Statutory training is required by law; mandatory training is required by your organisation or commissioners. How to tell them apart in care.
Statutory training is required by law. Mandatory training is required by your organisation, your commissioners or national guidance. Care providers treat both as non-negotiable, but knowing the difference helps you plan, budget and explain your choices to CQC.
What is statutory training?
Statutory training exists because a law, or a body acting under a law, requires it. The main sources are the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Health and safety, fire safety and moving and handling all sit here.
What is mandatory training?
Mandatory training is training an organisation decides it needs to deliver safe care and manage risk. Commissioner contracts, local policies and national guidance often drive it. Its main link to regulation is CQC's Regulation 18, which requires staff to receive the training, supervision and development they need for their role.
Which is which in a care setting?
| Mostly statutory (rooted in law) | Mostly mandatory (set by provider, commissioner or guidance) |
|---|---|
| Health and safety awareness | Infection prevention and control |
| Fire safety | Adult and child safeguarding |
| Moving and handling | Medication administration |
| First aid (adequate cover required by HSE rules) | Food hygiene, dementia, mental capacity |
The line is not always clean. Learning disability and autism training, for example, became a legal requirement for CQC-registered providers through the Health and Care Act 2022 (more on that here).
Does the difference matter for CQC?
Not much. CQC does not ask whether a course is statutory or mandatory. It asks whether your staff have the knowledge and skills to deliver safe care, and whether you can show it. A gap in either category can lead to a breach of Regulation 18.
Who decides what is mandatory?
The registered provider. Skills for Care's guide gives a recommended baseline, but providers must add anything their service, their commissioners or the people they support require, and record it in a training policy.
