Care professionals provide a vital role to thousands of people and their families across the UK. Providing a highly demanding and skilled service, working long and often unsociable hours, with a level of emotional investment matched by few other professions, there is no doubt that the care sector and those who work in it, play a pivotal role in the UK’s social infrastructure.
It is common knowledge that the care sector is currently suffering a recruitment crisis. In 2021, vacancies in the care sector reached 165,000; a 52% rise which equates to 1 in 10 social care posts in England left unfilled. Salary figures for the same year showed a average hourly rate of just £9.01 for care workers employed within the sector. With this in mind, it is no surprise that many highly experienced and talented care workers, feeling undervalued and overworked, are leaving a sector they love to work in better paid positions in supermarkets, hospitality and warehouses.
However not all those leaving employed services are leaving the sector altogether, more and more care workers are choosing to set up on their own as independent self employed carers.
Support for care workers choosing to take this leap into self-employment continues to grow. The National Association of Care and Support Workers (NACAS) offers advice and support to self employed carers as part of their membership. Organisations such as The Professional Carers Network, Independent Living Group and Community Catalysts all offer support to carers making the jump from being employed to self-employed, whilst other businesses, such as the PocketCarer, make life so much easier for self-employed carers in providing subscribers everything they need to run their own self employed care business in one easy to use app, combining client management software with all in one business management tools that include invoicing, mileage tracking and income and expenditure recording to help make self assessments as easy as possible amongst many others, as well as a website full of relevant and helpful tips, and weekly up-to-date articles to assist carers with their self-employed carer business.
So why are many choosing to take the leap to self-employment? With more support networks than ever before available, choosing to become an independent carer is a choice where the benefits of going it alone far outweigh the negatives for most. Being your own boss means you have more control over your work-life and career progression. You can fit your working hours around you and your family commitments, make important business decisions yourself, and have more control over your finances by setting your own rates. Additionally, you are able to focus on the specialist aspects of care you most enjoy and choose your clients yourself.
Branching out in a career you love is a far better alternative to changing careers altogether. Growth of the self-employed within social care is gaining momentum and PocketCarer is extremely excited to be part of it.
Emma Harding
PocketCarer Ltd
