Employing a Private Carer (2026/27): Your Legal, Financial and Practical Responsibilities

Employee or self-employed?

Which arrangement you have

This is the question everything else on the page hangs on, so it comes first. Employment status is decided by how the work happens in practice. A contract that says self-employed does not make it so, and HMRC can look back over years if it decides the carer was an employee all along.

The test

Signs it is employment

Signs it is self-employment

1.Who sets the hours
Control over when the work happens is the first thing HMRC looks at.
Employment
You decide the days and hours, and can change them.
Self-employment
You agree the visits together and the carer fits you around other clients.
2.Who decides how the work is done
An employer directs the work. A self-employed carer decides how to do the job they have been asked to do.
Employment
You tell them how each task is to be done.
Self-employment
You agree what needs doing and the carer decides how to do it.
3.Cover when they are ill
A real right to send a substitute is one of the strongest signs of self-employment.
Employment
Only they can do the work; if they are ill, the visit does not happen.
Self-employment
They can send another suitable carer in their place.
4.Other clients
Somebody in business on their own account usually has more than one customer.
Employment
They work for you and nobody else.
Self-employment
They have several clients and you are one of them.
5.How they are paid
A wage that arrives regardless looks like employment. Paying for the hours worked looks like a contractor.
Employment
A fixed amount every week, whether or not the visits happen.
Self-employment
They are paid for the hours they worked.
6.Who sets the price
Setting a price and billing for it is what a business does.
Employment
You set the rate and pay it like a wage.
Self-employment
They set their own rate and invoice you for the hours.
7.Obligation on both sides
HMRC calls this mutuality of obligation. It sits at the heart of an employment relationship.
Employment
They must accept the work you offer, and you must keep offering it.
Self-employment
Either side can decline the next booking without breaking anything.

If the left column describes your arrangement

If HMRC sees it this way, you are the employer. PAYE, National Insurance, a pension, paid holiday, sick pay, a written contract and employer’s liability insurance all follow, and the duties on this page are yours.

If the right column describes it

The carer is in business on their own account. They pay their own tax and National Insurance and carry their own insurance. Your part is to check their certificates, agree the visits in writing and pay their invoices. This is the arrangement carers on PrimeCarers work under.

The more of the left column applies, the more likely HMRC treats the carer as your employee. No single test settles it, and HMRC looks at how the work happens in practice, not what the contract says.

Check with HMRC’s CEST tool

Care work sits close to the line more often than most jobs. A carer who comes to the same house at the same times every week, and is told how the person likes things done, has some of the marks of an employee. A carer who sets a rate, has several clients, invoices for the hours and arranges their own cover has the marks of somebody in business. Most private carers in the UK are self-employed, and that is how carers on PrimeCarers work: you agree the visits with them under a written contract, they invoice for the care they gave, and no payroll comes with it.

If your arrangement sits in both columns, HMRC’s Check Employment Status for Tax tool is the place to settle it. It is free, takes about ten minutes, and HMRC will stand by its answer provided the details you entered were accurate. Keep a copy of the result with the carer’s paperwork. Can I employ a private carer? covers where the line falls in more detail.

Your duties as an employer

What an employer has to do, in the order it happens

If the carer is your employee, these follow in roughly this order. Tick them off as you go. HMRC’s free Basic PAYE Tools will run a payroll for one employee, and a payroll bureau or accountant will do the whole list for a monthly fee if you would rather not.

The 2026/27 figures

Pay, National Insurance and the pension

These are the numbers that change every April. They were checked on gov.uk on the date at the top of this page, and the sources are listed at the end of the section so you can check them again next year.

£12.71

National Living Wage an hour

For anyone aged 21 or over, from 1 April 2026. Ages 18 to 20 get £10.85, under 18s £8.00.

15%

Employer’s National Insurance

On pay above £96 a week. The Employment Allowance wipes out the first £10,500 a year of it.

3%

Minimum employer pension contribution

Of earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 a year, once the carer earns £10,000 a year and is aged 22 or over.

£123.25

Statutory Sick Pay a week

Or 80% of normal pay if that is lower. Paid from the first day off sick since 6 April 2026.

gov.uk rates for 2026/27, checked 1 September 2026.

