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What a professional carer can do for you

Professional carers have a variety of skills - some have nursing and first aid qualifications and others may be home helps or personal assistants. Some examples of the type of tasks a carer might help with are:

Your options for professional home care

There are three basic arrangements for getting a professional carer.

You may have one provided directly by your local social services department, in which case everything is arranged for you. 

You may ask a care agency to find you a suitable carer. This means you have to find and pay the care agency, but you don't take on any responsibilities as an employer because the carer works for the agency. 

You may also employ a carer directly. This option gives you more choice and control over who cares for you and what tasks they do but it also means you have legal responsibilities as an employer.

Getting started - help from your local authority

The first step towards getting the care you need is usually a health and social care assessment with the social services department of your local council. At the assessment, a specialist - usually an occupational therapist - will discuss your needs with you so that the right support can be provided.

If the council agrees that you need care at home, you can usually receive direct payments. This means you can arrange and pay for your own care services instead of having them provided by the council. Once you know how much your direct payments will be, you can work out how much to pay a carer and how many hours a week you would like them to work. Your direct payments should meet your care needs, but if you want to use a more expensive care service or pay for extra hours, you can top them up yourself. 

• Health and social care assessments
• Direct payments - arranging your own care and services

Writing a job description

It's important to think carefully about exactly what help you need before you employ someone or sign a contract with an agency. It may be helpful to think about a typical day for you, and write a job description for your carer. This should include:

A detailed job description can help home care agencies select a suitable carer for you. If you're looking to employ a carer yourself, a job description will help people who are interested in applying to get a clear understanding of what the job involves. 

Finding a carer through a home care agency

All home care agencies are regulated and inspected regularly by the Commission for Social Care Inspection. This guarantees certain minimum standards of service. Home care agencies must also conduct police checks on all employees who will be working with disabled people. 

The websites of the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the United Kingdom Home Care Association both allow you to search for a home care agency in your local area. The Commission for Social Care Inspection website also contains inspection reports on individual home care agencies. 

• Commission for Social Care Inspection website Opens new window
• Find a homecare agency - United Kingdom Home Care Association website Opens new window

Finding a carer yourself

Advertising the job

You can place job advertisements in your local Jobcentre or Jobcentre Plus for free. Local shops, supermarkets and voluntary organisations may also have noticeboards where you can place job advertisements. 

Job advertisements should be brief and state:

For safety reasons, its best to give your phone number or box number in your advertisement, rather than your address. 

Job interviews

Once you've received any job application(s), select the people you'd like to interview for the job. You can ask a friend or relative to attend the interviews, especially if they are taking place in your own home. 

Before the interviews, you should prepare a list of questions that cover the key aspects of the job.

References and police checks

When you've decided who to offer the job to, you are responsible for checking that they are suitable. You should always ask for - and check out - at least two references, including one from someone they've cared for previously. 

Individual employers don't have to request a police check on any potential employee but it is still a good idea to do this. You will need to ask your local social services department or a local voluntary organisation to make the request for information to the Criminal Records Bureau on your behalf. 

• Local councils

Support from disability organisations and charities

Some disability organisations and charities may be able to help with the process of employing a carer. The National Centre for Independent Living website contains a guide to employing a personal assistant, which you may find useful.

• Employers' information on the National Centre for Independent Living website Opens new window
• Specific needs contacts

Your responsibilities if you employ a carer directly

When you employ a carer directly, you have certain responsibilities as an employer, including dealing with tax and insurance. Meeting these is not difficult, and you can get help from social services with paperwork if you need it.

• Your responsibilities when employing a professional carer