All members of the Social Care Work Profession (including Social Care Workers, Social Care Leaders, Deputy Social Care Managers and Social Care Managers) have just under eight months left to apply for statutory regulation with CORU. The deadline for applying to the register, for existing staff is the 30th November 2025.
As the trade union with national negotiating rights for all members of the Social Care Profession, Fórsa highly recommends that all members commence the process of registration now without delay.
While eight months might seem like a lot of time, depending on your own individual circumstances, you may be required to seek written information from third party organisations (e.g. college transcripts / marriage certs/ divorce decrees / international peace clearances / signatures from other employers) and this can take time.
You can log on to the CORU website today, create an account and start to progress your application. You can then leave the application and come back to it later. You do not have to complete the application in one sitting. The fee due upon submission of your application is €100. This was previously set at €295 and was negotiated down to €100, and sustained at €100 by Fórsa.
In October 2023, the Social Care Workers National Professional Committee organised a one-day conference for members on statutory regulation. This was followed by a series of regional seminars for members, held throughout 2024. There was also a national webinar in November 2024.
If you are holding a local meeting our Fórsa Health Staff Team can be contacted to explain the registration process. Members can make contact through their local Branch Executives.
In addition, CORU have shared with us details of upcoming webinars which they are organising. These webinars are designed to provide guidance and support for social care workers as the 30th November deadline for applying for CORU registration approaches.
The next webinar will be on Wednesday 21st May and will present a practical overview of the CORU registration process. It will also provide applicants the opportunity to ask questions of the registration team as they prepare their application.
Please note this webinar is organised by CORU directly and all queries, including how to register should be directed to CORU.
HSE policy on annual certification of registration with relevant registration boards at CORU
The HSE Policy on annual certification of registration with relevant registration boards at CORU will be amended to include Social Care Workers from 30th November 2025.
This will mean that any employee who does not comply with the application process for registration may be put off duty without pay and may be subject to the process of terminating their employment under the Disciplinary Procedure.
Failure to achieve mandatory registration in accordance with the CORU registration process and timeframes as outlined in the Circular and the supporting CORU guidance documents and website information will constitute grounds for termination of employment as a social care worker. You can view the current circular here.
The HSE has already adjusted their eligibility criteria for Social Care Work to include CORU registration which means that all new recruits will be CORU registered/ be able to be CORU registered.
We anticipate similar circulars issuing for TUSLA staff. Many organisations in the Community and Voluntary Sector will also take the same approach.
Fórsa highly recommends that all members commence the process of registration now without delay.
Fórsa has been engaging with CORU on the proposed Assessment of Professional Competence and the cost associated which was previously set at €500.
CORU have now confirmed this fee has been reduced to €300. While this is a positive move, it is still a very high fee for Social Care Members. Fórsa will continue to lobby for a reduction in this fee.
The Assessment will be carried out by Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) and there is a guidance document available here setting out the steps involved.
Members should become familiar with this guidance document. The Assessment of Professional Competence is available for all Section 91 applicants, however Fórsa advises members to pursue registration through the other routes to registration in the first instance as there is no additional cost associated with these routes. Should you be unsuccessful, you will then have the option of reapplying through the Assessment of Professional Competence route.
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