A break for family carers: how a weekly companionship visit works as respite, and what you are entitled to

A weekly companionship visit is the simplest form of respite there is: the same trusted person takes over for two hours at a fixed time, takes your relative out or keeps them company at home, and you get a predictable break you can plan around. Under the Care Act 2014, every unpaid carer in England is entitled to a carer's assessment from their council, regardless of income or how much care they give, and it can lead to support for the carer in their own right. Carer's Allowance is £86.45 a week in 2026/27 for people caring 35 hours or more a week who earn no more than £204 a week after deductions.

The problem with respite as it is usually offered

Most respite is either a lot at once or none at all. A week in a care home while you go away is a big step, expensive, and often resisted by the person you care for. A day centre is somewhere they have to be taken to and collected from. Emergency respite exists for when you are ill. What most carers actually need is smaller and more regular: two hours every Tuesday afternoon that are reliably theirs.

That is what a weekly companionship visit is. The same person arrives at the same time, takes your relative to the garden centre or the library, or sits with them over the crossword and a proper cup of tea, and you go and do whatever you have not been able to do. It is respite in the ordinary sense of the word, without anyone having to call it that.

What a companion does, and does not do, in those two hours

A companion keeps your relative company, takes them out, does the shopping with them, makes a meal and eats it with them, helps with the small jobs around the house, and writes you a note afterwards about how they were. A companion can remind someone to take medication but never administers it.

A companion does not provide personal care. If your relative needs physical help with washing, dressing, eating or using the toilet during the visit, that is personal care under the 2014 Regulations and must be provided by an agency registered with the CQC. For many carers that is not a problem: the personal care happens in the morning and evening, and the two hours in between are exactly where a companion fits.

Your own entitlement: the carer's assessment

Section 10 of the Care Act 2014 places a duty on the council to assess any carer who appears to have needs for support. The assessment is about you, not the person you care for: your health, your work, your wish to keep caring, and what would make it sustainable. There is no income test to be assessed, and it does not matter how many hours you provide.

Ask your council's adult social care team for a carer's assessment directly. In Greater Manchester each of the ten councils runs its own; most also fund a carers' centre that will help you prepare for it. Bring a list of what a normal week looks like and what gives way when it goes wrong. The outcome can include support for you in your own right, sometimes as a direct payment, and it is the assessment, rather than any benefit, that opens that door.

Carer's Allowance in 2026/27

Carer's Allowance is paid to people who spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone who receives a qualifying benefit, including Attendance Allowance at either rate. For 2026/27 it is £86.45 a week, and the carer can earn up to £204 a week after deductions and still qualify.

Two cautions. Carer's Allowance is taxable, and a claim can affect the means-tested benefits of the person you care for, so check with Age UK or Citizens Advice before you apply. And it is a benefit for the carer, not a payment for care: it is yours to spend as you choose, which for many carers means paying for the break itself.

Paying for the break

At Whitegreen's published price a two-hour weekday visit is £54, which is £27 an hour, with no minimum term, no deposit and one week's notice either way. Evenings and weekends are 25% more. If the person you care for receives Attendance Allowance, the lower rate of £76.70 a week covers a weekly visit on its own.

Setting it up so it actually works

• Fix the day and time and keep them. A break you cannot plan around is not a break.
• Meet the companion first, both of you, at home, before the first visit. It should cost nothing.
• Ask who the backup is and meet them too within the first month.
• Tell the companion what a good two hours looks like for your relative, and what to avoid. The best visits are built from what someone used to enjoy.
• Read the note after each visit. It is how you stay in the loop without being in the room.
• Use the time on yourself. Sleep, a swim, a friend, an appointment of your own. Carers who never stop are the ones who eventually cannot continue.

Common questions

What is a sitting service?

An older term for what a companionship visit does: someone reliable stays with your relative so that you can go out. The difference with a companionship service is that the visit is built around the person, not the gap, so it is a proper outing or a real conversation rather than someone sitting in the corner.

Am I entitled to a carer's assessment?

Yes. Section 10 of the Care Act 2014 requires the council to assess any carer who appears to have needs for support, whatever their income and however much care they provide. You can ask for one directly.

Can Carer's Allowance and Attendance Allowance be claimed together?

They are for different people: Attendance Allowance for the person being cared for, Carer's Allowance for the carer. Both can be in payment at once, but a Carer's Allowance claim can affect the cared-for person's means-tested benefits, so check first.

Does the person I care for have to be present for the meet-and-greet?

Yes, and so should you. The point is that both of you meet the companion before the first visit, and that you know who the backup is.

Sources

Every figure above comes from one of these. If one has moved or changed, tell us and we will correct the guide.

1. Care Act 2014, section 10, assessment of a carer's needs for support
2. Department for Work and Pensions, Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027
3. GOV.UK, Carer's Allowance
4. GOV.UK, Attendance Allowance, what you'll get