Quick answer. When you employ your own personal assistants (PAs) through a direct payment or personal health budget, you are their employer. Keep everything in one place: a rota everyone can see, a daily note at the end of every shift, a medication record, a handover for the next PA and a record of the hours worked for payroll. A shared app does this better than notebooks, texts and WhatsApp groups, and it gives you the records you need for your care review.
Employing your own PAs gives you choice and control over who supports you and how. It also makes you an employer, often of a team of three, five or more people working different shifts. Most of the guidance you get from your council is about the legal side: contracts, payroll, insurance. Far less is said about the day-to-day job of keeping a team organised.
This guide covers both: the employer duties you cannot skip, and practical ways to run the rota, notes, medication and hours without it taking over your life.
Your council's direct payments team or support service will go through these with you. In short:
Skills for Care runs a free information hub for individual employers and PAs, with the Employing a PA toolkit, templates and funding for training your PAs.
Agencies have office staff and systems for this. As an individual employer, it is usually you or a family member doing it on top of everything else. The common problems are the same everywhere:
A rota that every PA can see on their phone stops most "I thought you were on" problems. Plan at least two weeks ahead, show gaps clearly so a PA can offer to cover, and keep holiday requests in the same place so you can see clashes before you approve them. If you have a PA who covers nights or long shifts, make sure the rota shows the real start and finish times, not just the day.
A daily note does not need to be long. Three or four lines on how the day went, anything that changed and anything the next PA needs to know is enough. Agree what you want recorded, for example mood, food and drink, appointments, anything unusual, and ask everyone to do it before they leave. Notes written on a phone at the end of the shift are far more reliable than notes written up later, and you can read them from wherever you are.
If your PAs help with medication, write down every dose as given, refused or missed, with the time. A clear medication record protects you and your PAs, stops doses being given twice when shifts change over, and is the first thing a doctor, pharmacist or social worker will ask about. If stock runs low, the record shows it before you run out.
When one PA finishes and another starts, a short written handover is better than relying on a quick chat at the door. It also covers the days when shifts do not overlap at all. Keep everyday chat separate from important messages: a team chat for general things, and a private message when you need to talk to one PA about something personal.
The easiest way to avoid arguments about pay is for PAs to clock in and out on their phones. The clock-ins become timesheets, you check them, and you send the hours to your payroll service each month. It also gives you an accurate record of how your direct payment has been spent on staff hours, which your council may ask for.
Right to work checks, DBS checks, training certificates and contracts are easy to lose track of when they sit in an email inbox or a drawer. Keep them together, and set a reminder before anything needs renewing, such as a first aid or moving and handling certificate.
Your council or NHS team will review your support plan and how your direct payment is used. Daily notes, medication records and timesheets kept in one place make this much easier: you can show what support you have had and how the money has been spent, instead of digging through notebooks and bank statements.
You can do all of the above with paper and spreadsheets, but it is much easier when everyone uses the same app on their own phone. Care App was built for care providers, and people employing their own PAs already use it for exactly this: the rota, daily notes, medication, handover, staff chat and timesheets in one place, with right to work, DBS and training records for each PA.
For people who employ their own carers through a direct payment or personal health budget, Care App is half price, for good. For example, 5 PAs on the Supported Living edition is £30 + VAT a month instead of £60, and you can try it free for a month first. See what your PAs can do in the app, or read how the half price works.
It depends on your council and your support plan. Some direct payments teams agree to costs that help you manage your support, so ask yours. If they will not, Care App is still half price for people employing their own carers.
Councils treat it as essential before a PA starts work, and some include the cost in your direct payment. Check your direct payment agreement and do not assume your household insurance covers it.
If you directly employ someone to provide care or personal assistance, automatic enrolment duties apply to you. Whether your PA is enrolled depends on their age and earnings. A payroll service can usually work this out and handle it for you.
Yes. Many families share the job: a parent, partner or adult child can manage the rota, check timesheets and read the daily notes. In Care App, the person who signs up can give family members their own manager login.
From £10/user/month. Every tier clearly listed. 30-day free trial - card required, no charge until month 2.
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