HOW TO HIRE · CARE & SUPPORT

How to hire a disability support worker in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Agency or employ directly — the rules differ. Here are the checks, your duties as an employer, and what to ask.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a disability support worker in five steps

  1. Choose the routeA registered agency, or employ directly.
  2. If employing, set up properlyContract, payroll, insurance, minimum wage.
  3. Agree goals and boundariesIn a written support plan.
  4. Check the vettingDBS, PVG or AccessNI.
  5. Ask about direct paymentsAfter an assessment.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

CQC registration (England)

In England, help with washing, bathing, dressing or using the toilet, given at home to someone who cannot manage it because of age, illness or disability, is the regulated activity of personal care. An agency sending a disability support worker to do it must be registered with CQC for that activity; one that says it has applied is not yet registered.

Search the agency on CQC's site, open the location that runs your care, check 'personal care' is listed and read the latest rating. cqc.org.uk →

Care Inspectorate Wales, Care Inspectorate or RQIA

Wales: a domiciliary support service must register with Care Inspectorate Wales under Wales's 2016 social care regulation Act, unless an exemption applies, such as care for four or fewer named people at a time. Scotland: a care at home service may not operate unless registered with the Care Inspectorate. Northern Ireland: the RQIA registers domiciliary care agencies under the Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007.

Wales: CIW's service directory. Scotland: the Care Inspectorate's find-care directory, with grades. Northern Ireland: RQIA's register of domiciliary care agencies. careinspectorate.scot →

Criminal record check — DBS, PVG or AccessNI

Care work with adults can get the enhanced DBS check with the adults' barred list in England and Wales, or the AccessNI equivalent in Northern Ireland; in Scotland a disability support worker in a regulated role must be a PVG scheme member. You cannot apply for a DBS check on a self-employed carer yourself — they apply and show you the certificate, which has no official expiry date.

Ask to see the disability support worker's certificate or PVG proof and read when it was issued. gov.uk →

Introductory agency, or you as the employer

An agency that only introduces a disability support worker and has no ongoing control is outside CQC registration in England and CIW registration in Wales, so no regulator inspects the care. If you hire and pay a disability support worker directly — including with direct payments — gov.uk says you are usually their employer: a contract, payslips, at least the National Minimum Wage, employers' liability insurance and payroll.

Ask in writing whether the agency employs and supervises the carer or only introduces them, and who you pay. gov.uk →

VAT

Support for a disabled adult is exempt from VAT only when a charity, a public body or a care provider registered with CQC (England), CIW (Wales), the Care Inspectorate (Scotland) or RQIA (Northern Ireland) delivers it under a support plan; any other supplier charges the standard rate if registered for VAT. A self-employed disability support worker paid by the hour is outside that exemption, but one whose earnings stay under £90,000 has no VAT registration and does not charge VAT.

Ask the disability support worker whether they are self-employed or would be your employee, and whether they are registered for VAT. gov.uk →

“Are you employed by a registered agency, or self-employed?”

A good answer: A clear answer from the disability support worker — it decides who carries employer duties.

“What support have you given before?”

A good answer: Experience with similar needs.

“Will you support personal care?”

A good answer: If it is in the plan, with training.

“How does disability support build independence?”

A good answer: Goals worked on step by step.

“Which criminal record check does a support worker like you hold?”

A good answer: DBS with the adults' barred list, PVG or AccessNI.

“Do you drive, and is your insurance business use?”

A good answer: Yes, if trips are part of the role.

“What notice do you give?”

A good answer: Written.

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour, the higher rate for evenings and weekends — or the gross wage, if you employ them with direct payments
  • The minimum booking per shift and what happens to pay when an activity is cancelled or finishes early
  • Who pays the worker's entry, travel and meal costs on outings, and the mileage rate in their car
  • The support plan agreed before the first hour — personal care, medication prompts, community activities, and what is out of scope
  • Holiday pay and sick pay if you are the employer
  • ID checked and the rating, public liability insurance from them, and employers' liability insurance from you if they become your employee

Walk away if

  • Asks to be called self-employed when you control the work
  • No vetting check
  • No written plan
  • Agency not registered for personal care
  • Cash with no records
  • No business car insurance for driving
LOW
£17
TYPICAL
£27
HIGH
£38

What a disability support worker costs: £17–£38 per hour

Disability support workers are paid by the hour, through an agency or as your employee. Disability Support Worker price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Disability support workers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you, or book by the hour.

  1. AssessmentNeeds and goals.
  2. Support planTasks, boundaries, goals.
  3. Recruitment or agency startChecks done.
  4. ShiftsDaily living, outings, skills.
  5. ReviewGoals updated.

Direct payments
Money to arrange your own support.
Personal assistant
A support worker you employ yourself.
Employers' liability insurance
Required when you employ someone.
Support plan
The written plan.
Personal care
A regulated activity.
Payroll
Running tax and National Insurance for an employee.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep timesheets and payslipsEspecially with direct payments.
Review the goalsEvery few months.
Keep insurance currentEmployers' liability if you employ.
Write the reviewHonest detail about this disability support worker helps the next person choose. If it went badly, start with the make-it-right step so they can answer.

