Senior care assistant jobs and recruitment
A senior care assistant, often called a senior carer or team leader, runs the care team on a shift in a residential home. They give medicines, update care plans, deal with visitors and professionals, and make the calls when something changes.
We place seniors in temporary cover and permanent posts, and look closely at their medicines training and leadership experience before we do.
Register for senior care work Send a senior care assistant vacancy
The senior care assistant role at a glance
- Duties
- Leading the shift, medication rounds, care plan reviews, handover, supporting care assistants, and contact with GPs, district nurses and families.
- Shifts
- Earlies, lates, long days and waking nights, often as the senior in charge.
- Checks
- All care assistant checks, plus medicines training and competency records and references that cover leading a shift.
- Pay basis
- Hourly, usually above the care assistant rate for the same service.
- Qualifications
- In England, often the Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care; registration in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
What a senior care assistant does
The senior is the person the care team turns to during a shift. They allocate the work, give medicines on the medication round, check that care notes are complete, and speak to GPs, pharmacists and families.
In a residential home without nurses, the senior is often in charge of the building on nights. That means handling falls, deciding when to call 111 or 999, and keeping everyone else calm while they do it.
Qualifications for senior care assistants in each nation
Seniors usually need more training than care assistants, above all in medicines. The formal requirements differ by nation:
- England
- Services often ask for the Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care, plus medicines training and a competency assessment by the home.
- Scotland
- SSSC registration for the role, with its qualification condition, usually at SCQF level 6 or 7.
- Wales
- Social Care Wales registration and a Level 3 Health and Social Care Practice qualification for more senior practice roles.
- Northern Ireland
- NISCC registration. Services set their own training requirements for senior roles, especially for medicines.
Checks we run for senior care assistants
On top of everything we check for care assistants, for seniors we confirm:
- medicines training, with the date of the last competency assessment and who carried it out
- references that speak to leading a shift and handling emergencies
- experience of care planning and the record systems they have used
- registration with the SSSC, Social Care Wales or NISCC where the nation requires it
Shifts senior care assistants usually cover
Every shift in a care home needs someone in charge, so seniors work the full pattern. Night seniors are often the most senior person in the building.
- Early to or
- Late to
- Long day to
- Waking night or to or
How senior care assistant pay is set
Seniors are usually paid by the hour at a higher rate than care assistants in the same service. We tell you the rate for each shift before you accept it.
The legal floor for all workers aged 21 and over is the National Living Wage, £12.71 an hour from 1 April 2026 according to GOV.UK. Senior rates sit above it.
Where senior care assistants work
Seniors lead shifts in residential care homes, support nurses in nursing homes and run respite units.
- 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.
- Respite and day services Short breaks for people and their carers, and daytime support and activities.
Questions about senior care work
Can I give medication through an agency?
Yes, if you have up-to-date medicines training and the home assesses you as competent under its own medicines policy. We tell the home about your training before you arrive.
I’ve been a care assistant for years. Can I work as a senior?
Talk to us about your experience. If you have led shifts, given medicines and have the training to show it, we can put you forward for senior shifts.
Register for senior care work
Send us your details, including your medicines training, or phone the office.