UKHCA Assessment of Home Care Costs

The cost of delivering homecare from April 2018 increases with new rates of the National Minimum Wage and employers’ minimum contribution to workplace pensions.

UKHCA has published the latest update to our authoritative “Minimum Price for Homecare”, with a new figure of £18.93 per hour from April 2019.

This will allow for full compliance with the National Minimum Wage and the delivery of sustainable homecare services to local authorities in Great Britain, the NHS and the health and social care trusts in Northern Ireland.

Equivalent figures for the Scottish Living Wage, the UK Living Wage and the London Living Wage are also included.

UKHCA’s Policy Director, Colin Angel, said:

"It is essential that a viable regulated homecare sector is available to support the care of older and disabled people who choose to remain at home. The prices councils pay for care must cover the costs of the workforce, including - as a minimum - full-compliance with statutory minimum wage levels and the costs of running a regulated care service. Providers to the statutory sector are operating in fragile market where underfunding homecare is leading to market failure and withdrawal.

A copy of “A Minimum Price for Homecare, Version 6.0” can be downloaded from the UKHCA website. 

UKHCA Policy and Campaigns Team