Care Workers' Rights in England

Who this guide is for

Care workers in England who work in adult social care: home care (domiciliary care), care homes, supported living and similar services. It covers employees and workers, including agency workers placed with a care provider.

What this guide does not cover

• Work in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland: see Care Workers' Rights in Wales, Care Workers' Rights in Scotland or Care Workers' Rights in Northern Ireland.
• Visas for care workers from overseas. This guide does not cover them: see GOV.UK, Health and Care Worker visa (gov.uk/health-care-worker-visa).
• Minimum wage rates by age and how to complain in detail: see The Minimum Wage in the UK.
• Holiday pay on irregular or zero hours: see Zero Hours Contracts in England, Wales and Scotland.
• Agency workers' pay after 12 weeks: see Agency Workers in England, Wales and Scotland.
• Whether you are a worker or self-employed: see Am I a Worker or Self-Employed in England, Wales or Scotland?.
• DBS checks themselves: see What Shows Up on a DBS Check in England and Wales?.
• Complaints by people who use care services or their families: see Reporting a Care Concern in England.
• Tribunal time limits in detail: see our tribunal deadline guide.

What the rules depend on

1. Are you an employee or worker, or genuinely self-employed? The minimum wage applies to workers. The genuinely self-employed are not covered.
2. What is your hourly pay over the whole pay period? Add up all the hours that count, and divide your pay for the period by them.
3. On a sleep-in, are you allowed to sleep, or required to be awake? That decides which hours count.
4. Between visits, did you go home, or did you go straight on? Travel home and back does not count.
5. Was the training or the cost required by your employer? Required costs can reduce your minimum wage pay.

"Do I get the minimum wage for sleep-in shifts?"

Only for some of the time. If you are allowed to sleep at or near your workplace, and your employer provides suitable facilities for sleeping, the hours you are asleep do not count for the minimum wage. Only time when you are awake for the purposes of working counts. If suitable sleeping facilities are not provided, the minimum wage must be paid for the whole shift.

If you are on call at or near your workplace, that time counts for the minimum wage, unless you are at home.

This is the effect of the Supreme Court's judgment in Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake, given on 19 March 2021, and of regulation 32 of the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015.

If you are required to be awake and available for work all night (often called a waking night), those hours are working time and count in full.

Your contract may pay a set amount for a sleep-in. That is a matter for your contract. It is not the minimum wage.

"Is travel between visits paid?"

Time spent travelling from one work assignment to another counts as working time, so it must be paid at least the minimum wage. Time spent travelling between home and work does not count.

GOV.UK gives these examples:

• Two visits in the morning with no break: the time at both visits and the travel between them counts.
• A visit in the morning, then home for a break, then a visit in the afternoon: travel from the first visit home, and from home to the next visit, does not count.
• A break taken on the way to the next visit, without going home: the travel counts, the break does not.

Time spent waiting to start a job, or to meet someone for work, also counts.

Some home care workers are paid only for "contact time". If travel time is unpaid, your pay for the contact time must be high enough that your pay for the whole period, divided by all the hours that count, is still at least the minimum wage.

"Do I have to be paid for training?"

Time spent training, or travelling to training, counts as working time. If your employer requires the training, you must be paid at least the minimum wage for it.

If you are paid an annual salary, training that your employer does not require, and that is not at a time when you would otherwise be working, does not count.

"Can my employer charge me for my uniform, training or DBS check?"

Some charges reduce your pay for minimum wage purposes. If your pay is then below the minimum wage, that is underpayment, even if you agreed to it.

These reduce your minimum wage pay:

• items of uniform your employer requires but does not provide, and charges for cleaning or repairing a uniform that comes from normal wear and tear
• protective equipment you pay for and are not paid back for
• charges for training your employer requires, whether taken from your pay or paid by you, including a deduction from your final pay when you leave
• other costs your employer requires you to pay in connection with the job, and does not pay back

A fee you paid to get the job in the first place, such as a DBS check, does not reduce your minimum wage pay. A fee your employer imposes for that particular role while you work there does.

"What is the Fair Pay Agreement?"

The Employment Rights Act 2025 gives the government power to set up an Adult Social Care Negotiating Body for England by regulations. The power came into force on 6 April 2026. The regulations setting up the body had not been made when this guide was checked.

The government said on 16 July 2026 that:

• the Fair Pay Agreement will cover the paid adult social care workforce in England, but not self-employed workers, people working under informal care arrangements or unpaid carers
• it can cover pay and terms and conditions
• negotiations are expected to begin around April 2027, and the first agreement is expected to take effect in April 2028
• once ratified, it will be legally enforceable through workers' contracts, and the Fair Work Agency will enforce the pay terms

"I want to report poor care or wrongdoing"

Whistleblowing law protects workers who report certain kinds of wrongdoing, such as danger to someone's health and safety, to their employer or to the right prescribed body. For adult social care in England, the prescribed body is the Care Quality Commission (CQC). For what counts, and what to do if you are treated badly, see Whistleblowing at Work in England, Wales and Scotland.

You can contact the CQC on 03000 616161 or through the Give feedback on care page on cqc.org.uk. If someone is in danger now, call 999.

Deadlines you must meet

• Unpaid minimum wage, claimed at an employment tribunal as unlawful deductions from wages: 6 months less 1 day from the date you were paid (the last one, for a series), if that was on or after 1 October 2026. If it was before 1 October 2026, the limit is 3 months less 1 day.
• An unlawful deductions claim cannot go back more than 2 years before the date the claim is made.
• Whistleblowing claims: 3 months less 1 day from the act you are complaining about, or 6 months less 1 day where that act (or the last in a series) happened on or after 1 October 2026. Interim relief after a dismissal: 7 days.
• Notify Acas within your time limit. Early conciliation pauses the clock.
• Your exact date depends on your facts. See our tribunal deadline guide.

Money figures

From 1 April 2026, the minimum wage is:

• £12.71 an hour at 21 and over
• £10.85 at 18 to 20
• £8.00 under 18
• £8.00 for apprentices (under 19, or 19 and over in the first year)

The most an employer can count for accommodation it provides is £11.10 a day.

Traps

• Being paid per visit, or only for contact time, does not remove the right to the minimum wage for travel between visits.
• Agreeing to a deduction does not make it lawful if it takes you below the minimum wage.
• The Fair Pay Agreement is not law yet. Do not expect it to change your pay before April 2028.
• Telling the wrong prescribed body can cost you whistleblowing protection. For adult social care in England, it is the CQC.
• Do not use the 6-month tribunal limit for pay or acts before 1 October 2026.