Let's be clear - at Home Instead Exeter & East Devon, we cover your costs!

It’s hard to know exactly what is, and more importantly isn’t, included in the advertised pay rates for some care companies.

Often hourly ‘care’ rates can appear to be higher, but will mask the hidden cost of your time when travelling between clients, those lost 15-minute breaks which can be inevitable as you leave one client and arrive early at the next, and of course, the value of your fuel and mileage…

Despite the apparent higher rate being advertised, you could well lose out if your wider costs aren’t covered and you are only being paid for the ‘care’ hours that you deliver. Your time is valuable, and it is our belief that this value should be acknowledged.

At Home Instead, we pay Care Professionals a starting hourly care rate of £11.00 per hour, or £11.50 per care hour for those with sector relevant qualifications, such as RQF’s. For those taking evening and weekend rotas, this rises to £13.00 per care hour for all Care Professionals, with a greatly enhanced pay rate applying to all (regardless of qualifications), across Bank holidays – recognising the value of your time during these periods.

In addition, Home Instead also offer a travel time allowance. This sees Care Professionals paid at the standard hourly rate of £11.00 per hour for work related journeys beyond the first and last 5 miles of your working day – as 5 miles is the distance considered as a reasonable commute, to and from a place of work – in line with Government Guidelines.

Home Instead also recognise that as you travel from visit to visit on our behalf, there may be times when you might ‘lose’ 15 or 30 minutes, as you leave one client and head to another, sometimes arriving early but needing to wait before heading into your next client at the arranged time. This ‘waiting time’ still has a value to you, so again we pay all Care Professionals £11.00 per hour* for this time too.

Finally, and most obviously, we consider it only fair to help with your fuel costs and to contribute towards the upkeep of your vehicle. This is calculated as an allowance of £0.35 per mile. Plus, we offer all colleagues the opportunity of support in order to claim annual fuel tax relief, where Care Professionals may  receive substantial rebates at the end of the tax year.

So, be sure to check – does that seemingly higher rate per hour only cover your ‘care’ time, with no additional value given to your time and expense in getting to and from visits? If the answer is ‘yes’, in reality you could find yourself on far less than the advertised hourly rate, in relation to the costs you incur and the actual hours away from your own home and life.

Home Instead are very proud to be the only home care provider rated as ‘Outstanding in ALL five areas of inspection’ by the CQC in the entire southwest region. We are dedicated to providing the same outstanding level of care and support to our Care Professional team members and are equally proud to be an officially ‘5-Star Employer in Care’.

If you’re curious about a rewarding career in care, don’t hesitate. Contact our friendly Recruitment team on 01395 200600, take a look at our Current Vacancies here, or follow us on Facebook here, and discover why we are different.

*Terms & Conditions apply.