How to Hire Care Workers in Surrey.

Surrey has one of the tightest care labour markets in the South East. Care homes in Guildford, Woking, Farnham, Epsom, Camberley and Redhill compete for the same pool of care assistants, senior carers and support workers — while commuter-belt wages in retail, logistics and hospitality pull candidates away from care.

Providers that hire successfully in this market share three habits: they pay at or above the local going rate, they run a fast interview-to-offer process (days, not weeks), and they keep an international pipeline ready through the Health and Care Worker visa for roles the local market can't fill.

Before advertising, lock down four things:

• Role and SOC code. Care workers and home carers fall under SOC 6135; senior care workers under SOC 6136. The code determines visa eligibility later.
• Salary band. Benchmark against comparable roles in your town — a Guildford care home competes with different employers than a Redhill one. Pay clarity in the advert measurably lifts application quality.
• Shift pattern. Nights, weekends and rota flexibility are the top reasons care candidates decline offers. Be explicit.
• Sponsorship readiness. Decide upfront whether you'll sponsor. It shapes where you advertise and how you screen.

CQC-registered providers must evidence safe recruitment. For every care worker, you need:

• An enhanced DBS check, including a barred-list check for regulated activity.
• Full employment history with references covering gaps.
• Right-to-work verification — a share-code check for overseas nationals.
• Evidence of the Care Certificate or equivalent induction training.
• Occupational health clearance and, where relevant, professional registration.

For sponsored workers, add a valid visa, an English language certificate at CEFR B1, and your sponsor licence duties — record-keeping and reporting through the Sponsor Management System.

1. Advertise where Surrey care workers actually look. Indeed, NHS Jobs (for community and trust-adjacent roles), local Facebook care-worker groups, and town-specific job boards outperform generic national listings.
2. Run an employee referral scheme. Care teams are tightly networked across the county — a £200–£500 referral bonus is usually cheaper than a month of vacancy costs.
3. Partner with local colleges. Health and social care students in Guildford and Farnborough feed directly into care assistant roles.
4. Use a specialist recruiter. An agency with a live Surrey database delivers interview-ready shortlists within days and pre-verifies DBS status, references and right-to-work.

Gobblex recruits permanent and contract care staff across the county — see our Surrey staffing services or our Guildford headquarters.

When local sourcing can't fill the vacancy, the Health and Care Worker visa lets CQC-registered providers recruit from overseas. The sequence:

1. Apply for a sponsor licence (four to eight weeks) if you don't already hold one. You'll need to evidence genuine vacancies, HR systems and CQC registration.
2. Source and screen candidates against the visa criteria: eligible SOC code, salary at or above the applicable threshold, and CEFR B1 English.
3. Issue a Certificate of Sponsorship through the Sponsor Management System.
4. The candidate applies for the visa — fees are reduced on this route and the Immigration Health Surcharge is waived. Decisions typically take around three weeks.
5. Plan arrival and induction: flights, accommodation support, Care Certificate induction and DBS on arrival.

Our nursing and care pathway and healthcare assistant sponsorship page cover the candidate-side process in detail.

• Local hire: 2–6 weeks — advert, interviews, offer, DBS and references, notice period.
• Sponsored hire (licence held): 8–12 weeks — sourcing, CoS assignment, visa decision, travel.
• Sponsored hire (no licence yet): add 4–8 weeks for the sponsor licence application before the above.

For chronic vacancies, run both tracks in parallel — keep advertising locally while building the international pipeline, so a resignation never becomes a six-month gap.