Carer Rota and Visit Schedule

Who this is for

The week on one page. Days down the side, visit slots across and a name in each; underneath, each carer's hours at the rate you agreed, added up.

Families organising a rota of paid carers and relatives, people employing personal assistants directly, small agencies planning one client's week, and anyone who has been asked who is coming on Thursday evening and not known.

What this helps you track

• Who is coming on each day and in each slot
• Gaps in the week, visible before they become missed visits
• Each carer's hours for the week, from the rota
• The rate you have agreed with each carer, and the week's cost from it
• A sheet that can be pinned up in the kitchen and read at a glance

How to use it

1. Fill in the person's name, the week beginning and who arranged the rota at the top.
2. Write the name of who is coming in each slot of the grid; leave a slot blank where nobody is due and cross it through where no visit is wanted.
3. Add up each carer's hours from the grid and enter them in the hours table, with the rate you have agreed with them.
4. The browser and spreadsheet versions multiply hours by rate and total the week; on paper, do it at the foot.
5. Pin the sheet where everyone involved can see it, and note swaps on it as they are agreed.
6. Start a new sheet each week and keep the old ones; they answer questions about invoices later.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Does the sheet say how many visits a person needs?

No. The number and timing of visits are set by the care plan and by whoever arranged the care. The grid simply has room for a morning, midday, afternoon, evening and night slot on each day, and you use the ones that apply.

What rate goes in the hours table?

The one you have agreed with each carer or agency. The sheet supplies no rate and no idea of what care costs; it multiplies your hours by your rate and adds them up.

Can relatives go on the rota?

Yes. Put anyone who is covering a slot on the grid, paid or not, so the week is complete. Only the paid ones need a line in the hours table.

What about a visit that did not happen?

The rota is the plan. Whether a visit happened is recorded on the home care visit record, and comparing the two at the end of the week is exactly what both are for.