09/06/2016
Guide to Becoming a Live-in Carer
With the live in care market becoming a booming industry, many agencies and private employers are looking for live- in carers with the right skills and experience to work with their clients and loved ones.
Nevertheless, a lot of prospective carers do not know where to start in the search for their first live- in care position. This guide will help all of those that are either new to live-in care, or who are thinking of returning to the industry after some time away.
Applying as a Live-in Carer
Live- in carers come from many countries around the world and from differing backgrounds. Agencies and private employers are looking to recruit you as long as you have the right skills and character. However, some restrictions apply to whether you can work in the UK. Table 1 below tells you whether these restrictions apply to yourselves. It is best to check your rights to work here before applying for any positions.
Table 1 Right to Work in the UK
|
UK Passport |
You are entitled to Work in the UK |
|
Certificate of Registration or Naturalisation as a British Citizen |
You will need to show both:
|
|
From Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Ireland |
You will need to show both:
|
|
From the EU, EEA or Switzerland |
You are entitled to work in UK. People from Croatia must show proof of permission to work, eg a worker authorisation document (also known as a purple registration certificate), or proof that you are exempt from this restriction. |
|
Non-EEA family member of someone from the EU, EEA or Switzerland |
Please check the following link to check whether you have the right to work in the UK: https://www.gov.uk/legal-right-work-uk |
|
Anywhere Else |
Please check the following link to check whether you have the right to work in the UK: https://www.gov.uk/legal-right-work-uk |
There are various routes into care, and you will need to decide which route best suits you. You may be new to care and therefore you will need to show that you are enthusiastic about becoming a live-in carer, or you may be returning or recently qualified in a care role. You probably fit into one of the following Categories:
New to Care
If you are new to care, you may initially struggle to get work as a live-in carer. Do not let this put you off as once you have done a couple of assignments and have had clients ask for you to return then work should be much easier to find.
You will need to start by making sure you have the right to work in the UK. You should then ask yourself whether you wish to be employed or self-employed. This is really down to preference, but as a new carer it may be easier for you to take the employed route. Most agencies that employ you will offer to train you free of charge. Introduction agencies taking on self-employed carers will sometimes offer free training, and others will offer hugely discounted training to their carers so both routes are an option. Private work will be difficult as most clients will be looking for some form of experience.
If you have some relevant experience, i.e. nursed a relative through an illness, or been a carer to a family member, this will stand you in good stead to get into live in care. However. you will need to demonstrate your commitment by making sure that your qualifications and experience meets the new minimum standards that should be covered as part of induction training of all new care workers in the Health and Social Care industry. You can find out more about this from:-
http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Learning-development/Care-Certificate/Care-Certificate.aspx
Some clients may only require companionship, and this may also be an option for any new carer looking to take their first steps into live- in care. Please see employed vs self-employed for the differences between the two.
Returning to Live in Care
As an experienced Live in Carer, you will be in demand. However, it is important that you undertake CPD. CPD stands for Continuous Professional Development. In a nutshell, you should update your training so you are aware of changing practices in the industry. You can work as employed or self-employed and also consider private work. The latter can be hit or miss as to how much work you get. Also, if you are not with an agency and anything happens to your client then you have to start the whole process of looking and finding work again. Please see employed vs self- employed for the differences between the two.
From Domiciliary Care to Live-in Care.
Lots of carers come from Domiciliary Care, also known as home care. This is a term for care and support provided in the home by care workers to assist someone with their daily life. This is where carers visit, but they are not however 24/7 live-in carers. If you are thinking of a career change to become a live-in carer then you must take into account that this is much more of a commitment and can be hard on your loved ones and dependants. Having said that, many carers can work around their commitments and circumstances and gain enormous job satisfaction. You will be able to find live-in Care work fairly easily if you are flexible and prepared to work shifts. Once again you may have to update your skills and undertake CPD. Please see employed vs self-employed for the differences between the two.
Nurses or other Care Professionals.
Most nurses and suitable care professionals with experience will find it fairly easy to get live-in Ccare work. You will need to upgrade yourself and practice CPD, but hopefully it should not take long to do this. You should be able to get work with Agencies and Private work; whichever suits you. Please see employed vs self- employed for the differences between the two.
Employed versus Self Employed
As an Employed carer you can expect the following Benefits.
Employed Agency Work
However because the market fluctuates at times most Employed Agency work will be on a Zero Hours contract. For more details about Zero Hours Contracts please visit the following:-
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4468
As a Self Employed Carer (Agency work) you can expect the following Benefits.
Private Work
Either being employed or self-employed is similar to the above, but when your client passes away, you will be without work, sometimes for long periods of time. Also, it will often be your responsibility to find other carers to replace you when you have time off or are sick. This may prove difficult for you.
Positives of Live in care
As a live in carer, you can expect to gain some of the folllowing:-
Pay Rates
As an Live in Carer you can earn good money. Pay rates vary, but on average you can earn approximately £525 to £650 a week. Please be aware that if you are employed this may be the amount before tax and NI is taken off. Always check the job description and rate as it can be misleading. If you are self employed, you will not start getting taxed until you have earned over your personal tax threshold which is currently set at £11,000 for 2016/17. Therefore the amount quoted in the job description and rate will be what you will get unless of course you have already exceeded £11,000 for that year.
Conclusion
Anyone can become a live-in carer. Whether you are successful or not is a whole different story. The best carers are flexible and hard working and reap the rewards that come with this career path. This may not be in the form of financial remuneration, but it is certainly in the form of satisfaction and knowing that you have made a huge difference to someone else’s life, whilst allowing that someone to remain independent and happy in the comfort of their own home.
