PEOPLE who pride themselves on being caring and compassionate are being offered the ultimate work from home opportunity – getting paid to look after someone in their own home.

Shared Lives Plus is creating more than 160 jobs across the UK, with an immediate start. In most cases, no previous experience is needed, as continuous training and support are provided.

The new roles are the ‘ultimate lockdown job opportunity’: people provide innovative Shared Lives support in their own home – on either a long-term, respite or day-support basis.

Open roles are located all over the UK, however, the areas with the most open roles are – Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Birmingham and the Black Country and the whole of the South West.

Alex Fox, CEO of Shared Lives Plus, the UK membership charity for Shared Lives carers and shared living services, said:

“The social care sector has faced extraordinary pressures during the COVID-19 pandemic, on an already creaking, under-funded system, and this will likely continue in future.

“These new roles are the perfect opportunity for those looking for a more flexible career or looking for a new challenge. We’ve got everyone from retired nurses, to ex-policemen, to people who were previously working in retail, garage owners and even a pro-wrestler! We’re urging people to apply, even if they don’t come from a ‘traditionally caring’ background – the number of transferable skills you have will surprise you!”

Becoming a Shared Live carer comes with a stable income of up to £600 a week per person supported. This includes £10k tax-free and £6k tax-free for each person supported (up to a max of three people). Carers are self-employed, so there are no zero-hours contracts, enabling them to work the role around their family and life commitments.

People who visit or live with Shared Lives carers range from young people leaving care, to older people, those with dementia or someone just needing short term support following hospital treatment.

The jobs announcement follows a £300,000 funding boost from the government’s Coronavirus Community Support Fund, distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund, aimed at rapid recruitment of Shared Lives carers across the UK.

Shared Lives is using the funding to develop an online recruitment and assessment website as well as fast-tracking new applicants. This reduces the need for face-to-face meetings as part of the process and will speed applications up from six months to six weeks. This will be the first time the charity’s members have adopted an online recruitment process.

10,000 Shared Lives Carers are supporting more than 15,000 adults across the UK through 140 different schemes. The sector has grown by more than 30 percent in recent years. Local Shared Lives services are fully regulated by the Care Quality Commission, which consistently rates the model as the best quality and safest form of adult social care, with 95% of all Shared Lives schemes rated as good or outstanding.

Shared Lives Carers, who come from a range of careers are carefully matched with their guests and encouraged to help them develop practical skills, build self-esteem and establish new friendships and social networks in their own neighbourhood, which creates a sense of belonging and community. Training and a support network are provided to all Shared Lives carers.

To become a Shared Lives carer, you must be over 18 years of age and don’t need specific qualifications, just the right values, commitment and of course, a spare bedroom.

To find out more about becoming a Shared Lives carer, go to: https://sharedlivesplus.org.uk/start-your-shared-life/.