Kitchen and domestic staff for care homes
A care home cannot run without its cooks, kitchen assistants, housekeepers and laundry staff. Good food and a clean, well-run home matter to residents as much as anything else, and ancillary staff often know them well.
We supply and recruit kitchen and domestic staff for care homes, nursing homes, children’s homes and respite services.
Register for kitchen or domestic work Send a kitchen or domestic vacancy
Kitchen and domestic roles at a glance
- Duties
- Cooks: menus, special diets and textures, food safety records. Kitchen assistants: preparation and cleaning. Housekeepers and laundry: cleaning, infection control and laundry.
- Shifts
- Mostly daytime shifts, with early starts for breakfast and late finishes for supper.
- Checks
- Identity and right to work, the criminal record check the service asks for, references, and food hygiene training for kitchen staff.
- Pay basis
- Hourly. The legal floor is the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over.
- Qualifications
- Food hygiene certificates for kitchen staff, and experience of modified diets for cooks.
What kitchen and domestic staff do in care
Care home cooks plan menus around residents’ preferences and needs, including diabetic diets and texture-modified food for people with swallowing difficulties. They keep food safety records and allergen information up to date.
Housekeepers and laundry staff keep the home clean and safe, following infection prevention procedures, and make sure each resident’s clothes come back to the right room.
What services look for in each nation
Ancillary roles are not registered with the care workforce regulators in the way care roles are. Services usually look for:
- England
- Food hygiene training at the level the role needs, and experience of cooking for people with modified diets.
- Scotland
- Food hygiene training, and PVG scheme membership if the post counts as a regulated role.
- Wales
- Food hygiene training and the service’s own induction.
- Northern Ireland
- Food hygiene training and the service’s own induction.
Checks we run for kitchen and domestic staff
Kitchen and domestic staff work in the same building as the people the service supports, so we check them carefully too:
- identity and right to work in the UK
- the criminal record check the service’s safer recruitment policy asks for
- two references, including the most recent employer
- food hygiene training for kitchen roles, and infection prevention training for housekeeping and laundry
Shifts kitchen and domestic staff usually cover
Kitchens start early for breakfast and finish after the evening meal. Housekeeping and laundry mostly work daytime hours.
- Early to or
- Late to
- Day to
How kitchen and domestic pay is set
Kitchen and domestic staff are paid by the hour. We tell you the rate before you accept a shift or a job.
No one can be paid less than the legal minimum. From 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour, according to GOV.UK.
Where kitchen and domestic staff work
Any service with its own kitchen or laundry needs these roles covered.
- Care homes Residential homes where people live with care and support around the clock.
- Nursing homes Care homes that provide nursing care, with registered nurses on the rota day and night.
- Children’s homes Residential homes for children and young people who cannot live with their families.
- Respite and day services Short breaks for people and their carers, and daytime support and activities.
Questions about kitchen and domestic work in care
Can you cover our cook for a week of annual leave?
Yes, where we have a cook free for the dates. Tell us about your menus and any modified diets, and we offer a cook with the right experience.
Is kitchen work a good way into care?
It can be. You get to know a care service and the people who live there, and some people later move into care assistant roles with training.
Kitchen and domestic cover
Call the office or send your details or your vacancy in writing.