Career profile · SOC ESC-0AA24B8F

rehabilitation support worker

Rehabilitation support workers provide counselling to individuals dealing with birth defects or with major consequences caused by diseases, accidents, and burnouts. They help them to cope with personal, social and vocational issues. They assess the personal needs of clients, develop rehabilitation plans, get involved in the training, and help people undergoing a rehabilitation plan with job placement.

rehabilitation support worker rehabilitation support workers provide counselling to individuals dealing with birth defects or with major consequences caused by diseases, accidents, and burnouts. They help them to cope with personal, social and vocational issues. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include social work theory, legal requirements in the social sector, social sciences, disability care, disability types.

AI exposure
5.0/10
automation risk

Pay in the UK

UK: median £44,550 a year for Social workers (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)

Middle half of full-time jobs: £39,517 to £49,959 a year

UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2461). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)

Pay in India (occupation group)

Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only rehabilitation support worker, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.

Urban India
₹42,717 a month
Rural India
₹30,424 a month
All India
₹38,466 a month

Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 2. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report

Top skills

social work theory legal requirements in the social sector social sciences disability care disability types rehabilitation social justice company policies apply anti-oppressive practices provide social counselling

Knowledge you'll build

  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Therapy and Counseling
  • Psychology
  • Education and Training
  • English Language
  • Administrative
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Sociology and Anthropology

What you'd actually do

  • Prepare and maintain records and case files, including documentation, such as clients' personal and eligibility information, services provided, narratives of client contacts, or relevant correspondence.
  • Confer with clients to discuss their options and goals so that rehabilitation programs and plans for accessing needed services can be developed.
  • Develop rehabilitation plans that fit clients' aptitudes, education levels, physical abilities, and career goals.
  • Locate barriers to client employment, such as inaccessible work sites, inflexible schedules, or transportation problems, and work with clients to develop strategies for overcoming these barriers.
  • Monitor and record clients' progress to ensure that goals and objectives are met.
  • Participate in job development and placement programs, contacting prospective employers, placing clients in jobs, and evaluating the success of placements.

Tools & technology you'd use

Microsoft Excel hot Microsoft Office software hot Microsoft Outlook hot Microsoft PowerPoint hot Microsoft Word hot Adobe Acrobat Reader Budgeting software Chart Links Client information database software Data input software Electronic medical record EMR software Email software

Frequently asked questions

What does rehabilitation support worker do?

Rehabilitation support workers provide counselling to individuals dealing with birth defects or with major consequences caused by diseases, accidents, and burnouts. They help them to cope with personal, social and vocational issues. They assess the personal needs of clients, develop rehabilitation plans, get involved in the training, and help people undergoing a rehabilitation plan with job placement.

What skills does rehabilitation support worker need?

The most in-demand skills for this role include social work theory, legal requirements in the social sector, social sciences, disability care, disability types, rehabilitation. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.

Will AI replace rehabilitation support worker?

Our AI-durability model gives rehabilitation support worker a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.

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