Direct paymentsHertfordshire
Direct payments in Hertfordshire
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. A direct payment can usually pay a self-employed carer, on the council's conditions. Below is what the council publishes about its rates and rules, and what an hour of care costs near you.
154 self-employed carers within about 45 minutes of Hertfordshire
An hour of care in Hertfordshire
- A self-employed carer near youTypical rate on PrimeCarers, our fee included
- £20.00
- Local home care agenciesMedian of 46 agencies nearby that publish a price
- £25.00
A budget worked out at the agency rate buys more hours from a self-employed carer. What a weekly budget buys each way is set out below.
What the council pays
Direct payment rates in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire County Council does not publish its direct payment rates anywhere we could find. Your budget is set in your support plan, from the cost of meeting your eligible needs less anything you are assessed to pay yourself. Ask the council which hourly rate it used, because that decides how many hours the budget buys.
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 PrimeCarers12.5 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 £25.00 an hour. The median published by 46 agencies near you. The agency sends whoever is on its rota.
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. Hertfordshire County 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 Hertfordshire
Direct payments in Hertfordshire work under the Care Act 2014. A direct payment can usually pay a self-employed carer your family has chosen, as well as a personal assistant you employ or an agency. We could not find Hertfordshire County Council's own wording on self-employed carers, so ask the direct payments team what it wants to see before anyone starts.
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 Hertfordshire
What the council publishes about paying the money, getting help and getting in touch. Each card links to the page we checked it against.
What the scheme is called
In Hertfordshire you will see it called the Direct payment account card.
How the money is paid: Prepaid card
If you get a direct payment, the council will give you a direct payment account and a direct payment account card, which you can use to spend your direct payments and buy the care you need.
How the money is paid: Separate bank account
If you receive a carers direct payment, the council will pay this into your bank account.
Help with running it
The Hertfordshire Direct Payment Support Service gives free advice and help to set up and use direct payments.
Worth knowing
If the assessed contribution is higher than the direct payment, the council pays nothing out and the person has to fund the whole cost of their care themselves.
Worth knowing
Carers do not need a financial assessment to have a direct payment.
Who is available
Self-employed carers in Hertfordshire
154 carers are based within about 45 minutes of Hertfordshire. You can see their rates and experience, and message them, before committing to anything.
154 private carers are based within about 45 minutes of Hertfordshire
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 HertfordshireIn their words
Families near Hertfordshire on the carers they chose
“She handled the new situation in front of her with such professionalism and I felt I could trust her 100%.”
Siobhan D., 2025
About Sithabile Tabile M.Carer based in Welwyn · 5 reviews“Without Rose's kind care, Stephen would not have been able to remain independent for as long as he did.”
Anna C., 2025
About Rose Nokuthula M.Carer based in Hatfield · 3 reviews“She has quickly adapted to his needs and he really enjoys being with her.”
Julie D., 2020
About Asma N.Carer based in Luton · 3 reviewsStep 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 Hertfordshire
Usually, yes. A direct payment can pay a self-employed carer your family has chosen, employ a personal assistant, or buy agency hours. We could not find Hertfordshire County Council's own wording on self-employed carers, so ask the direct payments team what checks it wants before anyone starts.
We could not find a rate that Hertfordshire County Council publishes. The amount is set in your support plan, worked out from the cost of meeting your eligible needs, less anything the financial assessment says you pay yourself. Ask the council how it calculated the hourly figure, because that decides how many hours the budget buys.
Usually it buys more hours. Carers near you typically charge £20.00 an hour against £25.00 for agency care, so a budget worked out at the agency rate buys more hours from a self-employed carer.
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.
Hertfordshire County Council's direct payments team on 0300 123 4042. 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 Luton
- Direct payments in Harrow
- Direct payments in Brent
- Direct payments in Haringey
- Direct payments in Camden
- Direct payments in Islington
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 Hertfordshire that is NHS Central East.
Council details were read from Hertfordshire County 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 46 agencies near Hertfordshire that publish a price. Carer rates are what carers near you advertise, read live.
Find a carer in Hertfordshire
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.