Direct paymentsCroydon
Direct payments in Croydon
If the council has agreed to pay towards care at home, you can take the money as a direct payment and choose who provides the care. Croydon Council says a direct payment can pay a self-employed carer, with some checks first. Below is what the council publishes about its rates and rules, and what an hour of care costs near you.
375 self-employed carers within about 45 minutes of Croydon
An hour of care in Croydon
- A self-employed carer near youTypical rate on PrimeCarers, our fee included
- £20.00
- Local home care agenciesMedian of 69 agencies nearby that publish a price
- £24.90
- The council’s personal assistant rateFor someone you employ yourself, As of April 2026
- £17.17
A budget worked out at the agency rate buys more hours from a self-employed carer. Employing a personal assistant costs less an hour again, but makes your family the employer. What a weekly budget buys each way is set out below.
What the council pays
Direct payment rates in Croydon
These are the rates Croydon Council publishes for direct payments, with a link to where each one appears. Your budget is set in your support plan and can differ from them.
| What the rate is for | Rate | Applies | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal assistant hourly rate (London Living Wage plus on costs) | £17.17 an hour | As of April 2026 | croydon.gov.uk |
Hours for the money
What a weekly budget buys
A direct payment is a sum of money, so the useful comparison is how many hours of care it pays for. Move the slider to your own weekly budget.
Starts at ten hours a week at the agency rate. Move it to match the budget in your support plan.
- A self-employed carer on PrimeCarers12 hours
At £20.00 an hour. The typical rate near you, our fee included. The carer invoices for the hours, and that invoice is your record for the council.
- A local home care agency10 hours
At £24.90 an hour. The median published by 69 agencies near you. The agency sends whoever is on its rota.
- A personal assistant you employ14.5 hours
At £17.17 an hour. The council’s rate for employing someone yourself. Your family becomes the employer, with payroll, holiday pay, pension and insurance to arrange.
Hours are rounded down to the half hour. Bank holidays are charged at one and a half times a carer's rate and Christmas Day at twice, so leave room in the budget for them. Croydon Council decides what your direct payment can be spent on, and your support plan is the final word.
Choosing your carer
Paying a self-employed carer in Croydon
Croydon Council allows a direct payment to pay a self-employed carer, with conditions. A direct payment can pay a self-employed personal assistant, and the employer duties that apply to employed staff do not apply, but the assistant's Unique Tax Reference Number must be clearly displayed on the invoices they submit as proof that they are registered as self-employed with HMRC.
“If your PA is self-employed the above obligations do not apply, but when they submit their invoice for the work carried out for you their Unique Tax Reference Number should be clearly displayed.”
Councils tend to ask for the same few things before a direct payment pays a self-employed carer:
- the carer's employment status for tax, which HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax tool on gov.uk works out in a few minutes
- proof that the carer is insured
- a DBS certificate
- an invoice for the hours worked, which becomes your record of how the money was spent
How direct payments work covers asking for one, what the money can buy and the records councils want back, and self-employed carer or employee? explains the tax question.
The council's arrangements
How direct payments are run in Croydon
What the council publishes about paying the money, getting help and getting in touch. Each card links to the page we checked it against.
How the money is paid: Managed account
Most direct payments go into a dedicated Zempler bank account that KCIL manages, with KCIL making payments to staff and providers on the resident's behalf.
Provider: Zempler account managed by Kingston Centre for Independent Living (KCIL)
How the money is paid: Other arrangement
A resident agreed to manage their own money may be given a dedicated Zempler account that they run themselves, which KCIL and the council can view for monitoring.
Provider: Zempler, provided through KCIL
How the money is paid: Separate bank account
Payment into a nominated high street bank account is only approved by exception and the account must be used solely for the direct payment.
Help with running it
Kingston Centre for Independent Living (KCIL). Has been chosen by the council to support residents to manage their direct payments. This can include help with employing personal assistants, understanding legal duties as an employer and financial administration such as paying wages or invoices.
Where the council points you to find a personal assistant
Worth knowing
The council expects no more than 30 working days between the direct payment agreement being signed and the money reaching the account.
Worth knowing
Statutory sick pay for a personal assistant is funded by the council, and extra money for sick pay has to be requested as additional support with evidence.
