Visits

companiions has a flexible pricing policy. As a companion, you can set your own rate based on your experience and ratings. Our rate bands begin at £12.

Here’s a description of each rate band:

£12 - £15

• You’re just a great, friendly person who wants to offer companionship or help
• You don’t work in a caring profession or have previous care experience
• You don’t have a DBS or First Aid certificate

£15 - £18

• You have had caring experience in the past (nurse, pro carer, paramedic) but no longer are in this profession
• You have a DBS and First Aid certificate

£18 -  £24

• Your occupation is in the caring profession (nurse, paramedic, full time carer)
• You have a DBS, First Aid Certificate and all other insurance and certificates and accolades to enable to you practise your profession

£25 +

• Your occupation is in the caring profession
• You offer a professional specialism (lactose nanny, osteopath, therapist, etc.)

In order for companiions to operate there is a 25% platform fee which will automatically be taken from the organisers payment to a companion. It’s important to factor this in when setting your hourly rate and expecting payment, you can use our handy earnings calculator on companiions website to figure out your earnings.

To cancel a confirmed visit, go to My visits and select the specific visit. Once it’s selected, you’ll see an option to cancel or edit the booking and message the organiser or companion. 

Please only cancel visits if it’s absolutely necessary and make sure you give the other side as much notice as possible. 

If a companion cancels on an organiser within 24 hours of the visit more than three times within six months their account will be frozen. If a companion has to cancel a visit more than 24 hours in advance, they should message the organiser as soon as possible to let them know and give them time to find a replacement. 

If an organiser cancels on a companion within 24 hours of the visit, we encourage them to still pay something to the companion – especially if it was a weekend visit.

If an organiser has to cancel a visit more than 24 hours in advance, they should message the companion as soon as possible to give the companion time to find an alternative visit. If anyone persistently cancels visits at short notice, we reserve the right to freeze their account.

All your visits are automatically entered into your companiions calendar. 

You can update and check your availability at any time. We’ll even send you reminders and location details, so you know where you’re going and when.

You can change your profile settings in your account to flip from your companion to your organiser profile

You can book a companion right up to the time of the visit, so long as they’re available and can get to you or your loved one in time. 

That said, it’s always best to give as much notice as possible. 

We give everyone the tools and information they need to make informed decisions. When you’re selecting a companion, we recommend you read the companion’s profile, see if their skills, hobbies and interests match your requirements, and check their ratings and reviews. It’s important to check their availability too. 

If you still want to know more, use our handy video chat tool (coming soon) to have a face-to-face conversation with the companion before you book them. This is a great opportunity to get to know the companion better and to ask them for any additional information, like references. 

If you feel like someone you’ve connected with on companiions is too persistent, please contact us. 

It’s worth being mindful that some people may be nervous about a new person coming into their home or about visiting someone’s home for the first time. 

In these instances, it’s natural that the companion or organiser may want to ask some extra questions ahead of their visit. 

If you think you’ve been charged incorrectly, please contact the companion first of all. In most cases, you’ll be able to resolve this together by reviewing the times of your visit as well as the companion’s rate. 

If you can’t come to a resolution together, please contact us. We’ll take a look at the details and make a decision. 

When you arrive, select the visit within companiions and press the start timer.

When you leave, select the visit again and stop the timer. 

If you forgot to start the timer when you arrived at your visit, please get in touch with the organiser to let them know what time you arrived. You should also edit your check in time to reflect this.

Ask the organiser to confirm that they’re happy with what you’ve shared. It’s important to have written confirmation within your Messages, in case any problems arise.

If you forgot to stop the timer when you left your visit, please get in touch with the organiser to let them know what time you left. You should also edit your check out time to reflect this.

Ask the organiser to confirm that they’re happy with what you’ve shared. It’s important to have written confirmation within your Messages, in case any problems arise.

We make sure your payment arrives directly into your bank account within 7 days of the end of your visit. 

The payment leaves the organiser’s account as soon as they approve the end time of your visit.

If you want to add a tip for a companion, click Any extras? when paying within the app, then add additional money.

Before booking a visit, we recommend checking in with companions to see if they have any requirements. For example, some companions may ask for a taxi fare to be covered if the visit is late at night and the nearby transport links are poor. 

