Home care agreement template
A home care agreement sets out the terms on which a care agency provides care in a person's own home: the visit schedule, rates, who pays, cancelling visits, what each side will do, and how the agreement can end. This version covers an optional representative signing, council or private funding, a yearly index-linked fee review, the 14-day right to cancel, complaints and signatures. It is completed for each new person receiving care, with the schedule, rates and funding different each time.
Made by DocuWeave. Use at your own discretion.
What changes each time
35 values. Everything else is your wording, kept exactly.
The agency
- Agency name
- Agency address
- Agency phone
- Agency email
- CQC provider ID
- CQC location ID
- Registered manager
The person receiving care
- Person's full name
- Address
- Date of birth
- Representative's name and role
- Start date
- Assessment date
- Care plan review interval
The visits
- Days
- Visit
- Time window
- Length
- Number of carers
- Main tasks
- Late call threshold
Rates and payment
- Standard hourly rate
- Weekend hourly rate
- Bank holiday hourly rate
- Estimated weekly cost
- Who pays
- Invoice frequency
- Payment method
- Fee review date
Cancellation, notice and signatures
- Notice to cancel a visit
- Charge for late cancellation
- Notice from the person receiving care
- Name of person signing
- Provider signatory and position
- Date signed
The rules it usually needs
Written in plain English when the template is set up.
- One of several wordings
“Who pays is self-funded, council-funded, or council-funded with extra care bought privately.”
For a council-funded person who buys extra hours, the agreement states the extra hours and bills them separately.
- Once for each item
“A row in the visit schedule for each visit slot.”
Morning and evening visits were agreed, so the schedule has two rows.
- Only when…
“Include the representative section, the mileage rate, the VAT statement and the hold-visits option only if they apply.”
When a family attorney signs, their name and legal authority are shown.
- One of several wordings
“A late cancellation is charged either as a percentage of the visit or in full.”
The agreement states a charge of half the visit for less than 24 hours' notice.
- One of several wordings
“The key arrangement is either a key safe with the code given separately, or a key held by the agency and signed for.”
For a key safe, the agreement says the code is given separately.
Questions people ask
Do home care agencies in England need to be registered?
Yes. Providers of personal care in England must be registered with the Care Quality Commission, which inspects and rates them. The agreement gives the provider's registration details and where to find its rating.
Can a home care agency increase its rates?
Only as the agreement allows and in a fair way. The agreement sets a yearly review against a named index, with a worked example, and requires notice of changes.
Does a person have a right to cancel a home care agreement?
Where the agreement is made in the person's home, or by phone, email or online, the Consumer Contracts Regulations generally give 14 days to cancel. Care can start earlier only at their request, and they pay in proportion for care already given.
Who can sign for someone who cannot sign?
A person with legal authority, such as an attorney under a registered lasting power of attorney or a Court of Protection deputy. The agreement records the basis of their authority.
Can I use my own home care agreement?
Yes. Upload your own Word or PDF version and DocuWeave turns it into a template in your wording, with the same kind of rules and the same filling from paperwork.
Use this template
It opens in DocuWeave as a template you can check, change and publish. Nothing is used until you do.