Worth knowing
Disclosure and Barring Service checks for personal assistants cannot be paid for from the direct payment and are arranged instead through KCIL.
Who is available
Self-employed carers in Croydon
375 carers are based within about 45 minutes of Croydon. You can see their rates and experience, and message them, before committing to anything.
375 private carers are based within about 45 minutes of Croydon
Filter by what they charge, who drives, who does nights, and who speaks your language, then message the ones you like. Free, and nothing is booked until you say so.
See private carers for CroydonIn their words
Families near Croydon on the carers they chose
“She actually listens and is caring without being patronising anddoesn'tthink only her views count.”
Jean F., 2020
About Julie C.Carer based in South Croydon · 3 reviews“Racheal is a very kind and caring person. Looks after my dad with genuine concern and care.”
Chloe H., 2020
About Racheal A.Carer based in Croydon · 2 reviews“She is just one of those people that looks around, sees what needs to be done and does it.”
Denise D., 2019
About Sharon R.Carer based in Croydon · 2 reviews“With regular prompts and guidance, Miriam enabled my daughter to overcome her fears, doubts and lack of self confidence.”
Mrs R., 2025
About Miriam I.Carer based in Greater LondonStep by step
Using a direct payment for a carer you choose
- Get the assessment and the support plan. The council assesses the care needed and works out the budget. Say at this stage that you want a direct payment and would like to choose your own carer.
- Check what the council allows. Ask the direct payments team whether it will pay a self-employed carer and what it needs to see from them.
- Find carers and talk to a few. Search carers near you, compare rates, experience and reviews, and message your shortlist. None of that costs anything.
- Agree the hours and rate in writing. Match them to the support plan, and keep within the budget once bank holidays are allowed for.
- Keep the records. Invoices and statements are what the council looks at when it reviews how the direct payment is being used.
Questions
Questions about direct payments in Croydon
Yes. A direct payment can pay a self-employed personal assistant, and the employer duties that apply to employed staff do not apply, but the assistant's Unique Tax Reference Number must be clearly displayed on the invoices they submit as proof that they are registered as self-employed with HMRC. The checks a council asks for are usually the carer's employment status for tax, their insurance and their DBS certificate. Carers on PrimeCarers are self-employed, hold an enhanced DBS and are insured while they work, and they invoice for the hours worked.
Croydon Council publishes £17.17 an hour for a personal assistant for As of April 2026. The full list, with links to where the council says so, is on this page. Your own budget is set in your support plan and can differ, for example if your needs include nights or two carers.
Usually it buys more hours. Carers near you typically charge £20.00 an hour against £24.90 for agency care, so a budget worked out at the agency rate buys more hours from a self-employed carer. If your budget was worked out at the personal assistant rate of £17.17, it buys fewer.
In England a direct payment cannot normally pay the person’s husband, wife or partner, or a close relative who lives in the same household, unless the council considers it necessary. That is the direct payments regulations rather than this council's own rule, so ask the direct payments team how it applies it. Can my mum pay me to care for her? covers the other routes.
Only if you employ somebody. Paying a self-employed carer or an agency does not make anyone an employer. Taking on a personal assistant does, which brings payroll, holiday pay, sick pay, pension enrolment and employer's liability insurance. HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax tool on gov.uk tells you which applies.
Croydon Council's direct payments team on 020 8546 9603 or at [email protected]. If you do not have a social worker or care assessment yet, start with a needs assessment from adult social care.
Direct payments in nearby council areas
- Direct payments in Sutton
- Direct payments in Lambeth
- Direct payments in Merton
- Direct payments in Bromley
- Direct payments in Lewisham
- Direct payments in Wandsworth
If the care needed is mainly about health, the NHS may pay for all of it through Continuing Healthcare, decided by the NHS rather than the council. In Croydon that is NHS South West London.
Council details were read from Croydon Council's published pages and checked against them on 17 September 2026. Councils change their rates each April, so check the linked page before relying on a figure. The local agency figure is the median of 69 agencies near Croydon that publish a price. Carer rates are what carers near you advertise, read live.
Find a carer in Croydon
See self-employed carers near you with their hourly rates, experience and reviews, and talk to the ones you like for free. Check with the council what your direct payment can pay for before you book.