Human Resources

We live and work in a vibrant, multicultural society, and care settings reflect this richness and diversity. Staff bring with them a wide range of languages, traditions, and cultural perspectives, all of which can greatly enhance the caring environment.

A diverse workforce offers opportunities for shared learning, broader understanding, and deeper empathy with the service users we support. When managed well, this diversity adds strength to teams and helps deliver truly person-centred care.

Differing Languages and Impact on Care

It is important to recognise that for us all, speaking in our first language is a source of comfort, cultural identity, and connection with others. However, managers have a clear responsibility to ensure that communication within the care environment always supports service user inclusion, and is centred on their needs. Providers must strive to ensure that staff appreciate how their language choices can influence the atmosphere of trust, safety and belonging that good care depends upon.

Impact on Service User Experience

For many service users, especially those living with dementia, cognitive or sensory difficulties, hearing conversations in a language they do not understand can cause uncertainty, isolation, and loss of trust. Families of service users have also voiced concerns, and regulators have flagged this as a factor that may adversely affect care quality. While it is natural for overseas staff to seek comfort and familiarity in using their first language, managers must ensure that all staff understand why inclusive communication matters. Framing this not as a restriction, but as a means of protecting dignity, safety, and wellbeing helps staff see the link between language choices and the principles of person-centred care.

Finding the Balance

Good practice involves striking a balance: encouraging and celebrating the diversity of a multilingual workforce, while making sure that English (or the language most understood by service users) is used when delivering care, and when staff are communicating in their presence. Clear policies, staff training, and open conversations about why this matters can help ensure everyone feels valued and respected. In this way, services can foster both cultural inclusivity and person-centred care, without one being at the expense of the other.

How the Principles of Person-Centred Care Relate to Language

• Respect and dignity

Using language the service user understands helps them feel to valued, included, and never spoken over or about

• Inclusion

Communication both with and around service users should always promote belonging and prevent isolation or confusion

• Compassion

It’s important to recognise how language affects how people feel, so build trust by speaking in ways that are easily understood, reassuring and comforting

• Choice and control

Wherever possible, enhance wellbeing by adapting to the service user’s preferred language and communication style

• Collaboration

Involve service users and their families in discussions about communication needs and preferences good relationships with staff is key to their wellbeing

• Equity

No service user should ever in any way be disadvantaged or made uncomfortable by the language/s staff use around them

Ten Top Tips on Managing Language Use

1. Set expectations from the very first day of each staff member’s employment. Share your expectations on language use, and make it clear that the main shared language MUST be spoken when delivering care or talking in front of service users
2. Promote understanding, not restriction: Explain why this is important, not simply as a rule to follow, but to protect dignity, inclusion, and person-centredness
3. Use induction and training: build language guidance into staff induction programmes and regular training, linking it directly to the principles of person-centred care and regulatory requirements
4. Encourage reflection: ask staff to consider how they might feel if surrounded by people speaking a language they cannot understand
5. Celebrate diversity: recognise and value the different languages and cultures within your team. Create positive opportunities for staff to share these with service users and others, perhaps as part of your service’s activities programme
6. Support English language skills: signpost staff to ESOL classes or provide workplace based learning opportunities to strengthen confidence and communication
7. Address issues early: tackle concerns promptly and sensitively, focusing on inclusion and improving the quality of care rather than blame
8. Model good practice: ensure senior staff always demonstrate inclusive communication, setting the standard for others to follow
9. Encourage open feedback: provide service users and their families with safe ways to share concerns about communication, and act on their feedback
10. Balance fairness with flexibility: keep the focus firmly on the service user’s experience during care delivery, while recognising that staff may use their own language appropriately during breaks, or in private conversations

At the heart of good care is making sure every service user feels safe, included, and respected. When we think carefully about the language we use, we help to build trust, comfort, and belonging for the people we support.

Celebrating the different cultures and languages in our teams is a real strength, and when combined with clear, inclusive communication, everyone benefits. By working together in this way, we can make sure our diversity truly enhances the care experience for service users and their families.