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Support for the Person Doing the Caring
Millions of husbands, wives, daughters and sons quietly become carers without ever using the word. There's real support for you too — money, rights, and rest — and asking for it isn't giving up.
If you regularly help someone with everyday life — washing, medication, meals, keeping them safe, keeping them company — you're a carer, whether or not it feels like a title. Carers who get support last longer, stay healthier, and care better. Here's what exists.
Carer's Allowance (2026/27)
£86.45 a week if you care for someone for 35+ hours a week and they receive a qualifying benefit (such as Attendance Allowance). You can work alongside it, but net earnings must be £204 a week or less after tax, National Insurance and expenses. It's a cliff edge: a pound over loses the whole week's allowance.
One honest wrinkle: if you already receive a full State Pension, Carer's Allowance usually can't be paid on top — but establishing the "underlying entitlement" can still increase Pension Credit, so it's often worth claiming anyway.
What You're Entitled To
- A carer's assessment — your own, free, from the council, looking at the impact caring has on your life. Ask when requesting the needs assessment, or any time after.
- Respite and breaks — from a few hours a week to a proper holiday, arranged through the council following a carer's assessment, or privately. Our own respite care exists for exactly this.
- Flexible working requests — employees have a legal right to request flexible working from day one of a job, and unpaid carer's leave (up to a week a year) is now a statutory right.
- Someone to talk to who gets it — the local carer organisations below run advice lines, support groups and events, free.
Local Support, Free to Use
- Brighton & Hove: Carers Hub Brighton & Hove — 01273 977 000 — and The Carers Centre — 01273 746 222. No referral needed for either.
- Worthing and West Sussex: Carers Support West Sussex — 0300 028 8888 — advice, groups, breaks and one-to-one support across the county.
The thing families tell us most often: they wish they'd accepted help sooner. A few hours of professional care a week isn't replacing you — it's what makes it possible to keep being a daughter, husband or friend as well as a carer.
Figures are 2026/27 rates, checked against GOV.UK and Carers UK in July 2026. Rates and earnings limits change each April — always confirm current amounts. This guide is general information, not financial advice.
Could you use a breather?
From a weekly companionship visit to full respite cover, we help family carers rest without worry — and we'll never pressure you into more than you need.