Quick summary
Most home care jobs in Cheshire advertise between about £12.71 and £14 an hour in 2026. Whether that is a good wage depends almost entirely on whether travel time is paid. The median care worker in England was on £12.60 an hour in December 2025, just 39p above the National Living Wage. We pay £15.70 after probation.
The national picture
Figure | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
National Living Wage, 21 and over, from April 2026 | £12.71 an hour | Government |
National Minimum Wage, 18 to 20, from April 2026 | £10.85 an hour | Government |
Median care worker pay, independent sector, England | £12.60 an hour | Skills for Care, December 2025 |
Care workers paid on or within 10p of the minimum | 26 per cent | Skills for Care, December 2025 |
Extra earned by staff with five or more years’ experience | About 10p an hour | Skills for Care, December 2025 |
Our rate after a three month probation | £15.70 an hour, plus 35p a mile | Visiting Angels Cheshire East |
Two of those lines deserve reading twice. The median is 39p above the legal minimum, and five years of experience is worth about 10p an hour across the sector. Skills for Care also found that just under half of care workers were paid below the new National Living Wage before it came into force in April 2026, meaning around 640,000 people needed a rise simply to stay legal.
Why the advertised rate is not the real rate
In home care, the number in the advert usually describes contact time only. What you actually earn per hour worked depends on three other things.
- Is travel time paid? Travel between appointments counts as working time for National Minimum Wage purposes. If it is not paid separately, your effective hourly rate falls, sometimes below the legal minimum.
- Is mileage paid, and at what rate? A round of 60 miles a week at 35p is £21. At nothing, it is your fuel.
- How long are the visits? A round of fifteen minute calls has more unpaid gaps in it than a round of hour-long visits, for the same paid hours.
A quick sum. Someone on £13 an hour doing five hours of contact time with 90 minutes of unpaid driving earns £65 for 6.5 hours, which is £10 an hour. Someone on £15.70 with travel paid earns the £15.70.
Why care pay is like this
Not because providers are all mean. Mostly because of what they are paid.
The Homecare Association calculates that an hour of home care in England needs to cost £34.42 in 2026/27 to cover the National Living Wage, travel time, training, holiday pay and cover. The average rate councils actually pay providers is £24.39. A provider working mainly on council contracts is roughly £10 an hour short of the cost of doing it properly, and wages and travel time are where that gap lands.
This is why private-pay providers can generally pay more than council-contracted ones, and why it is worth asking an employer what mix of work they do.
What to ask at interview
- What is the hourly rate, and is it different during probation?
- Is travel time between visits paid? Ask for a yes or no.
- What is the mileage rate?
- What is the shortest visit I will be sent on?
- How are rounds built? By area, or across the whole patch.
- Are weekends, bank holidays or nights paid at a higher rate?
- Is training paid?
- Guaranteed hours, or zero hours?
- What is your staff turnover? The answer, or the reluctance to answer, tells you a lot.
Does experience or training increase pay?
Across the sector, barely. Skills for Care found experienced workers earning about 10p an hour more than new starters, which is one of the main reasons people leave.
Where pay does tend to rise is with responsibility rather than time served: senior carer, field supervisor, care coordinator, then registered manager. Complex care and specialist work can also pay more. If pay progression matters to you, ask what the route looks like and how long it usually takes.
Is care work worth it for the money?
At the sector median, honestly, it is a hard argument. £12.60 an hour is close to what retail and warehouse work pays for a job with no driving, no personal care and no responsibility for someone’s safety.
That comparison changes with paid travel, a decent mileage rate and a rate meaningfully above the minimum. It is the reason we pay what we pay, and it is also why we would encourage you to check the detail with every employer you talk to, including us.
Frequently asked questions
How much do care workers earn in Cheshire?
Most advertised rates sit between the £12.71 National Living Wage and around £14 an hour. What you take home depends heavily on whether travel time and mileage are paid.
Do carers get paid for travel time?
They should, because travel between appointments counts as working time for minimum wage purposes. In practice it varies by employer, which is why it is worth asking directly.
Is agency work better paid?
Sometimes the hourly rate is higher, and hours can be less predictable and holiday pay handled differently. Compare the whole package rather than the headline.
What about sleep-ins and night shifts?
These are usually paid differently from daytime hours, and the rules are complicated. Ask for the specifics in writing before accepting.
Will pay go up in April?
The National Living Wage is reviewed each April, so the legal floor moves. Whether your own rate moves with it depends on your employer.
What we pay
So you can compare like with like.
- £15.70 an hour once a three month probation is complete.
- £14.70 an hour during probation.
- 35p a mile.
- Travel time between visits is paid.
- No visit shorter than an hour.
- Rounds built by area, so less driving and the same clients.
Our carer turnover is 12 per cent, against a sector figure of 23.7 per cent (Skills for Care, 2025). We think the terms are why.
How to apply
Call us on 01625 720157 and ask about caregiver roles. Ask the nine questions above while you are on the phone. We would rather you asked them than found out in month two.
Visiting Angels Cheshire East covers Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Knutsford, Congleton, Alsager, Buxton, Whaley Bridge, Leek, Biddulph and Kidsgrove.
Authored by Kim Blissett, Registered Manager, Visiting Angels Cheshire East.
Published 27 September 2026. Last updated 27 September 2026.
This article is general information about pay in the care sector, not employment or legal advice. Pay rates, minimum wage rates and sector averages change, and the figures were correct at the date of publication. Our own rates are correct at publication and may change; they are not a contractual offer of employment. For advice on minimum wage entitlements, see GOV.UK or contact Citizens Advice. To the fullest extent permitted by law, GB Care at Home Ltd accepts no liability for any loss arising from reliance on this article.
