Carers taking holidays: respite rights, funding, and how to plan a break that works

Caring for someone full-time is relentless. Respite – time away from caring responsibilities – is not a luxury. Research is clear that carers who do not get regular breaks are at higher risk of burnout, physical ill-health, and being unable to continue in their caring role.

Despite this, many carers do not know what they are entitled to, how to access it, or how to fund it. This guide covers the practical side: what respite is, what the law says, how to access a carer’s assessment in Kent, and how to fund a break – including breaks where you travel with the person you support.

What respite means in practice

“Respite” covers a range of different things depending on who you ask. Broadly, it means any arrangement that gives a carer a break from their caring role. That can include:

• Day care or sitting services where someone else provides support at home while you have time off
• A residential placement for the person you support while you take a holiday independently
• A supported holiday where you go away together but a care worker provides the hands-on support during the trip
• A short break where both of you travel and you manage the care yourself, using a direct payment to cover the cost of support

The right type of respite depends on the needs of the person you care for, your own circumstances, and what you actually need from a break.

Your legal rights as a carer

The Care Act 2014 gives unpaid carers the right to a carer’s assessment from their local authority. This assessment looks at your needs as a carer – your wellbeing, your ability to continue caring, and what support would help. You do not need to wait until you are at crisis point to request one.

Following an assessment, the council may offer a carer’s personal budget – money allocated to support your wellbeing as a carer. This can be used towards breaks, activities, or other support identified in your assessment. What is available and how it is allocated varies between local authorities. In Kent, carer support sits within KCC Adult Social Care.

The Children and Families Act 2014 extended similar rights to parent carers of children with disabilities. If you care for a child with a disability, you have the right to a parent carer’s needs assessment.

How to get a carer’s assessment in Kent

Contact Kent County Council’s adult social care team and request a carer’s needs assessment. You can do this online via the KCC website or by calling their social care referral line. You do not need a referral from a GP or other professional.

The assessment will look at your situation, what support you currently provide, how caring is affecting your life, and what help would make a difference. Be honest about the impact – the assessment is supposed to reflect reality, not a best-case picture.

If the person you care for already has a care plan, it is worth also asking whether their plan includes provisions for short breaks – separate to your own carer’s assessment. The two assessments are distinct but complementary.

Taking a break together

Many carers find that the most practical form of respite is a break where they travel with the person they support – but where the environment makes caring easier, or where a PA covers the hands-on care so the carer can have downtime.

For this to work well, you need an adapted property that is genuinely equipped for the access needs of the person you care for. “Accessible” is not sufficient – you need to know about transfer space, hoist availability, shower layout, and sleeping arrangements for you as the carer. See our guide to choosing an accessible self-catering property for what to check before booking.

Using a direct payment to fund the PA element during a holiday is possible in many cases – your direct payment can cover your PA’s wages and costs while you are away. The accommodation is a separate cost. Our direct payments guide explains how this works in detail.

Funding a carers’ break

There are several routes to funding, and in many cases more than one applies:

Carer’s personal budget

Following a carer’s assessment, KCC may allocate a budget for your wellbeing. This can in some cases be used towards a short break. Ask your assessor specifically what it can fund.

Direct payments for the person you care for

If the person you support receives direct payments, those payments can cover PA or care agency support during a holiday. This does not cover accommodation, but it can make a trip financially feasible.

Revitalise Support Fund grants

Revitalise now operates as a grants programme for people with disabilities and carers who cannot afford a break. Applications are open year-round at revitalise.org.uk. If cost is the primary barrier, this is worth applying for.

Carer charities

Organisations including Carers UK, the Carers Trust, and local carer support services sometimes have small grants or emergency funds. Contact your local carer support service – in Kent this is run through KCC and several local organisations.

Private funding

Many families self-fund the accommodation and use care budgets only for the support element. This is often the simplest route if the finances allow it.

What makes a break actually restful

A few things that carers consistently mention when reflecting on what made a break work or not work:

• The environment has to be right. If the property is not genuinely accessible, you spend the holiday problem-solving rather than relaxing. Do the suitability check before you book, not after you arrive.
• Having consistent support in place matters. If you are relying on a PA to provide care during the trip, they need to be familiar with the person they are supporting before you travel. Taking a break with someone new is often more stressful than staying home.
• Keep the routine where it helps. Some people travel best when meals, sleep, and personal care are at roughly the same times as at home. A self-catering property that gives you control over timing is often better than a hotel for this reason.
• Plan for the return. The hardest part of many carers’ breaks is the days immediately after – exhaustion from travel, catching up on care, the emotional let-down. Build in a buffer if you can.

If you are thinking about Restwell

Restwell is an adapted self-catering property in Whitstable, Kent. It is designed for guests with disabilities, their families, and carers – with a layout and equipment specification built around what actually matters for a supported stay rather than what looks good in a listing.

The property has a separate sleeping area for carers, a ceiling track hoist in the accessible bedroom, profiling bed, and wet room with a height-adjustable washbasin. We welcome funded stays and can provide documentation to support care plan discussions. We have worked with guests whose stays have been funded through direct payments, CHC routes, and personal budgets alongside self-funded bookings.

For more on how funded stays work, visit our funding and support hub. To understand whether the property suits your specific situation, read who Restwell is for or send us a question before you commit to anything.

If you are weighing up the local area, our Whitstable area guide covers seafront routes, parking, and day-trip distances.