The wage is the floor, not the going rate. A carer with experience who is employed directly will usually expect more than the minimum, and families who pay well at the start tend to keep the same carer for years, which is worth a great deal to the person being cared for. Whatever you agree, it has to be at least the National Living Wage for every hour worked, including time spent travelling between two of your relatives’ addresses if you have them, and any hours the carer is required to be at the house and awake.

Employer’s National Insurance deserves a second look, because at first sight it adds a lot. The Employment Allowance takes the first £10,500 a year off an employer’s bill, and although people employing somebody for household or domestic work are normally excluded, gov.uk makes an exception for a carer or support worker. A family employing one carer will almost always owe nothing after claiming it, so the sums below show the cost both ways.

Sources for this section: National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, National Insurance rates and thresholds, Employment Allowance, PAYE and payroll for employers, Workplace pensions for employers, Holiday entitlement, Statutory Sick Pay for employers.

What an employed hour costs

What an hour costs on each route, all in

The wage is only part of what an employed carer costs. Holiday, pension and National Insurance sit on top, and so does the time it takes to run a payroll. The table works it out for a 20-hour week and sets it beside the two other ways of paying for the same hour.

What an hour of care costs the family, 2026/27

	Employ a carer yourself	Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers	Care agency
The hourly figure	£12.71 at minimum wage, more for experience	£18 to £25, typically £20, our fee included	£28 to £35
Paid holiday	5.6 weeks a year, about £1.53 an hour on top	None: the carer prices their own time off into their rate	Included in the price
Pension	3% of qualifying pay, about £0.20 an hour on a 20-hour week	None	Included in the price
Employer’s National Insurance	£1.19 an hour before the Employment Allowance, nil after it for most families	None	Included in the price
Sick pay and cover	You pay Statutory Sick Pay and find cover yourself	You pay for care you receive; search for cover and we will help you find it	The agency sends somebody else from the rota
Payroll, contract and insurance	Yours: PAYE each pay day, a written statement, employer’s liability insurance	Contract provided; the carer is insured while they work; no payroll	The agency’s
Cost of an hour, 20 hours a week	About £14.45 at minimum wage, £18.23 at £16 an hour	£18 to £25	£28 to £35

The hourly figure

Employ a carer yourself: £12.71 at minimum wage, more for experience
Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers: £18 to £25, typically £20, our fee included
Care agency: £28 to £35

Paid holiday

Employ a carer yourself: 5.6 weeks a year, about £1.53 an hour on top
Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers: None: the carer prices their own time off into their rate
Care agency: Included in the price

Pension

Employ a carer yourself: 3% of qualifying pay, about £0.20 an hour on a 20-hour week
Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers: None
Care agency: Included in the price

Employer’s National Insurance

Employ a carer yourself: £1.19 an hour before the Employment Allowance, nil after it for most families
Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers: None
Care agency: Included in the price

Sick pay and cover

Employ a carer yourself: You pay Statutory Sick Pay and find cover yourself
Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers: You pay for care you receive; search for cover and we will help you find it
Care agency: The agency sends somebody else from the rota

Payroll, contract and insurance

Employ a carer yourself: Yours: PAYE each pay day, a written statement, employer’s liability insurance
Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers: Contract provided; the carer is insured while they work; no payroll
Care agency: The agency’s

Cost of an hour, 20 hours a week

Employ a carer yourself: About £14.45 at minimum wage, £18.23 at £16 an hour
Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers: £18 to £25
Care agency: £28 to £35

Employed-hour arithmetic for a 20-hour week at £12.71: holiday adds £1.53 (5.6 weeks paid across 46.4 worked), pension £0.20 (3% of pay above £6,240 a year), employer’s NI £1.19 (15% of pay above £96 a week), which is £1,234 a year and within the £10,500 Employment Allowance. PrimeCarers and agency figures are what families pay in September 2026.

Employing somebody directly is the cheapest hour on paper and the most work in practice, and both halves of that are true. Some families choose it deliberately: a carer they already know, a large number of hours a week where the saving adds up, or a council direct payment that comes with a payroll service attached. If that is you, the council’s direct payments team will often pay for the payroll and the insurance as part of the package. Local authority funding explains how to ask.

