidance — always check the source legislation or your organisation's policy for detail. Entries are reviewed and added regularly; if a term used in your team isn't here, suggest it.
Guidance, not advice. This tool gives general guidance based on the law and statutory guidance in force at the last review date. It is not legal advice and does not replace your organisation's policies or professional advice on your specific circumstances.
Last reviewed: 1 July 2026 · Report an error in this tool