282 care employers in Leicester could find you

Working in care in Leicester

What is care work like in a city as compact and varied as Leicester?

Leicester is a tight, busy city. Its boundary is drawn close, with the districts of Leicestershire County on every side, so care work inside the city tends to mean short hops between neighbourhoods rather than long country drives. Home care agencies outnumber care homes here by roughly two to one, which tells you where much of the daily work happens: in people's own homes, on rounds that stay within a few miles of the centre. The Leicester Buses partnership brings the main bus companies together on one network, which helps if you don't drive, though it is still worth saying on your profile whether you do.

It is also one of the most diverse cities in England. Census figures published by the council show around three in ten residents aged three and over do not have English as their main language, with Gujarati and Panjabi among the most spoken, alongside Polish and Romanian. If you speak any of these, add them to your profile. For an older person who feels most at ease in their first language, a carer who can chat with them in it makes a real difference.

Leicester City Council's adult social care team offers direct payments, and its guidance says people can use them to employ their own personal assistant, who could be someone they know or a family member who does not live with them. So private PA work exists here alongside agency and care home roles. The council also runs a Shared Lives scheme, where people with care experience support adults in their own home for day care, short breaks or longer live-in arrangements.

If you are comparing social care with NHS healthcare assistant work, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust runs the Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester General Hospital and Glenfield Hospital. Leicester College offers a Level 2 Certificate in Preparing to Work in Adult Social Care, plus a course that pairs English language classes with a Health and Social Care certificate.

79% of the inspected care employers in Leicester are rated Good or Outstanding by the CQC, below the 82% across the East Midlands and below England as a whole (85%).