Homecare Association Minimum Price for Homecare 2023-24

The Homecare Association has published its new calculation for the Minimum Price for Homecare of £25.95 per hour in England, effective from April 2023, when the National Living Wage increases to £10.42 per hour.

Our Minimum Price is the amount required to ensure the minimum legally compliant pay rate for careworkers (excluding any enhancements for unsocial hours working), their travel time, mileage, and wage-related on-costs. The rate also includes the minimum contribution towards the costs of running a care business which complies with quality requirements at a financially sustainable level.

Many homecare providers are paying headline rates above the National Living Wage to attract and retain careworkers in a tight and competitive labour market. We strongly believe that care work is highly skilled and should be fairly recognised and rewarded. In this briefing, we report the equivalent fee rates required in England based on the Real Living Wage, NHS Band 3 with 2+ years’ experience, the London Living Wage and a competitive labour market wage rate needed in parts of the South of England.

The Minimum Price is widely recognised within the social care and health sectors in all four UK administrations. For the first time this year, we have produced separate reports and prices for each UK nation.

We will continue to challenge central government on the overall funding of social care. It is, however, councils, the NHS and Health and Social Care Trusts (in Northern Ireland) that are responsible for determining the prices they pay for homecare services at a local level.