About Shared Lives carers

A Shared Lives carer is a person who offers accommodation and support and/or personal care in their own home under the supervision of a Shared Lives scheme. The carer must be willing to include the people who live or stay with them in their family and home life alongside the rest of the household.

To find out more about the role of a Shared Lives carer,
watch this short video:
 

Shared Lives carers come from all walks of life, but will need to have some caring experience, either as a professional care worker or as a family carer. A Shared Lives carer also needs to have a spare room suitable for someone to live or stay in and the agreement and support of all the members of their household.

To become a Shared Lives carer, you need to go through an assessment and approval process. This involves home visits to the applicant, discussions with all members of the household, rigorous checks and references and attendance at pre-approval training sessions. The process can take about 2-3 months.

Shared Lives carers are paid a weekly fee to cover the rent, household costs and care and support that they offer to service users. This is covered by a special tax arrangement with HMRC and many Shared Lives cares pay no income tax on their earnings.  Shared Lives carers have to pay for CRB and other checks during the assessment process, and will need to arrange appropriate insurance cover through the specialist insurance scheme for Shared Lives carers. Carers are also responsible for updating their first aid training. Any other training required will usually be arranged by the scheme which may be free or low cost. There is currently no registration fee for joining Shared Lives South West.