Self-employed respite roles

Respite Carer Jobs in Cockenzie and Port Seton

Short-term and weekend cover — set your own rate £18.80–£20 per hour and choose your hours

  • 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

Short-term respite care keeps families in Cockenzie and Port Seton going — and it could fit your life. On PrimeCarers you’ll provide weekend cover, holiday breaks and a few-hours handover so unpaid family carers can rest, knowing their loved one is in familiar hands. Right now, 4 families are currently looking for care in the wider area.

Respite work ranges from sitting and companionship to personal care, medication prompts and supporting day-to-day routines. Most assignments are in people’s homes across Cockenzie and Port Seton and nearby communities, serving local families across Prestonpans, Tranent, Musselburgh, Ballencrieff, Dalkeith and Haddington. Work that suits experienced, reliable carers: you’ll spend time building relationships, delivering calm, practical support and giving family carers genuine peace of mind in East Lothian.

PrimeCarers is built for self-employed carers who want control. You choose your clients, your hours and the area you cover — and you set your own rate. Typical roles fall in the region of £18.80–£20 per hour, but you decide the price that reflects your experience and travel. PrimeCarers finds clients, handles contracts, invoicing and payments, and provides insurance while you work, so you can focus on care and not paperwork.

This is right for you if you have at least one year of professional care experience and are comfortable working in private homes. To join you’ll need an Enhanced DBS check (we can help arrange this), the right to work in the UK and verifiable references. We don’t advertise a single role here — we list ongoing self-employed opportunities across Cockenzie and Port Seton and the surrounding parts of East Lothian, giving you choice and variety.

Applying takes minutes. Create a profile, add your experience and references, and we’ll verify your details. Profiles typically go live within days of verification, and PrimeCarers will match you with families looking for short-term and weekend respite cover. You remain self-employed at all times — you accept the clients and shifts you want, and you invoice through the platform while we take care of the admin.

If you’re used to agency life but want more say over who you work for and when, respite care through PrimeCarers can be a smoother, fairer step. It’s hands-on, rewarding work that supports carers and families locally. Ready to see what’s available in Cockenzie and Port Seton? The application takes minutes and could open up flexible, neighbourhood-based respite roles you control.

What carers earn around Cockenzie and Port Seton

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 15 carers in the area

£18.80–£20 per hour

Overnight care

Based on 14 carers in the area

£17–£20 per hour

Live-in care

Based on 228 carers in the area

£142.50–£160 per day

What you would take home in Cockenzie and Port Seton

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

£420

25 hours a week, before tax

A month

£1,820

The same week across a calendar month, before tax

The arithmeticA weekA month

Charged for your time

£21 an hour x 25

£525

£2,275

PrimeCarers commission

20%, VAT included

- £105

- £455

You receive

£16.80 an hour

£420

£1,820

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 15 carers within 30km of Cockenzie and Port Seton on PrimeCarers charge for this kind of work, taken from the platform when this page was last built. 4 hourly and night placements within 30km of Cockenzie and Port Seton are open at the moment.

Register as a carer to set your own rate and apply for work around Cockenzie and Port Seton.

Register as a carer

Why carers choose PrimeCarers

Set your own rates

You’re self-employed: set fees that suit you and your skills. Typical roles sit around £18.80–£20 per hour.

Flexible hours

Pick the shifts you want — weekends, short breaks or a few hours of evening cover in your local area.

Meaningful local work

Provide companionship and practical support that gives family carers a real break and keeps people at home.

Less admin, more care

PrimeCarers handles contracts, invoicing, payments and provides insurance while you work.

How joining works

  1. 1

    Create your profile

    Apply online in minutes. Add your experience, references and right-to-work details.

  2. 2

    Verify & approve

    Provide an Enhanced DBS (we can help arrange one) and verifiable references so we can verify your profile.

  3. 3

    Choose clients & start

    Profiles typically go live within days. You pick the clients and shifts you want; PrimeCarers handles matching and payments.

Frequently asked questions

Respite care is short-term support for someone who usually receives help from a family member. It can be a few hours, an evening or a couple of days, and includes companionship, personal care, medication prompts and general household support to keep the person comfortable and safe.

Carers on PrimeCarers are self-employed and choose their own rates. You enter the rate you want on your profile and negotiate with families. Typical roles fall within the platform range, but the final rate is your decision.

You need at least one year of professional care experience, an Enhanced DBS check (we can help arrange one), the right to work in the UK and verifiable references. We verify these before your profile goes live.

PrimeCarers handles contracts, invoicing and payments through the platform, and provides insurance while you are working on a booked shift, so you can focus on care rather than paperwork.

Applying takes minutes and profiles typically go live within days of verification. Once live, PrimeCarers will help match you with local families looking for weekend and short-term respite in Cockenzie and Port Seton and nearby towns.

Ready to start earning on your own terms?

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