Price of Homecare in Jersey Likely to Reach £40 Per Hour

Following the publication of the new Minimum Price for Homecare in England by The Homecare Association, the Jersey Care Federation (JCF) has estimated that the price of care in Jersey will rise to at least £39.80 per hour by 2024 without accounting for inflation.

Published annually, the Homecare Association’s ‘Minimum Price’ is widely recognised within the social care and health sectors and by the UK government for strategy and funding purposes. From April 2023, the Homecare Association calculates that the Minimum Price for Homecare in the UK, based on the current Competitive Labour Market, is now £31.56 per hour due to the increase in carer wages, current inflation, the price of fuel, and rising rents, rates and utilities. 

Jersey care providers currently pay approximately 30% more in staff wages than the UK and also have to contend with a much higher cost of living in terms of basics such as rent, food and other services. On this basis, the JCF has calculated that the price of care will soon reach at least £39.80 across the island, and that is without considering possible further inflation. Details of these estimates can be found here.

Cheryl Kenealy, Chairperson for the JCF, commented:

‘We have been highlighting the spiralling price of Homecare for some time now, and while it comes as no surprise, we do hope that these new figures demonstrate the seriousness of the issue. While many factors driving up costs are not within our control, there are several measures which would ease the situation, in particular providing support for overseas recruitment, which is something the UK and many other governments are now providing in the form of grants to their private care sectors.

We would also like to see investment in tools, facilities and processes, for example a collaborative island-wide procurement strategy for things like PPE, which would allow the care providers to keep their costs lower.

The JCF is now working on figures to accurately estimate the price of care in Care Homes, as some of the cost drivers are different, but we anticipate those rates will also sharply increase.’