If you’re contributing towards a companion’s taxi home, click Any extras? when paying within the app, then add additional money.

If you don’t ever want to pay for a companion’s taxi, make sure you only book people who have a car icon on their profile. You should also specify within your visit request that the companion will need to cover their own transport costs.

If you’re a companion who’d like a taxi home, we recommend you always ask upfront before the visit is booked, to make sure the organiser will be happy to pay for it. 

To submit a complaint to companiions, please use the Contact us form on our website.

Here are some tips on how to arrange a great visit and create a good experience for companions and your loved ones:

Before the visit

• Share a little about yourself in the bio section of your profile
• Verify your information including your email address, phone number, payment details, and a video of yourself and your loved one. Your profile won’t be confirmed unless you’ve confirmed all of these
• If you’re organising companionship for a loved one, make sure you add their details. Include their hobbies and interests, any special requirements or requests and any other important information like food preferences and allergies. Be sure to upload photos too 
• Read reviews by other organisers to get a feel for whether the potential companion is right for you 
• Schedule visits with as much notice as possible
• Be specific and clear about what you’d like the companion to do on the visit, so they’re aware and prepared. You can list this in the visit details and requirements. You can also mention any requirements in a message to the companion
• Tell the companion about any house rules in advance
• Make sure the companion knows how to enter the house, by sharing simple, clear entry details in a message
• Please be contactable around the time the visit is set to begin, so you can respond if there are any problems
• If you have any questions, feel free to contact the companion
• If you want to ask any questions face-to-face or get to know the companion before the visit, set up a video chat
• If there’s a problem, make the companion aware as soon as possible

During the visit

• Check the companion has started the timer on arrival
• Keep communicating with the companion to get regular updates about how the visit is going if you wish
• Feel free to video call them during the visit to say hello and and see how your loved one is doing
• If you’re unsure about anything, contact the companion with any questions
• Check the companion has stopped the timer when they leave

After the visit

• Always leave a thumbs up or thumbs down rating and an honest review for your companion to help guide future organisers – the companion will be invited to give you a thumbs up or thumbs down rating to help guide future companions too

Here are some tips on how to give a great visit and make a good impression with organisers and end users:

Before the visit

• Share a little about yourself in the bio section of your profile
• Verify your information including your email address, phone number, ID, DBS, face recognition. Your profile won’t be confirmed unless you’ve confirmed all of these
• Before you accept a visit, always review the organiser and end users’ profiles and requirements to make sure they’re a match for your skills and experience
• Read reviews by other companions to get a feel for whether the potential organiser and end user are right for you 
• Prepare for your visit by reading the end user’s notes, so you’re up to speed with any special requirements they might have and you know what will be required of you at the visit
• If you have any questions, feel free to contact the organiser
• If you want to ask any questions face-to-face or get to know the organiser and end user before your visit, set up a video chat 
• Communicate clearly with your organiser about any expectations or special requirements you may have such a taxi home – let them know the likely cost so there are no surprises
• Always let the organiser know if you're likely to arrive late

During the visit

• Keep to your commitments (including arrival time) and any requirements set by the organiser 
• Make sure you understand the instructions on how to enter the end user’s property
• Remember to start the timer when you arrive at your visit
• Communicate with the end user and organiser about the visit, keeping them up to date about any medication, food, exercise, activities etc. – you can use the handy notes section within companiions
• If you’re unsure about anything, contact the organiser with any questions
• If there is an emergency, contact emergency services immediately then contact the organiser
• When you leave the visit, stop the timer and check out – this will notify the organiser to pay you

After the visit

• Always leave an honest review for your organiser to help guide future companions – the organiser will be invited to give you a thumbs up or thumbs down rating to help guide future organisers too

We believe in the power of companionship. And we think doing the right thing should be rewarded. With companiions, the better your reviews the more visits you’ll receive. And the more visits you receive, the more benefits you’ll enjoy. Our very best companions achieve ‘supercompanion’ status (coming soon), allowing them to earn more and lead the way for others. 

To become a supercompanion, you need: 

• Consistent thumbs up ratings 
• Over 15+ reviews 90% response rate 
• No more than 3 cancellations* (*Excluding extenuating circumstances) in 6 months period 
• 100% profile strength 

We believe in giving back. That’s why companiions partners with brilliant charities that are aligned with our mission, vision and values. 

