Setting Your Rates as a Self Employed Carer

One of the first questions carers ask when they go self-employed is: what should I charge?

It can feel difficult to know where to start. You want to be fair to families, but you also need to cover your costs and make sure you can keep going long term. The good news is there are clear steps you can take to work this out confidently.

What Other Carers Charge

In our community, most self-employed carers share figures like these:

• Hourly visits: £18 to £25 per hour
• Sleep-in nights: £100 to £150 per night
• Waking nights: usually charged at the same hourly rate, £18 to £25 per hour
• Live-in care: companionship support from around £150 per day, personal care and medication support from around £180 per day for one client, and around £240 per day for a couple.

These figures are not rules. They simply give you an idea of the ranges that are commonly used. Your own rate will depend on your costs, your skills, and where you are working.

Checking Local Agency Rates

A useful step before setting your rate is to check what home care companies in your area are charging. Many agencies publish their prices on Homecare.co.uk.

Families are already aware of these prices, so checking them helps you to sense check your own rate. Remember that as a self-employed carer you often offer more flexibility and continuity than agencies, so there is no reason to undercut yourself.

Working Out Your Own Rate

Once you have an idea of what others are charging, it is time to check if your own numbers add up.

Here is an example.

Carer charging £22 per hour for 37 hours a week

Annual income: £42,328

Typical expenses including PocketCarer, training, PPE, insurance, phone, mileage and marketing: around £4,800 per year

Profit before tax: £37,528

Tax and National Insurance

Personal allowance: £12,570 (no tax)

Taxable amount: £24,958

Income tax at 20%: £4,992

Class 4 National Insurance at 6% on £24,958: £1,497

Total tax and NI: £6,489

Net income after tax and NI: £31,039

Setting aside for security

Holiday and sick pay reserve (12% of gross £42,328): £5,079

Pension (10% of profit £37,528): £3,753

Spendable income: around £22,200, plus £8,800 reserved for holiday cover and pension.

This example shows why it is worth taking the time to plan your rate properly.By building in your costs, tax, and time off from the start, you can be confident your work is sustainable.

Making Your Work Cost Effective

Your hourly rate is only part of the picture. The way you arrange your diary makes a big difference.

Many carers set a minimum of one hour per visit, especially in the mornings when more time is usually needed.

Short visits with long travel gaps can leave you earning much less per hour overall, so be cautious.

Clustering clients in the same area helps reduce time on the road and unpaid gaps in your day.

Live-In Care

Live-in care is sometimes confused with 24-hour care. In reality, it usually means providing around 12–13 hours of support each day, with a proper break, and being available if needed during the night.

Typical daily rates shared by carers are:

• Companionship support from around £150 per day
• Full support including personal care and medication from around £180 per day for one client, or £240 per day for a couple.

Night-Time expectations

Sleep-ins assume you will get a normal night’s rest, with only the occasional need to help. If you are called once or twice in the night, you can charge for those disturbances on top of your daily rate.

But if night calls become consistent — for example three or more times most nights — it is no longer safe or sustainable to continue as a live-in. In this situation a separate waking night carer should be arranged.

Things to consider when setting your rate

Carers often base their daily rate on the reality of the role, not just a headline figure. Some of the key things to look at include:

• Waking hours of the client:If a client is up from 7am until 11pm, you are effectively on duty all day. In this situation it’s reasonable to negotiate a longer break, for example three hours, to make it sustainable.
• Night disturbances:Some carers may accept occasional disturbances if they balance out with longer or more reliable breaks during the day, but this should always be limited.
• Breaks vs “downtime”:Families may say there is plenty of downtime, but in reality you are still on call and it isn’t true rest. Short gaps here and there do not replace a proper break.
• Food and travel:If these aren’t covered by the family, you need to factor them into your daily rate.

Whatever you agree, make sure it goes into your contract or terms of service, so everyone is clear from the beginning.

Bank Holidays and Extras

Bank holidays are another area where carers set their own approach. Some don’t charge extra at all, while others charge time-and-a-half or double pay. Christmas can be especially confusing, as not all days count the same.

The most common approach carers share is:

• Standard bank holidays:time-and-a-half
• Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day: double pay
• Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve: often treated as standard days unless working into the late evening

There’s no single “right” way, but the key is to decide your policy and include it in your contract, so families know in advance.

Talking About Rates with Families

Money conversations can feel awkward, but being clear upfront saves problems later.

Be confident. You are offering a professional service.

Put your rates in writing in your terms of service or agreement.

Do not undersell yourself. Starting too low makes it much harder to raise rates later.

Remember that families often value reliability and consistency more than finding the very lowest cost.