New sleep-in rate for personal assistants in social care in Sheffield approved

Sheffield City Council’s adult health and social care policy committee has today accepted a proposal that will increase the so-called sleep-in rate for social carers who need to spend the night at their clients across the city.

As the Local Democracry Reporting Service (LDRS) reported last week, these are shifts where workers are required to sleep at the residence overnight with the possibility of waking to provide care up to three times a night or up to an hour’s worth of support.

The new “sleep-in rate” for individual employers to pay their personal assistants (PAs) will be set at £77.95 for an eight-hour shift.

Cllr Angela Argenzio, the chair of the committee, asked for an explanation of why the council was proposing an increase.

Catherine Bunten from Sheffield City Council said the proposed increase in the sleep-in rate for personal assistants in Sheffield “aligns with the sleep-in rate that we have around supported living”.

She said: “Some people who are employed by people with personal budgets provide care to their own support plans and some people will have care that requires their PAs to be awake at night and that has a rate attached to it.

“Other people just need somebody in the house while they are able to sleep.”

The increase was approved unanimously by the committee.