Caring for a parent
You are the carer. This page is for you
Five million people in the UK look after a parent, partner or relative without being paid for it. Most of them do it alone and for years, and most claim nothing they are entitled to. This page covers how to do the hands-on care well, what you can claim, and which parts are safe to hand over.
Your week as a carer
Four questions about you
Every form you have filled in so far has asked about them. This one asks about you: the hours, the nights, your own health and your job. It then says what is usually available to somebody carrying that much.
Your week
Answer the four questions
We will list what you can claim at that level of caring, and which parts of the week are usually the right ones to hand to someone else.
- Hours a week you spend caring, including travel and phone calls
- Nights a week your sleep is broken by it
- Your own health, lately
- Work
What to hand over
Six parts of the week that are safe to give to someone else
The families who keep going are usually the ones who hand over the parts that cost them most, and keep the parts that are theirs. You choose the carer, and you meet them first.
The library
42 guides for the person doing the caring
These are sorted by what is keeping you awake. The first group is about you, not about them.
Looking after yourself
- What are the signs of caregiver burnout?
- How long does carer burnout last?
- Why is caregiving so stressful?
- How do you look after yourself as a carer?
- How do I stop being resentful as a caregiver?
- Is being a caregiver lonely?
- What is caregiver trauma?
- What is the hardest thing about being a caregiver?
- The biggest struggle as a caregiver
- What do caregivers need most?
- How do you cheer up a caregiver?
- What is respite care?
- Carer car insurance
Other options
How it works
From “something has to change” to a carer at the door
No assessment visits, no waiting list. Some families are talking to a carer the same day.
Search your postcode
See the carers who cover it, with photos, rates, experience and reviews. Filter by hourly, live-in or overnight.
Talk to the ones you like
Message them directly, or tell us what you need and we can suggest some carers to look at. The choice is always yours.
Meet before deciding
A call, a video chat or a visit, free and with no commitment. A lot of families have a good idea within the first ten minutes.
Book, and change it as needs change
Contract, insurance and payment run through us. You can add visits, add nights, or move to live-in care as things change, and you only pay for care that happens.
Safety first
Someone coming into their home? We take that seriously.
Letting a carer into the home of someone you love takes trust. We've built every layer of protection so that trust is earned, not assumed.
Vetting that never stops
Enhanced DBS, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview before a carer appears, then continuous DBS monitoring for as long as they work. We check that a carer is caring; their skills and training are for you to check with them.
Insured and above board
Every visit is insured, contracted and paid securely online after care happens. There is no cash and no informal arrangement to manage.
A real person who knows you
Your own account manager and a UK support team who know you, your carer and your situation, not a call centre script.
Help when plans change
If your carer is unwell or away, our team will always do their best to find you vetted cover at short notice.
What clients say
Our Latest Carer Reviews
Margaret N
"Excellent - Lovely lady. My mother is so pleased with the work she does in helping her."
Read the full review
Julia S
"Julia is a highly skilled and companionate carer who is able to give so much of herself and adapt to any situation."
Read the full review
Andres Felipe C
"My son who he is caring for automatically welcomed Andres and can be heard laughing & having fun with Andres."
Read the full reviewQuestions carers ask
Caring for a parent, answered
Carer’s Allowance is about £86 a week (2026/27) if you care 35 hours or more a week for someone who gets Attendance Allowance or a similar benefit, and your earnings are under about £204 a week after deductions. Your parent can also pay you directly, which has tax and benefit consequences to think through. Carer’s Allowance explained and can my mum pay me to care for her?
It is an assessment of your needs as a carer, done by the council and separate from the assessment of the person you care for. Yes, you should ask for one: it is free, it is your right, and it can lead to funded respite, equipment and support in your own name. What a carer’s assessment is.
In the UK, no. There is no legal duty on adult children to care for or pay for a parent. Anything you do is a choice, which is worth remembering on the bad days. The legal position and your duties as a caregiver.
Sleeping badly even when you could sleep, snapping at the person you care for, dreading the phone, missing your own appointments, and a flat feeling that does not lift on days off. It is common and it is not a character flaw. The signs of caregiver burnout and how long it lasts.
It helps to have a routine and warm rooms, to talk through each step before you do it, and to keep covered whatever does not need to be uncovered. Many families hand this task to a carer first, precisely because it is the one that strains the relationship. Bathing and toileting elderly parents and privacy and dignity.
The first rule is never to lift them yourself. Let them do as much as they can, use the equipment (rails, slide sheets, a turntable, a hoist where needed), and ask the occupational therapist for a home assessment, which is free. Moving elderly parents safely and how to deal with falls.
Cover so you can stop for a while: a carer for a few visits a week, or a live-in carer for a fortnight while you go away. The council may fund it after a carer’s assessment; many families book it privately. Respite care and when to consider it.
Ask for specific things (the Tuesday shop, the pharmacy run, the money) rather than "help", write down who does what, and use neighbours and friends for the small jobs too. Using friends, family and neighbours.
It works for some families and not others, and the ones it works for planned the boundaries first: their space, your space, who does the nights, what happens when it gets harder. Living with elderly parents and granny annexes.
By noticing that the families who keep caring for years are the ones who handed over the hardest parts early. A carer for the nights or the personal care does not replace you, and it lets you be the daughter or son again. Six things that are safe to hand over.
Hand over one thing this month
See the carers near your parent, with their rates and reviews, and meet the ones you both like. You keep the parts of the week that are yours.