From the application form to your first paid booking — laid out properly so you know exactly what's involved before you decide.
Apply NowYou fill in our short application form telling us:
We confirm receipt immediately by email. Real human review within 48 hours.
If your application looks like a fit, we move to verification. This is the longest stage and depends almost entirely on your paperwork.
We verify it directly with the previous organisation and run our reference checks (typically 5–7 working days). You can move to onboarding fast.
We apply for fresh vetting through Here2Help as a registered "relevant organisation" with the National Vetting Bureau. Turnaround is typically 4–6 weeks. We cover the cost. You don't pay anything to be vetted.
We need two references from previous care, healthcare, or community-volunteer roles. We ring them — we don't just collect names. Most are completed within a week.
We check that your motor insurance allows paid passenger carry. Many personal policies don't. If yours doesn't, we'll point you to brokers who offer the right cover at reasonable rates — it's a small adjustment, not a full hackney policy.
Once your paperwork is clear, we run a single orientation session — in person where possible, video where geography requires it. We cover:
You leave the orientation able to start. We're not gatekeepers — if you've come this far, you're our kind of person.
Before your first solo booking, you complete one shadow shift — accompanying an experienced companion on a real booking. You observe, you assist where invited, you ask any questions you want afterwards.
The shadow shift is paid at our standard Standard-booking rate. It is not unpaid training. It typically happens within a week of your orientation.
Within a week or two of your shadow shift, we send you your first booking. You see the full details before you accept: hospital, ward, discharge time, drop-off address, distance, fee. You accept by tapping yes, or pass by tapping no. Passes are zero-consequence.
On the day, you arrive at the ward 15-30 minutes before discharge, identify at the nurses' station, take the handover, accompany your relative out, drive them home, help them settle in, log completion in our app or by text. We text the family. You move on with your day.
After your first booking, you're a fully active Here2Help companion. New bookings come to your phone whenever a family in your area requests one. You take what fits, pass what doesn't. Most companions settle into a rhythm of 2-6 bookings a week.
We never ask you to commit to a number of hours. You can pause your availability for any length of time without penalty — surgery, exam season, family holiday, anything. When you switch back on, bookings resume.