What the job involves
Support workers help people with learning disabilities, autism, mental health needs or other support needs to live as independently as possible. Shifts can be long days, sleep-ins, waking nights or 24-hour shifts in someone's home, and you're often working alone.
Sleep-in, on-call or working?
- Sleep-in: you're expected to sleep and be available if needed. Sleeping time doesn't count for the minimum wage, but time woken to work does.
- On-call at home: if you can spend the time as you like and only work when called, only the time you're actually working is working time.
- On-call where you must stay at the service, stay awake or respond within minutes is more likely to be working time throughout. The details of your rota matter.
- Waking nights are working time for every hour.
A worked example: a 24-hour shift
A support worker does a long day of 14 paid hours, then a sleep-in paid a flat £60.00, and is woken twice for a total of 1.5 hours. The working hours are 15.5. At £12.71 the minimum for those hours is £197.01. If the woken time isn't claimed, it's 1.5 hours (£19.07) of work that may go unpaid. Keep a note of every disturbance, even short ones.
Driving the people you support
Taking people to appointments or activities in your own car is business use, so your insurance must cover it. Your employer should pay mileage or reimburse costs. HMRC's approved rate is 45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles. If you get less, you can claim tax relief on the difference.
Lone working
Most support workers work alone. Your employer has to assess the risks and give you a way to get help. That might be a check-in call, an app or an on-call manager. If you're asked to stay late because a colleague hasn't arrived, the extra time is working time.
Track it shift by shift
With Shiftaan you can mark each shift paid, part-paid or disputed, and see what every employer still owes you. It's free for up to 3 companies.
Common questions
Is on-call time paid for support workers?
It depends on how restricted you are. If you're free to use the time as you like, only the time you actually work counts. If you have to stay at the service or respond instantly, more of it is likely to count.
Should I be paid when a shift runs over because cover is late?
Yes. You're working until you're relieved, so that time counts.
Do I need business insurance to drive clients?
Yes. Standard social, domestic and pleasure cover usually doesn't include driving for work. Ask your insurer to add business use.