The short answer
- PrimeCarers checks identity, right to work and an enhanced DBSEvery carer is also interviewed online before they appear in search. Qualifications, training and how someone works day to day are yours to ask about.
- Ask for a real example, not a general answerA carer who describes an actual client and an actual day tells you far more than one who talks about "loving to care for people".
- Carers are self-employed, not employeesA live-in carer manages their own rest breaks and time off; there is no statutory entitlement to agree to. Settle the pattern together and put it in writing.
- Ask two or three "what if" questionsHow they would handle confusion or refusal, a medical emergency, and their own illness tells you more than any list of qualifications.
Bring the list of what your relative needs to the call. How do I hire a live-in carer? has the steps either side of this one, from writing that list to putting the agreement in writing.
Before the interview
What PrimeCarers already checks, and what is left for you to ask
Every carer on PrimeCarers has been through the same checks before you ever see their profile. Knowing where that ends tells you what your own interview needs to cover.
Already done before a carer appears in search
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Checked by PrimeCarers
Not checked, and yours to ask about
Read that second list before you dial in, because it is close to the running order of the questions below. If you have not already written down what your relative needs help with, hour by hour, how do I hire a live-in carer? covers that step in detail and is worth doing first: an interview built around a real list of tasks goes much further than one built around a general sense that help is needed.
Questions that tell you something
Five questions, and what a good answer sounds like
Some questions get you a real answer and some get you a rehearsed one. These five are built to get past the rehearsed answer, and each one below shows what to listen for.
Their experience with someone like your relative
“Tell me about a client whose needs were similar to my relative's. What did a typical day look like for them?”
A reassuring answer
A specific, concrete answer: a routine, a condition they have supported before, something that went wrong and what they did about it.
Worth asking more about
A general answer about "loving to care for people" with no example of a real day, a real routine or a real client.
How they would keep you updated day to day
“How would you like to keep in touch with me, and what would make you call outside of that?”
A reassuring answer
A proposed rhythm, such as a daily text or a weekly call, and a clear sense of the smaller changes, like appetite or mood, worth flagging early rather than waiting for a crisis.
Worth asking more about
No proposed rhythm, or a reliance on "I'll let you know if anything happens" with nothing said about smaller changes worth mentioning sooner.
How they handle medication
“Talk me through how you would manage a medication routine with several tablets a day.”
A reassuring answer
A description of prompting and supporting, and keeping a simple written record so nothing gets missed or doubled.
Worth asking more about
A claim to "sort out" or adjust medication doses. PrimeCarers does not check clinical training, so this is one to press on yourself.
What a day with them would look like
“Walk me through a typical day if you moved in with us next week.”
A reassuring answer
A routine built around your relative: what they enjoy, when they tire, how the carer would fill the quieter hours.
Worth asking more about
A routine that sounds like a shift pattern, all tasks and no mention of your relative as a person.
Food, money and the small daily arrangements
“How do you like to manage food shopping and cooking, and are you comfortable working to a budget?”
A reassuring answer
Openness to whatever arrangement suits your household, and questions back about what your relative likes to eat.
Worth asking more about
An assumption that everything will simply be provided, with no interest in discussing how it will work.
None of this is a test with a pass mark. A carer who pauses to think, or asks you a question back, is usually a better sign than one with a smooth answer ready for everything. What you are listening for is whether the answer is specific to your relative or could apply to anyone, and whether the carer seems curious about the actual person they would be living with.
Availability and time off
Getting the pattern of breaks and time off right, because nobody assumes it for you
A carer who lives in is not on duty every waking hour, and it helps to say that plainly in the interview rather than leave it as an assumption on either side.
