Write the brief before you advertise
Two services can advertise for a senior carer and mean different jobs. One wants someone to lead a team on a busy nursing floor. The other wants someone to run medication rounds in a small residential home and cover the manager's paperwork on a Friday.
Before you advertise or brief a recruiter, write down:
- What a normal week in the role actually involves.
- The hours and the working pattern, including weekends and nights.
- Who the person reports to, and who reports to them.
- What the last person in the role found hard.
- The salary, and whether there is room to move.
- Why the role is open.
Ask about that last one early. Candidates will. If the honest answer is that three people have left in a year, it is better to know why before you start interviewing.
Setting and sharing the salary
Candidates compare. Most of the people you want are already employed, so your offer is being measured against the job they have now, not against an average.
If your salary sits below what similar services nearby pay, say so to your recruiter at the start. It may still be the right offer for your budget. It changes who you will reach and how long it takes, and it is better to plan for that than to find out six weeks in.
Put the salary in the advert where you can. If it has to be withheld, say that it is withheld rather than leaving it out and hoping nobody notices.
Where good care staff come from
An advert reaches people who are searching this week. That is a small part of the people who could do the job well. Most good care staff are employed, reasonably settled and not reading job boards.
Three routes reach them:
- Your own team. Staff know who is good in the services around you. Ask them, and tell them the salary so they know who to mention it to.
- Direct approach. A recruiter who knows the sector can speak to people in comparable roles and ask whether a move is worth a conversation.
- People who nearly joined before. Candidates you liked but lost to timing or a counter-offer are worth a call when a new role opens.
Direct approach is most of what our permanent recruitment work involves. If a role has already been open for weeks, our guide to why care vacancies stay open covers the usual causes.
Values-based interview questions for care roles
Experience tells you what someone has done. Values tell you how they will do it in your service when nobody is watching. The Local Government Association's guidance on values-based recruitment sets out the approach many care providers now use: asking candidates how they have acted in real situations, not how they would act in a hypothetical one.
Questions that work well:
- Tell me about a time you put someone's wishes ahead of the routine.
- Tell me about a time you raised a concern about a colleague's practice.
- What did you do the last time you disagreed with a care plan?
Show shortlisted people round. Let them meet the team and see a normal part of the day. Some will decide it is not for them, which saves you both a bad start.
Pre-employment checks before the start date
In England, Regulation 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and its Schedule 3 set out what a registered provider must hold before someone starts. That covers identity, a DBS check at the right level, evidence of conduct in previous care work, qualifications, a full employment history with gaps explained, and relevant health information. Right to work sits alongside it under immigration law.
The checks take longest when they start late. Begin them as soon as an offer is accepted. Our guide to pre-employment checks for care staff goes through each one.
Making the offer and handling counter-offers
Once you have decided, move quickly and put the offer in writing: salary, hours, start date, and any conditions such as satisfactory checks.
By law, an employee with more than a month's service must give at least one week's notice, but most contracts ask for more and senior roles usually ask for longer. Check the candidate's notice period before you agree a start date.
Expect a counter-offer from their current employer, especially for experienced staff. Talk about it before you make the offer. Ask what would make them stay where they are. If the answer is money alone, the move may not last.
Keeping new staff through the first three months
Skills for Care's 2025 report puts staff turnover across adult social care in England at 23.1% for 2024/25. For care workers under 25 it was 38.0%. A lot of that happens early.
What helps:
- A named colleague they can go to for the first few weeks.
- Short check-ins at the end of week one, month one and month three.
- The Care Certificate for anyone new to care, started early rather than squeezed in later.
- An honest answer when something is not how it was described at interview.
If you used a recruiter, they should stay in touch through this period too. We check in once the new person has joined, and we tell you if something comes up.
Questions
How long does it take to hire a permanent care worker?
It depends on the role, the salary and where you are. The parts that take longest are usually the candidate's notice period and the checks, so plan for both from the start rather than from the offer.
Should we put the salary in the advert?
Yes, where you can. People skip adverts without one. If the salary has to be withheld, say that it is withheld.
Can someone start before their DBS certificate arrives?
Only in exceptional circumstances. The provider would need a DBS Adult First check against the adults' barred list and proper supervision in place until the certificate arrives. CQC says Adult First should not be relied on routinely.
What should we tell a recruiter at the start?
The role, the setting, the salary or a real range, the working pattern, the start date you need and why the role is open. If you are not sure about some of it, say so. We would rather know early.
Sources
- CQC: Regulation 19, fit and proper persons employed
- CQC: Employment requirements under Regulation 19 and Schedule 3 (PDF)
- Skills for Care: The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England 2025 (executive summary, PDF)
- Local Government Association: Values-based recruitment in adult social care
- GOV.UK: Handing in your notice
- Skills for Care: DBS Adult First check (PDF)
This guide covers England unless it says otherwise. It is general information, not legal advice. We review it when the rules change and update the date above.