Right now, our charity partners are TBC.

Here’s how you can give back:

If you’re an organiser
When you pay a companion, you can choose to round up your payment to the nearest pound in order to make a small donation. For example, if your visit cost £12.60 you can round up to £13 to give 40p.

If you’re feeling really generous, you can choose a higher number to round up to, such as £15 or £20. Or don’t round up at all. It’s entirely up to you. While all donations make a huge difference, everyone’s circumstances are different and there’s no pressure to give.

If you’re a companion
Some people aren’t offering companionship to earn money, they’re doing it to give back to their community in a safe, seamless way. Other people choose to earn money by being kind but also want to give something back financially.

In either case, you can give to our charity partners by donating your full visit earnings, or part of your visit earnings when you end your visit.

If you or your loved one need physical help, we recommend you use a care agency that has nurses who are trained to assist with mobility, bathing etc.

On companiions, there are companions with specialist training and experience but they’re not insured to lift people or give medication while visiting them via our app. So if these companions are asked to lift someone, give medication etc, they’ll need to refuse to do so. 

In our Terms & Conditions it states that should an organiser or end user need physical or medical help, they should use a care agency with trained nurses who can provide professional care help.

If someone is asking you to help with something you don’t feel comfortable with, please contact us.

If you’re a fully trained and insured health professional who’s willing and able to provide care duties, you must let us know before your visit. You must also have your own insurance which you can send to us and the organiser ahead of the visit.

Everyone should be safeguarded from abuse and neglect, including adults.

You can visit the NHS for advice and Age UK on what to do in these circumstances and if the situation causes you distress or alarm please cause the emergency services if you think they need to be involved.

If you’re concerned about abuse or neglect please contact us too, to make sure we’re aware and can take action if needed.

You can also contact Samaritans, one of our charitable partners. Whatever you're going through, a Samaritan will face it with you. They’re there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.​ 

You can call them for free on 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org/contact

We understand life changes. If for whatever reason you don’t need your account anymore or would like to add or delete anything on your account, you can do so within your Account on your desktop (coming soon) or on our app.

companiions is here to make arranging, giving and receiving companionship easy.

As a companion, you might be asked to do a range of activities including but not limited to: being a friend, cooking, cleaning, chatting, playing chess, changing a lightbulb, shopping, providing support and advice for new mums, laughter, pharmacy runs, having a cup of tea, driving people to visit friends or family, helping with the garden, getting the kids ready for school, organising the household, dancing with people, looking after the kids whilst a parent has a break, being there for people whilst they recover from illness or injury.

It’s this diverse mix of activities that makes companionship so special and so helpful. 

companiions is not a care agency so you won’t be expected to lift people, give medications, or help people take a bath, etc. We encourage anyone who needs this kind of assistance to use a care agency to fulfil that role.

When an organiser creates a visit request they’ll always specify any requirements for the visit. If, as a companion, you don’t want to fulfil those requirements or they don’t match your skills, you can simply decline the visit request. If you want more information from the organiser about what’s expected from you just use our message centre to contact them directly. 

Safety, security and trust for our customers – both companions and loved ones– is of paramount importance to us. For this reason, we give every companion on companiions £1m public liability insurance as standard, for all of the visits they do on the companiions app. 

The insurance covers companions for any accidental injury or damage they cause to a third party whilst on a visit. This is only active when the companion is present in the loved one or organisers home as registered on companiions, it doesn’t cover companions on their way to the loved one/organisers home or when they are on errands from the home, neither does it cover the companion if they take the loved one/organiser for a walk/drive etc out of their home. This is the companions risk when taking actions like this as the insurance only covers the companion whilst in the home. 

Companions do not have to pay for this insurance, it’s an additional benefit to bring further peace of mind to the members of our community. Below are some FAQs about how the insurance works. 

No, companions get covered by this public liability insurance automatically when signing up to the companiions app. It is an advantage of visiting people via the companiions platform. 

No. You do not need to do anything in order to activate this insurance.

The policy covers you in the unlikely event that you cause accidental damage to a third party’s property or accidental injury to a third party, whilst the end organisers/loved ones home. That last bit is important; you are only covered by this insurance when carrying out a visit that has been booked and is ‘in progress’ on the companiions app and you are only covered when you are in the loved one/organisers home. 

