Night sitter, night carer, sleep-in: what each means

Two of these cause most of the confusion. The first is night sitter, because it sounds gentler than night carer and is often assumed to mean less care, when in fact it usually means more: a night sitter is normally awake. The second is sleep-in, because it belongs to employment law rather than to home care, and a family who has read about sleep-in pay disputes in care homes will sometimes assume the same rules apply to a self-employed carer they book directly. They do not, and what a night carer does with the quiet hours is the better place to start.

Reading down the cost column shows that the price of night care follows one thing, which is whether somebody is awake. A tucking-in call is the cheapest because the carer goes home afterwards, a sleeping night costs more because somebody stays in the house, and a waking night costs more again because that person does not sleep. A live-in carer's night looks cheap in this table only because the weekly fee is buying the days as well. The cost of care hub sets all of it against visits and care homes.

The employment history is worth one paragraph, because it explains the word. In care homes and supported living, staff who sleep on the premises have historically been paid a flat allowance for the night rather than an hourly wage, and whether that was lawful under minimum wage rules was argued through the courts for years. The Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that sleep-in workers are generally not entitled to the minimum wage for hours they are asleep and merely available to work. That case was about employed staff. Carers on PrimeCarers are self-employed and set their own rates, so the sleeping night price you see is simply what that carer charges for that night, not an allowance set by an employer.

1. 1

   Ask the district nurse first

   Free

   District nurses know what night services exist in your area and who qualifies. In many places they are the route to a night sitting service, and they can refer directly. If your relative is under a community nursing team, this is one phone call.
2. 2

   Ask about hospice at home

   Free

   Local hospices often provide night sits at home for people with a terminal illness, whether or not the person has ever been into the hospice building. Marie Curie says its nurses and healthcare assistants provide overnight care at home free of charge for people with a terminal illness, arranged through a GP, district nurse or hospital team. Availability varies a great deal by area.
3. 3

   Ask the council for a care needs assessment

   Free to ask

   Anyone can request one. It is free, it does not depend on savings, and the resulting care plan will use words like waking night and sleep-in. Whether the council pays towards the care depends on a separate financial assessment.
4. 4

   Ask whether NHS continuing healthcare applies

   Free if awarded

   Where someone's needs are mainly health needs rather than social care needs, the NHS can fund their care in full, including at home and at night. It is assessed on need rather than income. It is not easy to get and the assessment takes time, so ask about it as soon as the question arises.
5. 5

   Ask a carers centre about respite nights

   Free or subsidised

   Local carers organisations sometimes fund a small number of nights so a family carer can sleep. It is rarely enough on its own, and it is often the thing that gets somebody through a bad month.

Almost every family who ends up paying for nights has been through some of this list first, and most of them wish they had started it sooner. Free night care is real but it is thin, and it is targeted at people who are seriously ill rather than at people who are frail or confused. If the answer is no, or the answer is two nights when you need five, what night care costs sets out the private route.