Worth covering in the call
- Ask how they like to structure breaks during the day, and roughly when
- Ask how much notice they would want for time off, and how far ahead you should book
- Ask what happens if they are unwell and cannot work a shift
- Agree the shape of a typical week before the call ends, even loosely
Don't assume
- That a carer living in the house is available around the clock
- That breaks and time off work the way they would for an employee
- That this is settled once you have agreed a weekly rate
- That the carer will raise it themselves if you don't ask first
A live-in carer found through PrimeCarers is self-employed, not an employee of yours or of PrimeCarers, and manages their own rest breaks and time off rather than working to a legal minimum you have to provide. That is a genuine difference from the old assumption that a carer is "entitled to breaks and time off just like any other employee": the entitlement does not come from employment law, it comes from what you and the carer agree between yourselves. What are live-in carers entitled to? and how many hours does a live-in carer work? go into the usual patterns in more depth than fits here.
The interview is the place to raise this, not the place to finish it. Once you have someone in mind, how do I hire a live-in carer? covers putting the pattern of breaks, the notice period and everything else in writing before moving-in day.
The 'what if' questions
Scenario questions that show you how they think under pressure
Two or three questions about a difficult moment tell you more about a carer than any amount of talk about qualifications. Pick the ones closest to what worries you most.
A medical emergency
Call 999 first
A fall or a bad night
Check before moving them
The carer's own emergency
Agree a backup in advance
Food, room and daily life
The practical arrangements worth settling in the same call
These are smaller questions than the ones above, but skipping them is a common reason a good match on paper feels awkward in the first week.
Worth agreeing before moving-in day
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Food and shopping
The room and belongings
Pets and the house
After the interview
From the call to a decision, without rushing it
One good call rarely settles everything. Most families speak to two or three carers before choosing, and add a short trial before committing to a longer placement.
- 1
Read the reviews on their profile
Straight after the callReviews from previous clients sit on every carer's profile. If the call raised something specific, a review is often where you find out whether it is typical of how they work. - 2
Talk to two or three carers, not just one
This weekA second conversation makes it far easier to notice what felt right, or slightly off, about the first one. Most families choose after comparing notes rather than from a single call. - 3
Start with a short trial
Before a longer placementA week or two living together shows whether the answers from the interview hold up in practice, before anyone commits to something longer. - 4
Put what you agreed in writing
Before moving-in dayThe rate, the notice period and the pattern of breaks from this call all belong in writing. How do I hire a live-in carer? covers exactly what to put down.
Questions
Questions families ask about interviewing a live-in carer
Yes. PrimeCarers' online interview and its identity, right to work and enhanced DBS checks confirm who a carer is and that they are safe to introduce. They do not tell you whether this particular carer suits your relative, so a conversation of your own, built around what your relative needs, is still worth having before anyone moves in.
You can, and it is a reasonable thing to ask for, but PrimeCarers does not verify training or qualifications as part of vetting, so treat anything a carer shows you as a starting point for questions rather than a guarantee. Asking them to talk through a real example of caring for someone with similar needs usually tells you more than a certificate does.
Reviews from previous clients appear on a carer's profile, so read those before you call rather than asking the carer to provide references separately. If a review raises a question, that is a good thing to bring up directly in the interview.
A phone or video call first is the usual pattern, since it lets you speak to two or three carers in a single week without organising visits. Meet in person, ideally with your relative there, before agreeing to a placement of any length, and treat the first few days as the test that matters most.
Thirty to forty-five minutes is usually enough to cover experience, the "what if" questions and the practical arrangements without either side losing focus. A carer who is happy to keep talking beyond that, or asks good questions back, is a positive sign rather than one to worry about.
Ask again, more specifically: how many hours a day they expect free, and how much notice they would want for a day off. Because carers are self-employed rather than employees, there is no legal minimum to point to, so a clear answer from the carer, and a clear agreement in writing afterwards, matters more than it would with a job that came with statutory rules attached.
Trust that feeling and speak to another carer before deciding. A short trial period is also there to catch anything an interview alone could not, so a carer who seemed right on the call but felt different once they moved in is not an unusual outcome, and it is one reason not to commit to a long placement straight away.