How much does it cost to have a home carer?

Care agencies are more expensive as they charge high commission rates and have additional administration charges and overhead costs.

Traditional agencies charge from £26 per hour for care during the week and more at weekends – that is over £18,000 if you have a carer for 15 hours per week. Typically, the carer earns c.£9.20 per hour, limiting the selection of carers they are able to offer. A care agency will manage the care so they decide who is coming, when and for how long. It may be more difficult to get the care visits at the times you want them and you may not always have the same carer on a regular basis.

Live-in care provided through a traditional care agency will be up to £1,500 per week but will vary according to the precise needs of the care recipient.

An introductory agency, such as TrustonTap, will help you find a suitable carer in your area for a small commission, which is included in the carer’s hourly rate. At TrustonTap commission rates are kept very low, so that 80% of what you pay goes to the self-employed carer. Most of our home carers earn 50% more than they would if they worked for a traditional care agency. Carers with introductory agencies tend to be more experienced as they are not new to care, allowing them to be much more selective. At TrustonTap our carers are trustworthy, compassionate, and reliable and we encourage them to develop a relationship with their clients.

All the necessary checks and references ensuring the carer has the experience, valid training certificates, and DBS checks are kept up to date.  The carers are self-employed and charge between £15-£22 per hour depending on experience. If you take the average of £17 per hour, it will cost approximately £13,300 per year if you have a carer for 10 hours a week.

As well as providing Hourly care, TrustonTap can also provide Overnight care which costs from £125 to £160 a night, or around-the-clock care live-in care which costs from £1,095 a week. You may also find it helpful to see our article ‘Where to Start? A short guide to care’

The average cost of a residential care home in the UK in 2018/19, was £34,320 a year although this does vary around the country.

LaingBuisson Market Report in 2019 estimated the cost of Residential Care for someone with Dementia in the South East as £41,236 a year.

If you want a more in-depth comparison of the benefits of care homes compared to home care, please see our article ‘Care homes versus home care – what is the difference?’ which should help you make an informed choice.

Although many families pay for care privately there may be the opportunity for you to access home care funding from either your Local Authority or NHS Clinical Commissioning Group. In this case, you can request the care to be funded via Direct Payments or a Personal Health budget. This gives you control over how you spend the money allocated for your care and you will be able to access a much wider choice of care.

You may find it helpful to look at our articles on ‘What financial help can I get for my Care and Support? and ‘Paying for your own care’. You may find using the Paying for Care website helpful (see below)

Local Authority support for care of the elderly varies according to where you live but often, even if they provide you with support, they will be unable to provide the level of care that you may want for your relative or friend. For most people, there is a need to pay for at least some additional care support to provide the quality of life that you want for your loved one.