Almost every care home manager I speak to says the same thing: agency staff are a lifesaver when someone calls in sick, but the bills add up far faster than anyone planned for.

Agency cover will always have a place. But when it becomes the way you run your rota rather than the exception, it drains your budget, unsettles residents and puts more pressure on your permanent team. Here are seven practical ways to bring it down.

1. Find out where your agency hours actually go

Before you can cut agency spend, you need to know what's driving it. Look back over the last three months and sort every agency shift into one of these:

  • Vacancies: covering a post you haven't filled.
  • Sickness: short-notice absence.
  • Holiday: planned leave you knew about in advance.
  • Peaks: extra staff for higher dependency or admissions.

Most homes find that a large share of agency hours come from unfilled vacancies and planned holiday. Both of those are fixable.

2. Fill permanent vacancies properly, and fast

If you're covering the same post with agency staff month after month, you're paying a premium on every single hour. Compare what a year of that cover costs with the one-off cost of a permanent hire. In most cases, the permanent hire pays for itself well within the year.

The key is speed. Good carers are often talking to several homes at once. If it takes you three weeks to shortlist and interview, you'll lose the best people to whoever replies first.

3. Plan holiday cover months ahead

Holiday is predictable, so it shouldn't be covered at last-minute agency rates. Ask staff to book leave early, especially for summer and Christmas, and plan cover as soon as dates are agreed. Every full-time carer is entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year, so across a team that's a lot of shifts to plan for.

4. Build your own bank of staff

A small bank of your own relief staff, such as former employees, part-timers who want extra hours or local candidates who prefer flexible work, is usually far cheaper than agency cover. They also already know your residents and your routines.

Keep in touch with good people who leave on good terms. Many are happy to pick up the odd shift.

5. Reduce early leavers

Every carer who leaves in their first few months creates a gap that usually gets filled by agency staff. According to Skills for Care, turnover in the independent adult social care sector was 24.7% in 2024/25, roughly one in four staff a year.

The first 12 weeks matter most. A structured induction, a named buddy on every shift and a proper check-in at weeks 2, 6 and 12 all help new starters settle in and stay.

6. Hire for values, not just experience

Many homes only look at candidates with previous care experience, which shrinks the pool and pushes up competition. Some of the best carers have never worked in care before. What they bring is reliability, kindness and a real wish to build a career in health and social care.

Graduates in subjects like psychology, health and social care or sociology often fit this well. With the Care Certificate and good induction, they become strong members of the team.

7. Look after the team you already have

Agency reliance and burnout feed each other. When permanent staff are stretched, sickness goes up, which means more agency shifts, which means more pressure on permanent staff.

Fair rotas, recognition for people who cover extra shifts and a manager who listens make a real difference to sickness and turnover.

The bottom line

You won't cut agency staff to zero, and you shouldn't try. But by filling vacancies quickly, planning holiday early and keeping new starters, most homes can bring agency use back to what it should be: emergency cover.

If unfilled vacancies are driving your agency bill, that's exactly what we help with. At Bridge Gap Recruitment we find and screen Care Assistants, Support Workers and Care Coordinators so you only interview people who fit. Find out how we recruit care assistants, or read what a new care assistant really costs.