Live-in Care Costs
You ask – We answer.
Live-in care arranged through Access Care will cost you between:
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£1,200 to £1,400 per week
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All our potential customers like you are entitled to a free, no obligation quotation as every care package is bespoke.
Please call us for your personalised quotation.
Paying For Care
Lifetime Registration Fee
When our clients join the Access Care family, we ask for a one-off, life-time registration fee of £150 plus VAT.
The fee assures you that we spin our wheels into motion straight away and get to work to find you the perfect Carer. Over thirty years of experience has enforced our belief that the relationship between our clients/customers, carers and the office team is a symbiotic one, and therefore an initial commitment from us all ensures this reciprocal arrangement works as efficiently as possible.
There are two costs associated with the care we arrange:
Part 1. Agency Fee
Our service charge to you is called the ‘Agency Fee’. We understand that we aren’t the lovely person that comes to care for you/your relative, so you don’t get the opportunity to see all the great work that the team at the office do beind the scenes to ensure we are able to introduce our wonderful carers to you and have replacements should you need - as well as professional advice on tap.
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So here’s a snapshot of what the fee you pay to Access Care covers:
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Your dedicated customer service representative who establishes a​ working relationship with you, contacting you on a schedule that works for you and ensuring you are happy with the service we provide and the carer we have introduced to you. They are here to advise and guide you on all aspects of being supported by a live-in carer in their own home and are always very happy to help you.
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Sustaining and keeping in regular contact with our pool of high calibre carers – the marketing and advertising involved in sourcing and recruiting them.
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Recruiting and registering each carer on our books and carefully vetting them prior to presenting them to you for selection. This service includes interviews, criminal record checks and verifying training qualifications,as well as obtaining references, ensuring each has self-employed care worker insurance cover, and has been issued with a UTR (Unique Tax Reference Number) so we are assured they are registered with HMRC to pay their taxes.
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Performing periodical vetting and re-registration checks.
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Presenting you with a selection of carefully matched, hand-picked carers to choose from each time you ask us to do so.
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When one carer leaves and another arrives we are busy in the background working on your behalf to ensure the new carer has arrived, coordinating travel plans, arrival and departure times.
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Offering advice whenever you need and being here for you at every stage of your care journey.
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Being on hand to make a swift change if needs be, whatever the reason.
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Our professional fees and overheads to run the company and provide the highest level of service.
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This agency fee incurs VAT. We bill for this on a four-week schedule, so your invoice will be for the number of days service you have received from Access Care during that billing period. Invoices are sent ten days prior to the due date so you have time to arrange finances. Also of note, is that we charge the fee for full days from start date to end date inclusive of any booking.
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Part 2. Paying Your Carer
The second part is the payment you make directly to your Live-in carer. Your carer will invoice you directly on a schedule agreeable to both of you. Most are happy with a weekly or a bi-weekly payment in arrears.
Please do ask your carer to present you with an invoice prior to paying them and it is advisable to ask them for a receipt once you have made payment too (this can easily be a quick email from them stating such).
Further info:
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Our carers typically bill for a half day on the day they arrive, and half a day when they leave.
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Please be aware that some carers ask for an inflated fee of time and a half or double time on Bank Holidays. You will be aware of this before selecting a Carer.
Other considerations you may not have though of:​
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Your Live-in Carer’s food​ cost
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Carers are 'self-employed' and therefore will inform us of a fee they wish work for. We will always negotiate and agree this fee with you prior to their introduction. Before we introduce your chosen Carer, we will ensure you are both happy with the payment terms.
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Food Allowance
Most of our clients like their carer to eat with them and for the carer's food to be included in the weekly shop so no additional food allowance is required.
If the carer and the client have different diets or won’t be eating with the client then a food allowance may be more appropriate. In this case, a figure in the region of £45-£55 a week is recommended. We will of course help you agree this with your chosen carer prior to his/her arrival should you wish.
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Travel Allowance
Unless previously agreed, our carers will not charge a travel allowance.
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Housekeeping
Should you wish your Live-in Carer to be responsible for the household expenses e.g. food shopping, paying the gardener/cleaner etc. It’s a good idea to establish financial arrangements to manage this between you as soon as possible.
The key to this is deciding how you will make monies available, how you will replenish them, and how you wish the Carer to record transactions. There are several ways you could consider doing this:
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Give the carer a debit card for an account specifically used for housekeeping. You can then see and monitor the transactions online.
