Hiring for care roles? Find out the average UK salary for support workers and healthcare assistants
Before you start recruiting for a role, it’s first important to have a thorough understanding of the salary brackets for each position, to make sure that your offer is competitive.
2020 shone a bright light on the enormous value of healthcare and care workers in our lives and their contribution to wider society. Whether they are looking after the practical needs of vulnerable individuals or providing much-needed psychological support to those under their care, the professionals in these roles are often a vital lifeline for those with whom they come into contact.
Both support workers and healthcare assistants act in many different capacities – and the right person in the role to promote the wellbeing of their patients.
Read up on the latest UK salary estimates for UK support workers and health care assistants from our salary calculator data:
Support workers
What do support workers do?
Support workers aid vulnerable individuals in their daily routines. They work to protect the welfare of their clients, helping them to live fulfilled and happy lives. It’s a varied job, with one day often looking very different from the next.
A support worker’s clients could have specific learning needs, physical or mental disabilities, requiring some assistance to carry out everyday tasks and activities, like cleaning, learning or getting out and about.
Support workers may work one-on-one with their clients or in teams with larger groups, with many sub-specialties for the role (e.g. residential support workers who assist individuals with learning disabilities in a care setting or community support workers who look after people in their own homes).
What’s the average support worker salary?
Support workers earn between £17,000 and £27,000 a year depending on experience. For more specific salary information, tailored to the role you are hiring for, input the position’s details into our dedicated salary calculator.
Healthcare assistants
What do healthcare assistants do?
Healthcare assistants (sometimes also referred to as ‘healthcare support workers’) are individuals who work alongside qualified healthcare professionals to provide care in a hospital setting or in their homes/in care homes.
The main facet of this role is to take care of the needs of the patient, from feeding meals, making beds, taking patients to the toilet and dressing wounds to sitting with patients and helping them move around. By dedicating themselves to the day-to-day requirements of patients’, healthcare assistants allow their qualified healthcare professional partners to spend their time carrying out more specialist medical tasks.
What’s the average healthcare assistant salary?
The average salary for a healthcare support worker or a healthcare assistant in England is £35,500 based on five years' experience. The lower quarter bracket gives an average salary of £33,020, rising to £39,170 for the upper quarter average.
Looking to find out more?
Knowledge is power when recruiting new talent. Learn the current market rate for key job roles and locations with the Randstad salary calculator tool.
Want to hire the best industry talent?
Your people are your greatest asset. Discover how Randstad can support you in attracting the best candidates to your organisation, with our workforce management offering; Randstad employer solutions.
Our bespoke recruitment solutions are tailored to your organisation’s unique needs. The result? A smoother hiring process which feeds directly into your business objectives.