For most families the middle column is the practical answer. A self-employed carer on PrimeCarers charges a rate that already includes their time off and their own insurance, invoices for the hours they worked, and none of the list in the section above applies to you. What a private carer costs per hour has the full breakdown by area, and agency or private carer sets the third column out properly.

Contract, holiday, sick pay, notice

The contract and what has to be in it

An employee is entitled to a written statement of the main terms on their first day. Get the substance right and the document is short. What families most often leave out is what happens when the carer is ill, when they want a holiday, and how either side ends the arrangement.

The written statement, on day one

Your name and theirs, the start date, the job, pay and how often it is paid, the days and hours and whether they can vary, holiday, the place of work, any probation period and how long the job is expected to last. Acas has a free template that covers all of it.

Required from the first day

The duties, in plain words

Personal care, meals, medication prompts, shopping, appointments, company. Say what is not included, such as heavy cleaning or clinical tasks, so that neither of you has to argue about it later. A simple care plan does this well.

What the job is and is not

5.6 weeks’ paid holiday

Agree how much notice the carer gives before taking it and who covers the visits while they are away. Holiday pay is at the normal rate. It builds up from the first day, and any that is unused is paid when the job ends.

28 days for a five-day week

Sick pay and what happens that morning

Statutory Sick Pay is the lower of £123.25 a week or 80% of normal pay, for up to 28 weeks. The harder question is who comes instead. Have a second carer’s number before you need it.

SSP from the first day, since 6 April 2026

Notice, both ways

An employer must give at least a week’s notice once the carer has worked a month, then a week for each full year from two years, up to 12. The contract can say more than that, and for a job this personal a month each way is common.

At least 1 week after a month

Ending it fairly

An employee can claim unfair dismissal after 2 years’ service today, and after 6 months from 1 January 2027 under the Employment Rights Act 2025. Follow a fair process: say what the problem is, give them a chance to put it right, and keep a note of each conversation.

6 months’ service from 1 January 2027

Insurance and checks

Insurance, right to work and the DBS certificate

Three things have to be in place before the first visit, and one of them has changed this year. None takes more than an afternoon.

1
Check their right to work
A legal duty
Every employer has to check that the person is allowed to work in the UK before they start. If the carer gives you a share code, the Home Office online service confirms it in about a minute. British and Irish citizens cannot get a share code, so for them you check the original passport or passport card. Keep a copy with the date you checked it. Employing somebody who has no right to work carries a civil penalty of up to £60,000.
2
See the enhanced DBS certificate
Changed 21 January 2026
You cannot request a DBS check on somebody you employ in your own home; only a registered organisation can. Until this year that left personal employees without a route to an enhanced check. Since 21 January 2026, self-employed workers and personal employees can apply for an enhanced check, with the adult barred list, through a registered umbrella body. Ask to see the certificate, and if the carer is on the Update Service you can confirm online that it is still clear.
3
Buy employer’s liability insurance
At least £5 million
Required by law as soon as you become an employer, to cover the carer if they are injured or made ill by the work. The minimum cover is £5 million and the fine for not having it is up to £2,500 a day. You do not need it if the carer is a close family member. Specialist insurers sell it to families employing a carer, usually bundled with public liability cover, and a council direct payment will often pay for it.
4
Take references and check training yourself
Nobody does this for you
Ring two people the carer has worked for. Ask for dated certificates for moving and handling, medication and anything specific to your relative, and keep copies. This is true on every route: no service verifies training, and a family employing directly has nobody else to rely on.

If you would rather not carry the checks, that is the main thing an introductory service does. On PrimeCarers every carer has had an identity check, a right-to-work check and an enhanced DBS before they appear, followed by an online interview, and their DBS is monitored continuously for as long as they work. Skills and training are still for you to ask about. How we check carers sets it out, and background checks for private carers covers what each check does and does not tell you.

When things go wrong

Problems, and where to get help

Most difficulties are about the job drifting rather than anybody behaving badly: the hours creeping up, tasks that were never agreed, a morning routine that has changed. As the employer you can deal with these directly, and the law expects you to do it fairly.