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By choosing one of these cards you can add funds to a debit card for the carer to use, this gives you control and flexibility of the monies that you provide to your carer for covering day to day sundries. We have included some links here for your convenience.
We recommend that you ask your Carers to ensure all receipts are given to you or put somewhere for your relatives to collect when they visit. Whichever method you choose, do remind the Carer to handover the bank card to the next Carer on a changeover day.
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Always Value For Money
Most of the cost goes to the Carer, and this is exactly how it should be. Carers deserve to be well-paid for the wonderful job that they do.
A Live-in Carer provides full-time 1-to-1 care as and when required and desired throughout the day/night. Residential/Nursing homes may well be able to offer you a room at a cheaper rate than engaging a Live-in Carer, but the service they offer simply can’t match the fact that Live-in Carers provide a truly bespoke and flexible service to their clients with 1-to-1 around-the-clock care.
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The true value of having a Live-in Carer is in the peace of mind that is provided, not only to the person being cared for but to their family as well. Knowing a much-loved parent, child, relative or friend is safe, warm, well-fed, not alone and in the comfort of their own home is priceless.
Holidays
If our client (you/your relative) goes on holiday, the agency fee shall continue to accrue for a period of seven full days during the suspended period if we receive less than 28 full days notice. If you can give us more than 28 days notice then there is no charge for the period you are away without our Carer.
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Hospitalisation
If you/your relative is admitted to hospital/goes into respite care the agency fee shall continue to accrue for a period of seven full days after notification of the suspension if we receive less than seven full days notice. Where a booking is suspended beyond this period, the agency fee will be suspended until the date the Booking resumes. Should our service not be needed again, no further notice period will need to be given or payment of our agency fee due.
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Insurance
We would always advise that it is good practice to advise your Home Insurers that you will have a carer temporarily residing in your home. It is important to let the insurers know that the Carer will not be registered as living permanently in the home.
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Car Insurance
It is our responsibility to check that the carer we introduce to you has a valid driving licence when we register them if you have asked us to find you a carer that can drive.
This is where our responsibility ends.
If you want your carer to drive your car then please contact your insurer and arrange for a policy whichwill cover them to do so.
If you/your relative wish to be driven by a carer in a car owned by them then please ensure you view the carer’s insurance documents and their MOT certificate too.
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Care Workers Insurance
We ensure all Carers have what the industry calls ‘Selfemployed Care Workers Insurance cover.
There are many companies that provide this so Carers all have individual policies typically covering public liabilities including accidental damage to property and injury. You are welcome to see these when we present Carers to you for selection. Our remit is to ensure they have cover in place when they are presented to you for work and for the duration of their time with you.
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Other Options:
The One-off Recruitment Fee
Some people simply use our services to recruit a private Live-in Carer for them and then they require no further involvement from us.
Families and Carers may wish to enter into a private arrangement - we understand that this may well be a cost effective way to continue to support your relative in their own home. If you feel this is the right option for you please do contact us at Head Office as soon as an agreement has been reached.
We will confirm our fee to you as per our terms of business and issue our invoice. Both you and the carer are very welcome to remain registered with the agency (we simply pop you in our inactive folder) in case you should want us again in the future.
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You pay a one-off fee once we find your ideal Live-in Carer for you. The fee we charge is like most other recruitment agencies in a percentage structure. We charge 18% of the Carer's annual salary. You can ask us for a quote at any time during your contract with us and we can help you decide which is the best route for you.
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Weighing Up All The Options
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Let’s be honest, cost is always a consideration in life and can be a worry for some. Arranging full-time live-in care for a relative may well be a family’s most expensive outlay.
Being able to stay at home with a qualified and vetted care worker has many advantages over the alternative of going into a care home. Concerning cost, the most prominent perhaps is that live-in care fees are often less than care home fees and your loved one is being cared for and supported in the comfort and familiarity of their own home whilst retaining their property asset. In the case of caring for couples, live-in care is far more cost effective. And of course, the concept means that parents can stay together.
Our pledge to you, is to work with you. Balancing wishes with needs on an individual and bespoke basis to ensure you’ll pay for the exact level of care your loved one requires and desires. No more and no less. As a result, you’ll receive quality care that perfectly suits both need and budget.
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There are financial advisors that specialise in helping people with care planning. They can provide free quotations for Annuity Plans which are medically underwritten and tax-free, so well worth considering.
We do not profess to be financial experts but can give you names of several specialists who can offer impartial advice on this very important subject, so you can weigh up all the options presented to you.
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