Independent · no commission from any care provider · fees published
Professionals
Paying for care at home: the rules are kinder than for a care home, and almost nobody knows them
Care in your own home is assessed differently. The house is never counted. Income is protected by a minimum guarantee. Councils can arrange the care and bill you, or pay you a direct payment to arrange it yourself. And an hourly package that looks cheap at two visits a day becomes dearer than a care home at four. Here is how it works and how to price it honestly.
When home care stops being the cheaper option
Agencies charge by the hour or the visit, plus travel and a premium for weekends, evenings and bank holidays. One visit a day is affordable. Four visits a day with a double-up for transfers can exceed a nursing home fee, without the night cover. The honest comparison includes the household bills the person keeps paying, the carer’s breaks and the days nobody comes.
- Hours per week × hourly rate, with weekend and evening uplifts
- Two-carer tasks double the hours for those visits
- Nights: sleeping or waking – priced differently, and often the tipping point
- Household costs that continue: heating, food, council tax, maintenance
- What Attendance Allowance and Council Tax Reduction give back
What this is not
- We do not supply or employ carers – that is CQC-regulated. We assess, cost, choose and check.
- We do not give financial advice on funding the shortfall – a SOLLA adviser does.
Services for care at home
The written statement of need that sets the hours – and the council’s contribution.
The agencies with capacity in your area, their real hourly rates, CQC picture and staff turnover.
A nurse checking the package is delivered, the visits happen and the invoices match.
Price it properly before you decide.
Free 20-minute call; written note the same day.
No pressure. No care-provider commissions. A written next-step note after every free call.