What helps

Raise a problem early and in private, and say what you would like to be different
Go back to the written duties and the care plan, and change them if the job has changed
Keep a short dated note of each conversation, whatever the outcome
Keep an inventory of valuables and a record of any money the carer handles for shopping
Ring Acas for free advice before you dismiss anybody
If you suspect theft or neglect, tell the police or the council’s safeguarding team the same day

What makes it worse

Deduct money from wages for breakages or mistakes without a written agreement that allows it
Change the hours or the pay without agreeing it first
Dismiss somebody on the spot for anything short of gross misconduct
Record the carer in the house without telling them
Let a problem run for months and then raise all of it at once
Pay cash with no payslip in the hope it keeps things simple

Cameras come up often. Recording in your own home is lawful, but recording an employee without telling them is a different matter, and it can undermine any later action you take. If you want a camera in a shared room, say so in the contract. Is it illegal to film carers in your home? goes through the rules. For the wider question of what to do when an arrangement breaks down, handling problems with a private carer covers the conversations, and what carers are not allowed to do covers the boundaries a carer should keep whatever their status.

Questions

Questions families ask about employing a carer

Either, and it is the arrangement rather than the label that decides. If the carer sets their rate, invoices you for the hours worked, has other clients and could send a substitute, they are self-employed and you have no payroll to run. If you set the hours, direct the work and pay a wage whether or not the visits happen, HMRC is likely to see you as the employer. Most private carers in the UK are self-employed, and carers on PrimeCarers work that way. Can I employ a private carer? covers the line in more detail.

The National Living Wage, which is £12.71 an hour for anyone aged 21 or over in 2026/27. Ages 18 to 20 get at least £10.85. Every hour you require the carer to be at the house counts, including time on call overnight if they have to be awake. Experienced carers employed directly usually expect more than the minimum.

Employer’s National Insurance is 15% of pay above £96 a week. The Employment Allowance takes the first £10,500 a year off the bill, and although employers of domestic staff are normally excluded, gov.uk makes an exception for a carer or support worker. A family employing one carer will usually owe nothing after claiming it. The carer’s own National Insurance and income tax are deducted from their wages through PAYE.

If they are aged 22 or over, under State Pension age, and earn £10,000 a year or more from you, you must enrol them in a workplace pension and pay at least 3% of their qualifying earnings. On a 20-hour week at minimum wage that is about £0.20 an hour. Below the trigger they can ask to join and you may still have to contribute.

Yes, from the day you become an employer, for at least £5 million, unless the carer is a close family member. The fine for not having it is up to £2,500 a day. Specialist insurers sell policies to families employing a carer at home, and a council direct payment will usually cover the premium. Private carer insurance explains the different covers.

Not directly, because a private individual cannot apply for a DBS check on somebody they employ; the check has to come through a registered organisation. Since 21 January 2026, personal employees and self-employed workers can apply for an enhanced check in their own name through a registered umbrella body, so ask the carer to do that and show you the certificate. Do private carers need a DBS? has more.

5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year, which is 28 days for a five-day week and in proportion for part-time hours. Statutory Sick Pay is paid from the first full day off sick, at the lower of £123.25 a week or 80% of normal pay, for up to 28 weeks. Both changed in April 2026: sick pay no longer has waiting days or a minimum earnings level.

On paper, employing is cheaper an hour: about £14.45 at minimum wage once holiday and pension are added, against £18 to £25 for a self-employed carer on PrimeCarers with our fee included. Against that saving, put the payroll every pay day, the insurance, the contract, sick pay when they are ill and finding cover when they are away. Families with a council direct payment often get a payroll service as part of it, which changes the sum. What a private carer costs per hour has the figures by area.

Talk to HMRC before they talk to you. If the carer was in fact your employee, you owe the tax and National Insurance that should have been deducted, going back to the start, and the carer is owed holiday pay. Coming forward voluntarily reduces any penalty. If the carer is self-employed in fact as well as in name, ask them for invoices from now on and keep them, along with their Unique Taxpayer Reference, so you can show you took reasonable care.

Employing a private carer: the legal and financial side