Housing support workers for supported housing and floating support
Housing support helps people keep their home and manage day to day: paying the bills, dealing with letters, getting to appointments and staying safe. It can be based in supported housing, or it can be floating support that visits people in their own homes.
We recruit housing support workers, seniors and team leaders for housing associations, charities and support providers.
How housing support is regulated
In Scotland, housing support is a care service in its own right, registered with the Care Inspectorate, and the staff must register with the SSSC. In England, the CQC registers personal care, so it becomes involved only where a housing support service also gives personal care. In Wales and Northern Ireland, a service that gives care and support in people’s homes registers with Care Inspectorate Wales as a domiciliary support service or with RQIA as a domiciliary care agency.
- England
- Care Quality Commission, only where the service also provides personal care.
- Scotland
- Care Inspectorate, as a housing support service.
- Wales
- Care Inspectorate Wales, where the service provides domiciliary support.
- Northern Ireland
- RQIA, where the service is a domiciliary care agency.
Housing support cover at a glance
What we usually agree with a housing support service before the first shift.
- Duties
- Support plans, help with benefits and bills, tenancy matters, budgeting, cooking and cleaning skills, appointments, and links with other services.
- Shifts
- Mostly daytime and evening hours, with sleep-ins or waking nights in some supported housing.
- Checks
- The adults’ criminal record check for the nation, references, and a driving licence for floating support that covers a wide patch.
- Pay basis
- Hourly for temporary cover. Salaried for permanent posts.
- Qualifications
- In Scotland, SSSC registration within six months of starting. Elsewhere, services usually look for experience of housing or support work and a relevant qualification.
Roles housing support services usually need
Housing support workers do most of the work, with seniors or team leaders who hold the more complex cases.
- Housing support worker Helps people keep their tenancy and manage day to day, in supported housing or at home.
- Support worker Helps people live independently in supported living, and learning disability and mental health services.
- Senior support worker Leads a support team on shift, guides colleagues and keeps support plans current.
- Social worker Registered social workers for assessment, care planning and review in social care services.
- Deputy manager Second in charge of a care service, leading the team when the manager is not there.
Checks for housing support staff
Housing support workers often visit alone and deal with people’s money and paperwork. On top of our standard screening we confirm:
- the right criminal record check for work with adults, including the adults’ barred list where the work counts as regulated activity
- SSSC registration, or the date the worker started so registration can be completed in time, for services in Scotland
- a driving licence and insurance that covers driving for work, for floating support
- experience of the groups the service supports, such as people leaving homelessness, young people or people recovering from addiction
Housing support shift patterns
Most housing support happens during the day and early evening, when offices, landlords and appointments are open. Some supported housing adds a sleep-in or a waking night.
- Day to
- Late to
- Sleep-in to A worker sleeps at the service and gets up if someone needs help. The service sets the hours and says what happens if the night is disturbed.
- Waking night or to or
Temporary cover and permanent hiring for housing support
Temporary cover
Tell us about the caseload or the building, the area the worker will cover and whether they need to drive. For floating support we try to keep one worker with the same caseload for the whole booking.
Permanent hiring
For permanent posts we look for organised people who are persistent on the phone with a benefits office and patient in someone’s kitchen. We check driving details and, in Scotland, registration early.
Questions from housing support managers
Do housing support workers in Scotland need to be registered?
Yes. Housing support is a registered care service in Scotland, and staff must register with the SSSC, usually within six months of starting. We check where each worker is with their registration before we offer them.
Can your workers cover a floating support caseload across a rural area?
Yes, if they drive. Tell us the area and the number of visits, and we offer drivers with insurance that covers driving for work.
Do you place staff in hostels and homeless services?
Yes. Tell us about the building and the people who live there, and we offer workers with experience of similar services.
Staff for your housing support service
Call to talk about the caseload or the building, or send the vacancy in writing.