MONEY BACK

Grants that may apply

Direct payments let you arrange and pay for support yourself after a needs assessment; if you pay a worker directly you may become their employer.

LOCAL COUNCILS · GRANTVerified 16 Oct 2026

Direct payments

set by the council after a care needs assessmentpaid to you to arrange your own care instead of the council arranging it

Who: people aged 16 or over assessed as needing care and support, carers, disabled parents and older people needing community care

  • you must be assessed by social services first
  • if you pay someone to care for you, you may become an employer
Official details on gov.uk →
HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE TRUSTS (NORTHERN IRELAND) · GRANTVerified 16 Oct 2026

Direct payments

set by the Trust from your assessed support needspaid directly to you

Who: people assessed as needing social services help, including carers and parents of disabled children

  • used for the services or equipment in your care plan
  • you can employ a personal assistant, and as the employer you are responsible for checks and records
Official details on nidirect.gov.uk →

Schemes change. The amounts above were checked on the dates shown; the official page is the one that counts.

STEP 1Raise it with the disability support worker as their employerTalk first, then write down what needs to change and by when. gov.uk expects an employer to discuss a conduct or performance problem informally before anything formal, and to have written disciplinary rules that follow the Acas Code of Practice (the Labour Relations Agency code in Northern Ireland); a disability support worker can raise a grievance with you, and may bring a companion to a formal meeting.
STEP 2Use Locufy's make-it-right stepIf you booked the disability support worker through Locufy and rate them under four stars, you are asked whether to send it to them first; we follow it through. Then you review.
STEP 3If the disability support worker's job endsFollow the notice in the contract: after a month in the job an employee must give at least a week's notice, and dismissing without proper notice is wrongful dismissal, so act fairly and keep records. Final pay includes wages owed and any untaken statutory holiday, even after gross misconduct; give the disability support worker a P45 and report the leaving date to HMRC through payroll. The Acas helpline (0300 123 1100) advises employers in England, Scotland and Wales.
STEP 4Booked through an agency, or self-employed?Then you are a customer, not an employer: the agency or the self-employed disability support worker is a trader who must use reasonable care and skill under section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. A money claim against them can go to small claims — up to £10,000 in England and Wales, £5,000 under simple procedure in Scotland, £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a disability support worker: questions people ask

Not as an individual. An agency giving personal care must be registered with CQC, CIW, the Care Inspectorate or RQIA; a worker you employ directly is not.

Usually, yes. gov.uk treats you as the employer when you pay a carer or personal assistant yourself, and direct payments do not change that.

DBS with the adults' barred list (England, Wales), AccessNI (Northern Ireland), PVG (Scotland) — the worker applies and shows you.

£17 to £38 an hour, typically around £27. Agency rates are higher than direct employment, which carries employer costs instead. Read the disability support worker price guide for the factors, then search above to see disability support workers in your area.

Not by a registered provider — VAT Notice 701/2.

Raise it in writing with the agency, or follow your employment procedures if you employ; the regulator takes concerns about registered agencies.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in care & support

How to hire: Special Needs CareHow to hire: Personal Care AssistantHow to hire: Mobility AssistanceHow to hire: Companion CareHow to hire: Respite CareHow to hire: Domiciliary CareHow to hire: Shopping AssistanceHow to hire: Live-In CarerAll 701 hiring guides →

Disability support workers near you

Disability support workers in LondonDisability support workers in ManchesterDisability support workers in BirminghamDisability support workers in GlasgowDisability support workers in BelfastAll disability support workers on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. CQC — personal care (regulated activity)
  2. Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, schedule 1
  3. CQC — search home care agencies
  4. Care Inspectorate Wales — guide to registration under the 2016 Act
  5. mygov.scot — how care is regulated
  6. RQIA — registration guidance
  7. RQIA — register of services
  8. gov.uk — DBS checks: levels and who can request one
  9. mygov.scot — PVG for personal assistants, the self-employed and people working for an individual
  10. nidirect — AccessNI checks for the self-employed and personal employees
  11. gov.uk — employing someone to work in your home
  12. gov.uk — Welfare services and goods (VAT Notice 701/2)
  13. CQC — give feedback on care
  14. Care Inspectorate — how to complain
  15. RQIA — raise a concern
  16. gov.uk — National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates
  17. gov.uk — apply for direct payments
  18. nidirect — direct payments
  19. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — consumer's rights for services
  20. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  21. gov.uk — solve a workplace dispute
  22. gov.uk — taking disciplinary action against an employee
  23. gov.uk — dismissing staff (fair, unfair and wrongful dismissal)
  24. gov.uk — dismissing staff: how to dismiss someone
  25. gov.uk — handing in your notice: giving notice
  26. gov.uk — holiday entitlement: taking holiday before leaving a job
  27. gov.uk — what to do when an employee leaves
  28. Welfare services and goods (VAT Notice 701/2) — 2.1 Care, treatment or instruction; 3 Bodies that provide exempt welfare services
  29. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  30. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register