The Blue Light Card
What is the Blue Light Card?
The Blue Light Card provides those in the NHS, emergency services, social care sector and armed forces with discounts online and in-store. It is a UK wide initiative.
The role of a Personal Assistant is not currently included as an eligible role in the list of social care workers covered by the Card. This means that at the moment, if you only work as a PA, you couldn’t receive a Blue Light Card. If the situation changes at any point in the future, we will update this information to reflect this.
The PA Network Scotland (PANS), the Scottish Government and the PA Programme Board are working to get access to the Blue Light Card for PAs, so we’ll keep this page updated with any progress. Access further information on PANS from the resource below.
If however, you also work in another role as well as being a PA, you may be eligible through this role instead. You can check the criteria below for social care workers for example. There are also other criteria for other roles, such as NHS workers, Police and the Fire service. See the full list of eligible roles in the resource below.
Eligibility for the Card
Whilst the Blue Light Card is available to social care workers, there are specific eligibility criteria that need to be met to receive one. These include:
- Being employed and not being self-employed
- Being able to provide a form of ID that shows:
- your name
- employer’s details
- job role
- be dated within the last 3 months
Social Care Workers Eligibility
For social care workers to be eligible for the Card, they must come into one of the following categories:
- Social Care – Care Company Workforce – The company must be on either the CQC, RQIA, Care Inspectorate Scotland or Care Inspectorate Wales to be eligible. ID Required: ID card or Payslip.
- Social Care – Social Worker – ID Required: ID card, Payslip or SWE/SCW/SSSC/NISCC number.
- Social Care – Care Home – ID Required: ID card or Payslip.
- Social Care – Residential Care – ID Required: ID card or Payslip.
- Social Care – Council (Working in Care Sector) – ID Required: ID card or Payslip (if these do not state job role, please include a contract alongside).
- Social Care – Foster Carer – ID Required: ID card.
You can find out more about the Blue Light Card, what the eligible roles are and how to apply from the resource below.