HOW TO HIRE · CARE & SUPPORT

How to hire a home care assistant in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Personal care at home is regulated in every UK nation. Here is how to check the agency, what changes if you employ the assistant, and what to ask.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a home care assistant in five steps

  1. Agency, or employ directly?An agency must be registered; employing directly makes you the employer.
  2. Check registrationCQC, CIW, the Care Inspectorate or RQIA.
  3. Agree the tasks in writingPersonal care, meals, light housework — in the care plan.
  4. Ask about trainingMoving and handling, infection control, medicines.
  5. Know who to callWhen the assistant is late or ill.

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 home care assistant 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 home care assistant 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 home care assistant'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 home care assistant 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 home care assistant 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

Home care is exempt from VAT only when it comes from a charity, a public body or an agency registered with CQC (England), CIW (Wales), the Care Inspectorate (Scotland) or RQIA (Northern Ireland), following the person's care plan; outside those providers it is standard-rated. A home care assistant booked by the hour who works for themselves is not a registered provider, so the exemption does not apply — an individual under £90,000 does not charge VAT anyway and has no VAT number to give.

Before booking, ask the home care assistant whether VAT appears on their invoice; a registered agency should name its regulator and its registration number. gov.uk →

“Is the home care assistant employed by a registered agency?”

A good answer: Yes, with the regulator named — or, if not, what you take on as the employer.

“What training have your home care assistants had?”

A good answer: Induction, moving and handling, infection control and medicines training.

“Which tasks are in the care plan?”

A good answer: A written list; anything outside it needs agreeing.

“Will it be the same home care assistant each time?”

A good answer: A small team, introduced first.

“What happens if the assistant is late or cannot come?”

A good answer: A call and cover, recorded.

“How do you record each visit?”

A good answer: A visit log family can read.

“Which criminal record check do your assistants hold?”

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

Booking by the hour

  • The hourly rate for mornings, evenings and weekends, and the bank holiday rate
  • The minimum booking per visit, and whether a visit cut short is still paid in full
  • What you provide — gloves, aprons, cleaning products, food for meals — and what the assistant brings
  • The tasks written down before the first hour: washing and dressing, meals, medicines prompts, light housework
  • ID checked, the rating, and insurance that covers an accident in the home

Walk away if

  • No registration, or 'pending'
  • Asks to be paid cash outside the agency
  • Tasks agreed only by word of mouth
  • No visit records
  • No training in moving and handling
  • Different face every visit with no notice
LOW
£26
TYPICAL
£30
HIGH
£38

What a home care assistant costs: £26–£38 per hour

Home care assistants are charged by the hour through an agency, with time-of-day rates and minimum visits. Home Care Assistant 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

Home care assistants 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 routines.
  2. Care planTasks agreed and signed.
  3. First visitIntroductions.
  4. Regular visitsPersonal care, meals, light housework, notes.
  5. ReviewPlan updated.

Personal care
Help with washing, bathing, dressing and the toilet.
Moving and handling
Safe ways of helping someone move.
Care plan
The written list of tasks.
Visit log
Notes after each visit.
Introductory agency
Matches you with a carer without managing care.
Direct payments
Money paid to you to arrange your own care.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the plan and logsAnd the invoices.
Review the tasksAfter the first weeks.
Raise concerns earlyWith the agency manager, in writing.
Close the booking with a reviewReviews on Locufy come from real bookings like yours with this home care assistant. The make-it-right step is there first if something went wrong.

MONEY BACK

Grants that may apply

Help towards the cost of care, by nation. Attendance Allowance and Pension Age Disability Payment do not depend on having a carer; direct payments follow a care needs assessment.

DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS · GRANTVerified 16 Oct 2026

Attendance Allowance

£76.70 or £114.60 a weeklower rate for help by day or by night; higher rate for help by day and night

Who: people at State Pension age or older whose disability or health condition means they need someone to help look after them

  • you do not need to have a carer to claim
  • in Scotland, Pension Age Disability Payment is claimed instead
Official details on gov.uk →
DISABILITY AND CARERS SERVICE (NORTHERN IRELAND) · GRANTVerified 16 Oct 2026

Attendance Allowance

£76.70 or £114.60 a weektax-free; the higher rate applies straight away under the end-of-life rules

Who: people at State Pension age or over who have needed help with personal care for six months

  • habitually resident in Northern Ireland
  • lived in NI, Great Britain, the Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey for at least two of the last three years (not under the end-of-life rules)
Official details on nidirect.gov.uk →
SOCIAL SECURITY SCOTLAND · GRANTVerified 16 Oct 2026

Pension Age Disability Payment

£76.70 or £114.60 a weekreplaces Attendance Allowance in Scotland; not means-tested

Who: people at State Pension age with care needs from a disability or long-term condition

  • you cannot receive it and Attendance Allowance together
  • people already on Adult Disability Payment stay on it
Official details on mygov.scot →
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 1Start with a message to the home care assistantSet out the facts and the outcome you want, and keep a copy. Reasonable care and skill is implied into every service contract by section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015; if the care fell short, the home care assistant must redo it or reduce the bill under section 54.
STEP 2Try the make-it-right stepUnder four stars for a booked home care assistant, Locufy asks whether to pass it to them first; we follow it through before the review goes up.
STEP 3CQC, CIW, the Care Inspectorate or RQIAUse the agency's complaints process first. You can then tell the regulator about the care a home care assistant gave: CQC in England takes feedback on any service it registers, the Care Inspectorate in Scotland takes complaints, RQIA in Northern Ireland follows up concerns, and CIW registers services in Wales. If someone is at risk of harm, contact the council's adult social care team.
STEP 4Small claims as the last stepWhere the home care assistant still refuses, the small claims routes run to £10,000 in England and Wales, £5,000 in Scotland under simple procedure and £5,000 in Northern Ireland, with no solicitor needed.

Hiring a home care assistant: questions people ask

The agency that supplies them does, if they give personal care — CQC, CIW, the Care Inspectorate or RQIA. A carer you employ directly is not registered; you become the employer.

Ask for the enhanced DBS check with the adults' barred list (England, Wales), AccessNI's equivalent (Northern Ireland) or PVG membership (Scotland).

gov.uk says you are usually the employer: contract, payslips, National Minimum Wage, employers' liability insurance and payroll.

£26 to £38 an hour, typically around £30. Evenings and weekends cost more. The home care assistant price guide shows what moves the figure; search your town above and settle the rate per hour, the minimum visit and the written task list.

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

Complain to the agency in writing; it owes reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Then the regulator.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in care & support

How to hire: Domiciliary CareHow to hire: Personal Care AssistantHow to hire: Elderly CareHow to hire: Companion CareHow to hire: Meal Preparation for ElderlyHow to hire: Medication SupportHow to hire: Mobility AssistanceHow to hire: Live-In CarerAll 701 hiring guides →

Home care assistants near you

Home care assistants in LondonHome care assistants in ManchesterHome care assistants in BirminghamHome care assistants in GlasgowHome care assistants in BelfastAll home care assistants 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 — Attendance Allowance
  17. nidirect — Attendance Allowance
  18. mygov.scot — Pension Age Disability Payment
  19. gov.uk — apply for direct payments
  20. nidirect — direct payments
  21. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — consumer's rights for services
  22. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  23. Welfare services and goods (VAT Notice 701/2) — 2.1 Care, treatment or instruction; 3 Bodies that provide exempt welfare services
  24. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  25. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register