Shared lives carers

[doozledog]

Hello, I was just wondering if anybody is a shared lives carer.

I currently work with adults with LD, im looking into the possibility of becoming a shared lives carer, but I'd like to start with doing day care.

I've looked on the website, and it tells you how much you could get for a live-in, but no mention of day rate or if that is taxed.

I hate to mention money as it feels like it's the only reason im doing it. it's not! I have a nice home, good life and i feel i could offer someone a really nice few hours a day but i do need the money and trying to work out if it would be viable along side my current job.

I had an advert for this come up on facebook; the local council was offering about £180 per week. Having checked www.spareroom.co.uk the brutal reality is that I could let the same room out to a lodger for about £150pw including bills, tax free under the Rent A Room scheme, and I wouldn't have to provide any support, meals etc. out of that.

While it's clearly an admirable thing to do, unless your council is paying much higher rates, the money doesn't really stack up compared to taking in a regular lodger, if you value your time and skills at all.

I looked at this. They were offering £12 an hour but you were self employed so no holiday pay, ni / pension contributions, sick pay etc. so really it’s equivalent to min wage job. I assume you could write a lot off and earn tax free if it was a second job.

Someone I know did this. She needed three people to make it viable for her not to work. Two people seemed to pay the rent and bills. You're responsible for them all the time, not just a few hours a day. The person I knew had one woman who was fine and the other who was a pain in the neck.

I'd rather have lodgers, to be honest, otherwise it's like being at work 24/7.