Caring can be tough, so it’s important to give yourself time to rest and recharge. During a placement, we encourage you to take daily breaks.

You’re responsible for managing your own time during the day, whilst always ensuring that the client’s needs are met. When planning the day ahead, we encourage you to organise some short breaks for yourself. Legally, you’re entitled to 2 hours of break time each day, and it often works best to split this time into smaller segments (e.g. four 30 minute breaks). While Elder is not your employer, we encourage your client’s to follow relevant UK legislation and regulation pertaining to breaks.

You should always arrange breaks around the needs of your client. Depending on their medical conditions and the ability of the family to be present, this may indicate that you need to take your breaks in the presence of the care recipient.
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Unless specified otherwise in the Care Profile, your client should never be left unattended. Given this, it’s important to agree your breaks with the client and their family to ensure that someone is available to cover especially if you prefer to take your breaks off of the premises.

If there are any issues with your breaks whilst on a placement, you should discuss them with the client’s family too.