Devon County Council wants to promote a choice of adult social care options. They recognise that larger companies and services, for example care homes or domiciliary care agencies may not be the right fit for everyone. For some, a Microprovider or PA may be preferable to more traditional or ‘regulated’ options. When appropriate, this can enable individuals and their families to take more control of their care and support and make their own arrangements.
Microprovider or PA?
Names and terms for care and support have changed over time. There are many terms that exist which can sometimes be used interchangeably; ‘private/paid carer’, ‘PA’, ‘microprovider’, ‘home-help’ etc are all used in different situations.
- Microprovider is a relatively new term but in in almost all cases this is a self-employed person or small enterprise offering flexible and person-centred services or support at fair prices. It is small, always independent and focussed on local people helping other local people.
- PA (personal assistant) is a term that has been used for many years but may refer to an employed OR self-employed person.
Both terms that are used to describe people who provide care and support for someone who needs social care, either because of their age, disability or health needs, to enable them to live as independently as possible. This could include helping with things like washing and dressing but could also include other tasks like shopping, domestic help, support to access community resources like the library as well as community activities and leisure facilities.
Engage or employ?
For clarity, PAs or Microproviders are not employed by Devon County Council. They will either be self-employed or employed by an individual who requires support.
The employment status of someone providing care and support is not a matter of choice for that provider or carer, it is determined by ‘the particular terms and conditions under which a person works’. Detailed information about employment status can be found on GOV.UK should you wish to read it, or can be checked using the HMRC tool Check employment status for tax.
Generally speaking, the employed or self-employed situation can usually be summarised as follows:
Microprovider or PA (self-employed)
- Sole trader (individual) or small business with between 1- 8 staff
- Has to market their own services and attract customers (proactive)
- Provides own contract and plan to deliver services
- Responsible for own procedures, insurance, skills and business sustainability
- Pays own tax and National Insurance
- Responsible for quality of service delivered
- Sets own rates and charges
PA (employed)
- Employee
- Responds to an advert and is recruited (reactive)
- Has a contract of employment and employment rights
- Employer is responsible for training, procedures and insurance
- Employer pays employees tax and national insurance
- Employer responsible for work of employee
- Employer sets rates of pay
Which is better for me?
This will depend on a number of factors and there is no ‘right or wrong’ choice here.
Engaging a Microprovider or PA (self-employed carer or enabler)
If you want to have choice and control over your care and support, but are not keen on taking on the responsibilities of being an employer you could engage or contract with a Microprovider or self-employed PA.
Self-employed PAs run their own small businesses and take responsibility for its success or failure. They offer an agreed set of services in exchange for a fee. If you want to engage or contract with a self-employed Microprovider or PA, they should send you a quote for their services, state when they are able to work and supply any equipment needed for work. They will send you an invoice to take payment after they have carried out work. They’re also responsible for making their own tax and National Insurance contributions.
Employing a PA
For other people with social care and/or health needs who wish to exercise a different degree of control over the care and support they require, then directly employing a PA (or a number of PAs) can be a good option.
Being responsible for recruiting, paying tax and National Insurance, acknowledging pension rights, complying with employment law, knowing about health and safety, supervising and training your PAs can sound daunting for many which is why support is available. Most individuals want to focus on recruiting the right person or people and less on the ‘admin’ side of things. This is almost always possible by using an independent organisation such as Disability Focus who can help with financial administration or payroll services.
Disability Focus are based in Devon and work with a whole range of people including older people or those with complex health needs as well as people with disabilities. They specialise in offering these services. If you would like chat to someone in person they can talk through options with you over the phone 01803 867968.
Should you wish to employ a PA yourself, without any external support, you may wish to seek advice from the Skills for Care website that provides good information for Individual Employers.
How do I know if the PA or Microprovider can meet my needs, and has the right credentials?
Whether engaging or employing an individual to provide support, it is the responsibility of the person receiving it (or their representative) to check the credentials of the person offering it and be satisfied that they are competent and capable to carry out the tasks required.
See our FAQs for more information and guidance about employing or engaging a PA
Are they qualified?
There is no local or national body that ‘approves’ or ‘checks’ self-employed providers of social care and support or PAs. A Microprovider or PA may have qualifications gained in previous roles or as part of their professional background but, as a self-employed individual, the emphasis is on them, as a provider, to demonstrate their competence and working practice to the person who requires support. It is then up to the person (or people seeking the support) to make their own judgement about whether this person can meet their needs.
Advice about how to check a self-employed microprovider (as a person needing support) is available, or see our Self-directed support – a brief overview guidance.
Care Quality Commission
The CQC are the government body that oversee health & social care in England. They define which services and activities need to register with them and will inspect those who are registered to ensure they meet standards.
Generally speaking, Microproviders and PAs will not usually need to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), unless they provide a ‘regulated’ service – as defined the CQC, but the responsibility for checking their own legality rests with them, not you. They are able to check this here Scope of registration.
Health Funding
PAs can be employed by individuals who receive NHS funding via a personal health budget, and who require support meeting their health and wellbeing needs.
Individuals funded by NHS Devon Integrated Care Partnership via a Personal Health Budget are generally required to engage Personal Assistants under an employed status rather than on a self-employed basis. Requests for self-employed Personal Assistants/Micros are considered by NHS Devon ICB on a case-by-case basis, in line with the PHB policy. The policy outlines key factors taken into account, including:
- the training and skills of the Personal Assistant to undertake care tasks
- the Personal Assistant’s right to work in the UK
- HMRC registration confirming self-employed status
- an enhanced DBS check.
If you receive funding from NHS Devon ICB (personal health budget), Plymouth City Council, or Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, please ensure you contact them with any queries and adhere to their individual terms and conditions.
- NHS Devon ICB: All Age Continuing Care – One Devon
- Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust: NHS Continuing Healthcare
- Plymouth City Council: Adult care and support
Do you need help finding a PA?
Are you looking to find a PA or Microprovider to support you, or a family member or friend at home?
We have created an online ‘PA shout out’ form that will support you with this process. The form is quick and easy to complete, it will ask you what type of care or support you are looking for, in which area of Devon and what skills or qualities are required for the position.
Once you have submitted this information, an anonymised advert will be created on your behalf and will be automatically sent out to PAs and Microproviders who have submitted their contact details to us. Those who are interested in your advert will respond direct to the contact details that you have submitted.
Alternatively you can browse self-employed Microproviders listed on the following directory Devon | Small Good Stuff.
You can also download a spreadsheet file of personal assistants in Devon – once opened, you may want to search within the files by area or name. Please note: these PAs were previously listed on the Pinpoint (PA Network) website which was decommissioned on 1 January 2024. We appreciate this is not ideal, and are evolving our approach to providing this information.
If you have local community services or local networks they may often be able to signpost you to people who offer PA / Microprovider services. This will vary from one area to the next but local knowledge, especially in rural areas can be very useful.
See our FAQs for more information and guidance about employing or engaging a PA.