Personal Assistant jobs
Personal assistants (PAs) are employed directly by the person they support — usually through direct payments — to help with everyday life, on that person's terms.
Personal Assistant jobs by location
- London
- Birmingham
- Manchester
- Leeds
- Liverpool
- Sheffield
- Bristol
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Nottingham
- Leicester
- Coventry
- Bradford
- Southampton
- Portsmouth
- Plymouth
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Wolverhampton
- Derby
- Hull
- Reading
- Brighton
- Norwich
- Milton Keynes
- Northampton
- Preston
- Bolton
- Sunderland
- York
- Oxford
- Cambridge
- Exeter
- Ipswich
- Peterborough
- Cardiff
- Swansea
- Glasgow
- Edinburgh
- Aberdeen
- Belfast
- Kent
- Essex
- Surrey
Where personal assistant roles can lead
Personal assistants (direct payments)
Working directly for one person — or their family — who employs you with a direct payment or personal budget. Flexible, one-to-one and on their terms.
- 1
Personal Assistant
You're looking at thisOne-to-one support at home and out and about, organised around the person you work for.
- No qualifications needed to start
- Training varies — some employers fund the Care Certificate
See jobs for personal assistantAverage pay
£13.79 an hour
Direct payments
- 2
Lead PA
Often after 1–2 years
Coordinates a small team of PAs supporting one person, including rotas and handovers.
- Experience as a PA
- Level 2–3 Diploma in Adult Care helps
Pay for this step isn't published separately.
See jobs for lead pa - 3
Support Worker / Team Leader
Many PAs move into regulated services for more structure, training and progression.
- Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care
See jobs for support workerAverage pay
£12.67 an hour
Independent sector · £14.22 an hour in councils
About these pay figures
Pay is the average for each role from Skills for Care's The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026 (published October 2026; data 2025/26, with independent-sector pay as at March 2026). Yearly figures are full-time (37 hours a week). Since 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over, so hourly pay today should be at least that. Pay within a role rises little with experience (about 12p an hour more after five years). Moving up a step is where it usually increases. Routes and qualifications vary by employer.