Any individual claim made against you (or a series of claims related to the same one incident) are covered up to a maximum liability of £1m.

As is typically the case with third party public liability insurance, you are covered for injury and damage that you cause accidentally to someone else, not to yourself.

In the unlikely event of a claim arising, please email us at contactus@companiions.com 

The insurance is provided by YuTree Insurance Ltd. Once you contact us with the claim details we will put you and the organiser/companion in contact with our insurance company to make the claim. 

The Claim Handlers are experts at investigating claims made and determining whether a particular claim is valid. They will consider all the evidence and reports supplied by both parties before determining whether the claim should be successful. The important thing is that you report the incident quickly, and are responsive and accurate when discussing what occured.

The Excess is the amount that the insured party needs to pay toward any successful insurance claim that is made against them. It is a very common part of all types of insurance policies. Under this policy, the excess that a companion, as the insured party, is subject to on a successful claim made against them is £250

In this case, you would not claim this against the insurance as the value is below the excess payable. In instances like these, companions and organisers should discuss it and come to an agreement on compensation directly.

The insurance is awarded automatically to all companions who are on the companiions app. The insurance will be terminated if you choose to close down your companiions profile

Please email contactus@companiions.com if you would like to receive a Certificate of Insurance. 

The outbreak of COVID- 19 presents us with one of the country’s most significant challenges in many years.  We understand this is an extremely worrying time and more especially for older people and more vulnerable members of society.

Our companions offer help and support to clients.  In addition, they can support with shopping and picking up prescription medication, clients and family can stay updated and connected in real-time with the benefit of our trusted technology.  

We are following the Government’s guidance on delivering home care to ensure we are minimising the risk of spreading the illness whilst still providing an essential service to clients so that they can remain at home and not be exposed to further risks. The government guidelines include the following:

• Wash your hands regularly with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds.
• Always wash your hands when you arrive at your appointment or when being visited by a companion
• Use hand sanitiser gel frequently
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
• Keep surfaces and items in regular use disinfected
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and dispose of the tissue carefully in a bin. 
• Avoid close contact with persons who have respiratory illness symptoms
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
• If you are feeling unwell, stay home and contact the 111 Coronavirus helpline 
• If you need to self-isolate please follow the NHS Advice and the government's guidelines here. 

For your travel needs please stay current with COVID-19 development and travel advice found at the Govuk.website.

In line with the latest Government advice, we are asking both companions and clients to work to minimise the risk of transmission through safe working procedures. This includes the use of personal protection equipment (PPE) as needed. PPE includes the use of masks, aprons, gloves and/or eye protection when practising as a companion or a client.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-how-to-work-safely-in-domiciliary-care

If a companion or client is concerned they may have COVID-19, they are being urged to follow NHS advice. If advised to self-isolate at home, you should follow the Government’s stay at home guidance and do not carry out visits or request a companion until safe to do so.  

We are continually monitoring developments, review our protocols and preparing responses as the situation evolves to ensure steps are taken to protect the health and wellbeing of our community. We continue to follow direction provided by the UK’s Public Health Authorities and World Health Organisation and review guidance daily, working closely with organisations such as the Age UK and other relevant bodies.

If you have a specific concern about your needs or the needs of a family member, please email us at contactus@companiions.com

companiions encourages all of our companions to complete this free course from Skills for Health. The resource is approximately 2 hours in duration and includes information such as infection prevention, PPE, hand and respiratory hygiene, management and assessment, sampling and testing, patient transfers/managing patients and much more, to support you in your role. www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/covid-19-course

If you do the course please let us know as we will add a certification badge on your profile to let organisers know you're skilled in taking Covid 19 precautions.

The most up-to-date information is available from The Department of Health and Social Care. Please see below links to various official sources:

• Gov UK
• World Health Organisation 
• WHO Advice for the public
• Government FAQ on coronaviruses (COVID 19)

Yes, all companions and organisers must be aged 18 years old or above to use companiions. 

Yes! companiions is partnered with the National Autism Society (NAS)

NAS is here to provide support, guidance and advice, as well as campaigning for improved rights, services and opportunities to help create a society that works for autistic people.’

You can find out more information here - https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/help-and-support