Arranging home care in the UK: costs, assessments and directly employing a carer
UK experience suggests several things to explore when an older family member needs home care: costs, hours, public assessments and direct payments for employing carers. This article explains the process simply and identifies matters that require separate advice in China.
Machine translation of our Chinese article, without human translation review. Suggestions concerning China remain specific to China.
Automatically reviewed, without human verification. Programmatic checks are not professional review. Seek professional advice where appropriate. Automatically reviewed on 10/4/2026, 7:14:25 AM
Chinese fact summaries and suggestions for China (not a full translation)
Original: Help at home from a paid carer - Social care and support guide - NHS · Original language: en
Read the original ↗Facts from the sources
Paid home carers cost approximately 15 to 30 pounds per hour, depending on the area. View source
Home-care arrangements are flexible, ranging from an hour of weekly help to several hours a day or overnight care. View source
Most councils do not provide everyday domestic assistance known as home help. View source
To ask a council to help arrange home care, first request a care-needs assessment from the council. View source
If someone is not eligible for council-funded care, the council must still give free advice about sources of community help. View source
Taking a personal budget as monthly direct payments allows someone to employ a person they know for home care, while taking on employer responsibilities. View source
For older people and families
In the UK, a paid home carer costs approximately 15 to 30 pounds an hour. Prices vary by area, so ask before deciding.
Home care can be flexible: support may be needed for only an hour a week, several hours daily or overnight.
Most councils do not provide ordinary domestic help. Cleaning and cooking may not count as personal care, so do not assume all household tasks are included.
To ask a council to arrange care, first apply for a care-needs assessment. Funding may be available following assessment.
If you are not eligible for funding, the council should still explain where community help can be found. Ask for this free advice.
In some areas, care funding can be paid directly to you so you manage monthly payments and employ someone you know, while accepting employer responsibilities.
Before employing someone, understand responsibilities for pay, insurance and leave rather than considering only the convenience of hiring a familiar person.
Circumstances in China differ. Ask local neighbourhood, community or civil affairs services whether and how to apply.
See what care and community teams can do
Use the UK process as a case study to help community staff understand service categories in overseas home care, where domestic help and personal care are often handled separately.
For the care-needs assessment process described here, advise older people to contact the local assessment authority first; the result determines funding eligibility.
For people without funding, organisations can draw on the approach of still providing information about community support and build local referral lists.
Direct payments require support for older people or families taking on employer responsibilities. Organisations considering the approach should offer financial, legal and insurance guidance.
Explain geographical differences and the date of price information. Do not present 15 to 30 pounds as a fixed price.
Explain different levels of support, from an hour weekly to round-the-clock care, so families choose by need rather than a uniform package.
Training should distinguish care assessment from domestic services to prevent excessive promises about service scope.
Community materials should identify this as UK experience. Chinese subsidies, assessment conditions and fee policies must follow current local civil affairs rules.
What needs local assessment
This article describes UK practices based on UK information. It does not imply that China has equivalent policies or subsidies. Home-care costs, assessment processes, public funding and conditions for employing carers vary greatly across China. Follow current local civil affairs, medical insurance, neighbourhood and community rules. Seek qualified legal or social insurance advice about employer responsibilities, pay and insurance. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Information from the NHS website is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This site independently compiled the Chinese article and its suggestions; it is not an official NHS translation or NHS-approved content. Licence: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
Sources
UK National Health Service (NHS)Was this article helpful?
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