Care Assistant / Support Worker — United Kingdom

UK care providers hire care assistants and support workers year-round across residential, supported living and domiciliary settings. Many providers offer paid induction training, so prior care experience is often not required.

Important — visa sponsorship status

The Health and Care Worker visa closed to new overseas applicants in the care worker and senior care worker occupation codes (6135 and 6136) on 22 July 2025, and remains closed. These roles are therefore open to candidates who already hold the right to work in the UK — British or Irish citizens, settled and pre-settled status holders, and anyone on a visa that permits this work. Existing Health and Care Worker visa holders may switch employers in-country under transitional rules running to 22 July 2028.

Requirements

• Right to work in the UK (citizenship, settled/pre-settled status, or a visa permitting the work)
• Enhanced DBS check — standard for all roles supporting vulnerable people
• Spoken and written English strong enough for care records and safety procedures
• References; formal care experience is welcome but frequently not required
• Willingness to work shifts, including nights and weekends

What's on offer

• Roughly £11–£14 an hour in the private sector, with enhanced evening, weekend and overtime rates
• Around £24,000–£27,000 a year for NHS and public-sector banded support worker posts
• Paid induction and Care Certificate training with many national providers
• Live-in care roles that combine pay with accommodation, usually on a day rate

Note: pay, contracts and eligibility are set by the individual employer and by UK immigration rules — not by JobGader. Verify any sponsor on the official gov.uk register of licensed sponsors, and never pay a recruiter for a job offer or visa: charging jobseekers for sponsorship is illegal in the UK.