Self‑employed respite care

Weekend Carer Jobs in Barnsley

Set your own rates and hours — typical assignments fall within £18.50–£20 per hour.

  • Set your own rates, with no agency cut
  • Choose your clients and your hours
  • Contracts, invoicing and payments handled for you
Apply now

Registering takes a few minutes · How soon you start depends mostly on your DBS check

Description

Looking for short-term, weekend respite work in Barnsley that fits around your life? PrimeCarers connects self-employed carers with families needing cover from a few hours to a few days — weekend sleep-ins, evening sits, day-time breaks and short respite stays. You choose the clients and hours that suit you, whether you want occasional weekend shifts or regular short-term cover across Barnsley and nearby communities.

Right now, 15 families are currently looking for care in the wider area.

Respite care is about giving family carers a reliable break. Typical tasks include personal care, prompting medication, companionship, light meal preparation and supporting safe mobility. You may provide cover overnight, a full daytime shift or a couple of hours of companionship and help. These roles suit experienced, caring people who want the variety and control of self-employment without the admin burden of client-finding and invoicing. In many cases assignments fall within £18.50–£20 per hour for hourly care and £145–£160 per day for live-in day rates. You set your rates and availability, and many carers list their typical charge within £18.50–£20 per hour.

PrimeCarers helps with the practical side: we introduce you to families, handle contracts, invoicing and payments, and provide insurance while you are working through the platform. You remain self-employed—you pick the clients you accept, the hours you work and the area you cover. You could cover families in Barnsley and surrounding areas including Wombwell, Hoyland, Brierley, Over Woodhouse, Penistone and Wath upon Dearne.

To join you need at least one year of professional care experience, an Enhanced DBS check (we can help arrange this if needed), the right to work in the UK and verifiable references. We check everything during onboarding so families can book with confidence. Typical applicants are carers moving away from agency routines who want flexibility, clearer pay and direct relationships with families across Barnsley and South Yorkshire.

Applying takes minutes: complete a short profile, upload your documents and references, and once verified your profile typically goes live within days. From there you can browse requests, message families and decide which bookings to accept. We handle both the contract and payments so you can focus on care.

If you want dependable short-term and weekend work in Barnsley with control over your time and pay, PrimeCarers could be the next step. Create a profile and start seeing local families looking for respite cover across Barnsley and South Yorkshire.

What carers earn around Barnsley

Carers on PrimeCarers are self-employed and set their own rates. Typical ranges are based on what carers in the area currently charge.

Hourly care

Based on 177 carers in the area

£18.50–£20 per hour

Overnight care

Based on 148 carers in the area

£17–£18 per hour

Live-in care

Based on 1979 carers in the area

£145–£160 per day

What you would take home in Barnsley

You set your own rate on PrimeCarers, and the rate you advertise is what a client is charged for your time. Our commission comes out of that rate rather than being added to it. Put your week in and the figures below move with it.

A week

£400

25 hours a week, before tax

A month

£1,733

The same week across a calendar month, before tax

The arithmeticA weekA month

Charged for your time

£20 an hour x 25

£500

£2,166.67

PrimeCarers commission

20%, VAT included

- £100

- £433.33

You receive

£16 an hour

£400

£1,733.33

Visits shorter than six hours are charged at the hourly commission rate. The commission is taken out of the rate you advertise rather than added on top of it, and the VAT on it comes out of our share.

Tax is yours to sort out

Carers on PrimeCarers are self-employed, so Income Tax and National Insurance come out of the take-home figure above. Nothing is deducted for you and this page does not work out what you owe. Tax and money as a self-employed carer walks through registering with HMRC and what to put aside.

Rates from what 177 carers within 30km of Barnsley on PrimeCarers charge for this kind of work, taken from the platform when this page was last built. 15 hourly and night placements within 30km of Barnsley are open at the moment.

Register as a carer to set your own rate and apply for work around Barnsley.

Register as a carer

Why carers choose PrimeCarers

You set your rates

Remain self‑employed and control your charges — many carers list rates around £18.50–£20 per hour.

Flexible hours

Choose which weekend shifts and short blocks you accept. Pick clients, times and your area.

Meaningful respite work

Provide short-term relief that makes a real difference to families needing breaks.

Admin handled

PrimeCarers manages contracts, invoicing and payments, with insurance included while you work.

How it works

  1. 1

    Create a profile

    Sign up in minutes and tell families about your experience and availability.

  2. 2

    Verify and go live

    Submit an Enhanced DBS (we can help arrange), references and right-to-work checks. Profiles typically go live within days of verification.

  3. 3

    Choose bookings

    Browse requests for weekend and short-term respite, message families and accept the bookings that fit your schedule.

Frequently asked questions

Respite roles vary: daytime or overnight sits, short blocks of a few hours, weekend stays and occasional multi-day cover. Tasks usually include personal care, medication prompting, companionship and light household support.

Yes. An Enhanced DBS check and at least one year of professional care experience are required to join. If you need a check, PrimeCarers can help you arrange one during onboarding.

PrimeCarers introduces you to families and handles contracts, invoicing and payments. You remain self-employed and set your own rates; payments are processed through the platform.

Very flexible. You choose which clients to accept, your hours and the area you want to cover. It suits carers who want more control than agency routines typically allow.

Applying only takes minutes. Once your documents and references are verified, profiles typically go live within days and you can begin viewing and accepting local bookings.

Ready to start earning on your own terms?

Join the carers already working with families around Barnsley through PrimeCarers. Set your rate, choose your clients, and let us handle the admin.