Paid carers

Young man pushing a young woman in a wheelchair

What are direct payments?

We can make direct (cash) payments to people who are assessed as needing support. They can use this money to arrange and pay for their own support. More people are choosing to pay someone they know and trust to provide their support. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) does not treat this money as income for ther person who gets it as it has to be used to pay for their support.

If someone uses their direct payment to pay you to provide support for them and you are on benefits then your benefits are likely to be affected.

Why is your benefit affected?

Being paid to provide care or support means that you are treated as working and the money you are paid is a wage. You will still be treated as their employee even if the person paying you is a close relative or your partner. You will need to tell whoever pays your benefit that your circumstances have changed and you are now working. Some benefits are paid by the government because you don't have enough money to live on. They top up any other money that you receive so any money you start to be paid in wages will affect the amount the government will pay you.

Which benefits?

The main benefits affected by starting work are:

Income support
Jobseeker's allowance
Employment and support allowance
Housing and council tax benefit
Pension Credit
Carers allowance

How much can I earn?

A small part of any wages can be ignored (disregarded). Amounts vary between £5 and £25 per week depending on your individual circumstances but any amount that you receive above your income disregard is taken pound for pound off your benefit up to the point where you are no longer entitled to the benefit.

What else might change?

If you are working 16 hours or more per week then you will be treated as if you are in full-time work by the DWP and you may be able to claim tax credits instead. If you are currently getting benefit because you are sick or unfit for work you can do some work but there are limits to how many hours you can work and how much you can earn. Get advice about permitted work.

If you are getting carer's allowance there is a limit on how much you can earn. This limit changes every year, so check for the current limit. If you get a carer's discount on your council tax bill this may end if you start to be paid to care. If you get housing and council tax benefit you may have to start to pay something towards your rent and council tax.