HOW TO HIRE · CARE & SUPPORT · CHECKED OCTOBER 2026
Personal care at home is regulated in every UK nation. Here is the check, what to ask and the help with costs.
THE 60-SECOND VERSION
BEFORE YOU BOOK
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 personal 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 →
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 →
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 personal 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 personal care assistant's certificate or PVG proof and read when it was issued. gov.uk →
An agency that only introduces a personal 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 personal 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 →
Personal care is exempt from VAT only when given by a charity, a public body or a provider registered with CQC (England), CIW (Wales), the Care Inspectorate (Scotland) or RQIA (Northern Ireland), within an individual care plan; otherwise it carries the standard rate. A personal care assistant working alone, not through a registered agency, is not a state-regulated provider, so the exemption does not apply — but one earning under £90,000 is not VAT-registered and charges no VAT.
Ask the personal care assistant whether they work alone or through an agency, and whether any VAT is added to the hourly rate. gov.uk →
A good answer: Yes, with the regulator for your nation and the latest report.
A good answer: An honest yes or no.
A good answer: Training refreshed regularly, and two carers for hoist transfers where needed.
A good answer: Covering, asking first, closing doors — written into the plan.
A good answer: Discreetly, in the care notes.
A good answer: DBS with the adults' barred list, PVG or AccessNI.
A good answer: Notice period and how to ask.
Personal care is charged by the hour, with time-of-day rates and extra for two-carer visits. Personal 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
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.
AFTER
MONEY BACK
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.
Who: people at State Pension age or older whose disability or health condition means they need someone to help look after them
Who: people at State Pension age or over who have needed help with personal care for six months
Who: people at State Pension age with care needs from a disability or long-term condition
Who: people aged 16 or over assessed as needing care and support, carers, disabled parents and older people needing community care
Who: people assessed as needing social services help, including carers and parents of disabled children
Schemes change. The amounts above were checked on the dates shown; the official page is the one that counts.
The agency does, for personal care, with the regulator for your nation. A carer you employ directly is not; you take on employer duties.
Ask for DBS with the adults' barred list (England, Wales), AccessNI (Northern Ireland) or PVG membership (Scotland).
Ask the agency; many can meet a preference, and it should be in the plan.
£26 to £40 an hour, typically around £33. Two-carer visits and evenings cost more. Our personal care assistant price guide explains the range; searching your town above shows personal care assistants who cover it.
Not by a registered provider — VAT Notice 701/2.
Raise it with the agency in writing and tell the regulator; the agency owes reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
MORE GUIDES
