Financial support for unpaid carers

About support available for unpaid carers

Financial benefits may be available to you if you provide unpaid care to a relative or friend with a serious disability, or long‑term health condition that requires regular daily care.

Caring for others is a vital part of our community. Jersey’s support services are here to recognise and value your role. Our goal is to promote independence and ensure that you have the support you need.

Dedicated Carers Advisor

Our dedicated Carers Advisor can help you understand the financial support you may be entitled to. This includes:

reviewing your situation to find the benefits you might be able to get
clearly explaining what you need to qualify for support
ensuring you receive all the support and benefits available
answering any questions you may have about your role as a carer

You can contact the Carers Advisor by:

phone on +44 (0) 1534 444480
email at carerssupport@gov.je
visiting us at the Government building on Union St, St Helier, Jersey JE2 3DN

Home Carer’s Allowance (HCA)

HCA supports you if you have to stop working or reduce your working hours a lot because you care for someone.

HCA is part of the Social Security contributory system. Contributions are required, but your financial situation doesn’t affect your entitlement.

HCA is available if you:

are an unpaid carer of working age
spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone who requires a very high level of personal care

If you are receiving HCA, the following applies:

you can still have paid employment for a maximum of 15 hours a week
your social security contributions are covered through contributions credits

To apply, the carer and the person with care needs will need to be assessed. The carer must be below pension age and have a contribution record. You will need to complete a Home Carer’s form.

To get a copy of the Home Carer's form, contact Employment Social Security and Housing (ESSH) by:

phone on +44 (0) 1534 444444
email at hca@gov.je
visiting us at the Government building on Union St, St Helier, Jersey JE2 3DN

For more details about eligibility and how the scheme works, visit Home Carer's Allowance.

Long-Term Care Scheme (LTC)

This scheme helps cover the costs of long-term care needs for adults aged 18 and over. Care can be given by a care agency or carer that is registered with the Jersey Care Commission, in either:

a registered care home
someone’s own home

The financial support available depends on the level of care someone needs. The level of care needs assessment is done by a professional health care coordinator, in Health and Care Jersey (HCJ).

If the person you care for receives care at home, HCJ will create an individual approved care package that reflects:

their care needs
your family’s circumstances
the unpaid care you provide
the need for regular respite breaks for you

The weekly LTC benefit is set according to the approved care package, up to a maximum value for each LTC care level.

Within the maximum value available per LTC care level, the LTC benefit can cover:

weekly amount to cover care costs
other expenses related to care needs, such as fuel costs for therapeutic car journeys
a contribution towards regular respite breaks to give you time to rest and recharge

Respite for unpaid carers

If you provide unpaid care as part of an approved care package, the weekly benefit can include funding for respite costs. The funding builds up from week to week to give you an amount that allows you to get a complete break from your caring duties, from time to time. It gives you the flexibility to arrange for a longer respite break at a time that suits you. The respite budget is never lost. The team in ESSH provide updates on how much is available for you to use.

As an example, if out-of-home respite isn’t available, respite care could take place in the home, and your break could be a hotel stay.

How to arrange an assessment of care needs

To arrange an assessment of care needs with HCJ, you’ll need to contact the Single Point of Referral (SPOR) team. They will gather information from you as part of the process. They will then work directly with the relevant team in HCJ.

Once the assessment is finished, it will show if the person you care for qualifies for LTC.

If they do qualify for LTC, and permission is given, then HCJ will send the details to the ESSH Long-Term Care Team. They will then get in touch with you to discuss the Long-Term Care benefit and how the scheme works.

For more details about eligibility, how the scheme works and to apply, visit our Long-Term Care scheme page.

You can contact SPOR by:

phone on +44 (0) 1534 444440
email at SPOR@health.gov.je

If you have any questions about the Long-Term Care scheme, you can contact the LTC team in ESSH by:

phone on +44 (0) 1534 444444
email at longtermcare@gov.je
visiting us at the Government building on Union St, St Helier, Jersey JE2 3DN

Find a list of approved care providers on the Jersey Care Commission website.

Support offered by CYPES for children with additional care needs

If your child is under 18 year of age, the Social workers from CYPES will assess their care needs. This is done to understand their needs and to determine the most suitable support or actions needed.

Completing the assessment will help develop the care package to promote your child’s:

health
wellbeing
daily living needs

To find out more about the help you may be entitled to, contact the Children and Family Hub directly by:

phone on +44 (0) 01534 519000
email at childrenandfamilieshub@gov.je
completing our request for advice form

Request advice from the Children and Families Hub

Child Personal Care Allowance (CPC)

If your child is under 18 and has a long-term health condition or disability, you may be able to receive Child Personal Care Payments (CPC). CPC payments may be available to the family to provide extra financial support.

Your child will need to be assessed against the CPC care levels. The benefit is not means tested and is paid at 2 standard levels, depending on your child’s care needs.

For more details on how the benefit works, and how to apply, visit Support for children with severe long-term illnesses or disabilities (Child Personal Care benefit).

To apply, contact the ESSH team directly by:

phone on +44 (0) 1534 444444
email at customerservice@gov.je
visiting us at the Government building on Union Street

Find a full care directly on the Jersey Care Commission website.

Income Support (IS)

If your household has a low income, you may qualify for Income Support which helps with everyday living and housing costs.

It’s a household benefit, so everyone in your household will need to provide information as part of the application. We will assess the:

size of your household
needs of your household
total income coming in to your household

Weekly payments top up your income to cover basic living costs, however the amount you get depends on your situation.

If your household includes an unpaid carer, an extra allowance is provided for the carer as part of the overall Income Support weekly benefit. The carer will also receive a Christmas Bonus payment in December.

For more details about eligibility and how the scheme works, visit Income Support.

For more information, you can contact the ESSH team by:

phone on +44 (0) 1534 444444
visiting us at Government building on Union St, St Helier, Jersey JE2 3DN

Home Responsibility Protection (HRP)

HRP supports all parents who stay at home to care for their young children. The child does not need to have additional health care needs.

HRP protects your Social Security pension record, and it also maintains your contribution record for HCA purposes, if you:

stay at home to care for a child under school age
work 20 hours or less per week

A young child who has additional care needs due to a long-term health condition or disability will not meet the care needs test for a parent to receive HCA until the child is typically between 1 and 3 years old.

For more details about how the scheme works, your eligibility and how to apply visit Contribution credits for parents working 20 hours or less: Home Responsibility Protection (HRP).

For more information, you can contact the team by:

phone on +44 (0) 1534 444444
email at sscontributions@gov.je
visiting us the Government building on Union St, St Helier, Jersey JE2 3DN

Contact us

If you have any questions about being a carer, you can contact the Carers Advisor by email at carerssupport@gov.je or by phone on +44 (0) 1534 444480.