Peer Support Worker
Use your lived experience of mental health challenges to support others on their recovery journey, working alongside clinical teams in NHS and third-sector settings.
Low
Very high
0–6 months for most entry roles. Many NHS trusts and third-sector organisations recruit on the basis of lived experience and personal qualities, providing all required training in-role. Volunteering in a peer support or mental health charity is the most common route in.
Lived experience of mental health challenges is a core requirement. Most employers provide in-role peer support worker training (typically Level 2 or 3 Award in Mental Health). ImROC (Centre for Mental Health) and Recovery College programmes are widely recognised. Some workers hold Level 3 qualifications in mental health, counselling, or health and social care.
What you do
Peer support workers use their own experience of mental health difficulties, recovery, and using mental health services to build genuine, hopeful relationships with people currently experiencing those challenges. You facilitate one-to-one peer conversations, run peer support groups, help people navigate services, share recovery strategies, and model the possibility of a meaningful life beyond mental health crisis. You work as part of multidisciplinary mental health teams in community, inpatient, and crisis settings, bringing a perspective no clinical professional can offer.
Why this career is resilient
NHS England has made peer support a core component of its mental health long-term plan, committing to expand the peer support workforce significantly across community and inpatient services. Mental health demand is growing — one in four people will experience a mental health problem each year. Peer support is evidence-based, cost-effective, and structurally different from clinical care; it cannot be replaced by other professionals. The role is now a recognised workforce category within NHS job families.
A typical day
A day includes a handover with the community mental health team, a one-to-one peer conversation with a service user being discharged from hospital, co-facilitating a recovery group, a debrief with a supervisor, contributing to a team meeting about a service user's care plan, and completing brief session notes.
Routes in
Employer-funded training
Some employers — particularly the NHS, emergency services, and larger care providers — run their own funded training programmes. You apply for a job and train as you work.
Pay and costs
Earning potential: NHS peer support workers are typically employed at Band 3 (£24,071–£25,674) or Band 4 (£26,530–£29,114). Third-sector rates vary: £22,000–£28,000 is typical. Senior peer support roles and peer lead positions may reach Band 5 (£29,970–£36,483) in NHS settings.
Training costs: Training is provided and funded by the employer. DBS check required. No formal qualifications required prior to appointment in most NHS and third-sector settings.