Peer support worker

A peer support worker is employed because they have personal experience of mental health problems, or of using services, and can use it to help someone going through something similar. Lived experience is the main requirement, and formal qualifications usually are not. In NHS mental health services most posts are band 3 (£25,760 to £27,476 in England from 1 April 2026), with some senior peer roles at band 4.

Lived experience as the qualification

Most job descriptions list lived experience of mental health difficulties as an essential criterion. Some posts are more specific, asking for experience of psychosis, of an eating disorder, of being an inpatient, of substance use, or of caring for someone. Others recruit people from particular communities so the service reflects the people it serves.

Employers look for experience you have reflected on. They want to know you can talk about it in a way that offers hope and practical insight, without the conversation becoming about you. Recruitment panels often include existing peer workers.

Some experience of supporting people, paid or voluntary, also helps, as does the ability to keep simple records and to work within a clinical team while keeping a distinct role.

What the job looks like

Peer support workers are part of community mental health teams, inpatient wards, crisis services, early intervention in psychosis teams, perinatal services and recovery colleges. The work is built around equal, mutual relationships. In practice you might:

• meet people in the community and help them set and work towards their own recovery goals
• support someone through discharge from hospital and the first weeks back home
• co-facilitate groups or recovery college courses
• go with someone to appointments, or help them reconnect with activities and community groups
• bring the service user perspective into team meetings and service design

Therapy and medication sit with the clinicians in the team. Your part is to be alongside the person, share what helped you when it is useful, and show by example that recovery is possible.

Training

Most NHS employers provide accredited peer support training after you start, sometimes run with a local university or recovery college. It covers using your story safely, boundaries, the principles of peer support, risk and safeguarding, and looking after yourself. You will also complete standard NHS induction and mandatory training. Some areas run peer support apprenticeships or level 3 qualifications.

Before you apply, decide which parts of your experience you are willing to talk about, and in what settings. Interview panels commonly ask how you would use your experience with someone, and how you would respond if a conversation brought back difficult memories for you. They are looking for self-awareness, warmth and good boundaries, and you do not need to share more detail than you are comfortable with.

Regular supervision is part of the role, ideally including supervision from an experienced peer worker so you can talk through the particular challenges of the job.

Pay and terms

Role	Usual band	England, from 1 April 2026	Scotland, 2026/27
Peer support worker	3	£25,760 to £27,476	£29,061 to £31,364
Senior peer support worker	4	£28,392 to £31,157	£31,492 to £34,254

Some services employ peer workers through charities or social enterprises under contract, and those organisations set their own pay. Many peer support posts are part-time, which suits some people well; see what pro rata salary means for how part-time pay is worked out, and the take-home pay calculator for net figures.

An NHS trust employer gives you Agenda for Change annual leave, starting at 27 days plus eight public holidays for full-time staff (pro rata for part-time), NHS sick pay and NHS Pension Scheme membership.

If you receive benefits, check how earnings would affect them before accepting. Universal Credit while working covers the basics.

Support at work

The role is built on experience of mental ill health, so employers should plan support from the start. Under the Equality Act 2010, if your condition counts as a disability, your employer must make reasonable adjustments, such as changes to hours, a phased start or time off for appointments. Reasonable adjustments at work explains what you can ask for. Access to Work, a DWP grant, can also fund support such as a mental health support service.

Many NHS employers are Disability Confident and offer an interview to disabled applicants who opt in and meet the minimum criteria for the post. This varies by employer and does not guarantee a job.

The work can bring up your own memories and feelings. Good employers make it normal to talk about this in supervision and to plan what helps if you become unwell. Ask at interview how they support peer workers’ wellbeing.

Where it can lead

Some peer workers move to senior peer roles, peer trainer posts or lived experience leadership roles that shape how services are run. Others use the experience to move into mental health support worker roles, nursing, social work or psychological therapies. Search NHS Jobs and charity job boards for “peer support worker” and “peer worker”, and check healthcare support jobs for current NHS posts.