About the role
Overnight cover in residential, supported living and children’s services, on either waking nights or sleep-ins.
These are the criteria providers across the UK typically set for this role, so you can judge your own fit before you apply anywhere. Individual services vary — any role we put you forward for will have its own criteria, pay and rota, and we confirm those with the provider first.
What the role usually involves
- Keep people safe overnight through checks, personal care, repositioning and responding to anyone awake or distressed
- Handle incidents and out-of-hours calls with the on-call manager
- Complete the tasks the day team depends on — laundry, cleaning, stock and paperwork — without cutting into support time
- Give a clear handover in the morning of anything that happened
- Follow night-specific risk assessments and lone-working procedures
Typical criteria
- Genuine reliability — a missed night shift leaves a service uncovered
- Ability to work alone or in a small team and decide before the on-call answers
- Comfort with personal care and medication where the service requires it
- Understanding of the difference between a waking night and a sleep-in, and what each is paid
- A sleep pattern that stands up to permanent nights rather than the occasional one
Often asked for as well
Not usually dealbreakers, but they widen the range of services that will consider you.
- Previous night experience in a care setting
- First aid, epilepsy or PEG training
- Availability for a fixed night rota rather than ad-hoc cover
Hours and pay
Waking nights of 8–12 hours, or sleep-ins with a paid disturbance rate. Regular night rotas are easier to get than occasional cover.
Sleep-ins are usually a flat £60–£90 per night plus any hours you are woken for. The total still has to meet National Minimum Wage across your working time, and we will walk you through how a rota actually adds up before you accept it.
Checks and eligibility
- An enhanced DBS check on the relevant barred list, or a current one on the update service we can check
- The right to work in the UK — we are not a licensed sponsor, so we cannot offer visa sponsorship or take over an existing certificate
- A full employment history with references covering it, including one from your most recent care employer
- Proof of identity and address, plus evidence of any qualification or professional registration the role depends on