My private pay caregiver is requesting that she be fully compensated for her usual hours even though the patient is currently in a hospital. I’ve been giving her other tasks, such as cleaning, to at least give her something to do & a reason for me to pay her. She is angry about having to “be a maid” (all work is specified to the patient, no other family members, etc. ) And I agree, she is not a maid. Housekeepers are paid a fraction of what she gets. I’ve offered to pay her to visit with the patient in the hospital, but that it will be for travel time/gas & time spent at the hospital, not the full day's pay. Over the holidays I gave her an exceedingly large cash gift in appreciation of her work. Perhaps this why she thinks she can get paid even when there’s no work?
I can’t begin to count the amount of times I’ve been sent home from a job without pay because there simply was no work available that day. I understand & appreciate that we all want job security. But I cannot control the health of the patient. Hospitalization happens.
if you do not have some sort of recorded agreement with caregivers there can be a lot of problems.
I would agree that if you are ok with her quitting don't pay. I think you made some reasonable offers. Ask what she thinks is reasonable and why? those answers may influence you to be more ok with her quitting.
So hard to replace people though.
Good caregivers are hard to find.
Assume she will be looking.
We also give a large Christmas bonus (at the direction of my mother's lawyer.) I've been threatened about the Christmas bonus in the past --have to give it certain day etc.
This person no longer works for me.
Has the employee gone above and beyond for her client to the past? Or has she been a person that has done the bare minimum?
I have been at jobs where I was promoted and received raises because I have gone above and beyond.
I had a coworker who was very resentful because they felt that they should have been promoted instead of me because she was there longer.
The owner of the company politely told her that I deserved the promotion more than she did and that I was going to be her boss whether she liked it or not.
This woman was absolutely miserable and showed absolutely no respect for me. It didn’t end well for her. I ended up having to fire her.
She went to my boss and told him that she should not have been fired and he backed me 100 percent. She didn’t stop there! She had her mother and the pastor of her church call me. Of course, I didn’t discuss anything with them and promptly told them that I was busy and hung up the phone.
So, it truly depends on this person’s work ethic and her past work history for this client. If she is an exceptional employee then I would consider paying her. If not, then she could find another job and I would look for a future employee and have a contract ready for them to sign so that this situation wouldn’t be questioned in the future.
And taking you for what she can.
In consideration how to proceed, consider how much you want her to continue to work with you/r the intended person. If she gets 'mad,' she may up and leave.
Is this okay with you? Even if you want her to continue on, she needs to know that you are paying her as you feel / deem is fair and appropriate - that YOU are calling the shots, not her.
It is a very personal question depending on how the payment / work arrangement has been set up. However, everything can be changed as you want it to.
* In reading a few of the other comments, I'd suggest IF you want to continue to pay her, have a tier system. If no client work, pay accordingly (less). This way, she is getting some $ but not 100% as she isn't doing 100% of the work she would usually do.
- Also, if she is an ind contractor, it is really UP TO HER to fill her time with other clients as she can. For a few days or week or longer, she could register at an agency so she will have work. This is her responsibility. And agencies are in desperate need of caregivers. So, she has options.
Be sure to get agreements in writing. Dated and details. Have both you and she sign it.
Are you taking taxes out of her payment(s)?
It is necessary to report this income?
How you pay her could have repercussions or a situation if she reports you, 'her employer' to the government for not paying what she is owed. This could get sticky.
My sense is that she could be paid HOURLY for the work she is doing.
If there is no person to work with - and she doesn't want to do housework, they no $. In other words, no workee, no money.
When I was in a similar situation (as a worker/ind contractor), I asked to be paid if / as I was 'on call.' Being 'on call' means that I need to reserve my time for the possibility of being called to work 'on a moments notice which means I could not (and didn't) take on any other client work. I had to keep myself available.
(Although most of the times, I didn't get paid.)
Gena / Touch Matters
He could get crappy about it, but then he’d get fired.
Also, if she couldn't depend on us for the normal wage each week, it would be possible that she would find other employment. To have someone in the home that we knew absolutely we could trust meant a lot.
I have no idea why your person would be angry to 'earn' her pay while your mom in the hospital. It doesn't mean she's anyone's maid, she is just earning her pay. Since her usual job is handling tasks for your mom, have her reorganize her closet, drawers, etc - things that can get out of order. Like put all the winter to the back, summer to the front now. I would just tell her, I understand mom is away right now, but here's the things you can do so you don't lose any pay. Let her take it or leave it. Caregiving for a person isn't just sitting there, it means doing things that person can no longer do for themself...like organize the closet or go to the hospital to 'caregive/observe patient' to earn pay.
He makes 33 an hour. Not tax free or tax optional.
He has had to deal with sitting with old people until caregivers come.
He has had to negotiate interactions between them, their (usually) senior aides and so forth when some wit leaves the stove on and whoops, now there’s an appliance destroyed.
He has had to handle a senior deciding to take a swan dive off the roof. Blood, skull, brains.
This woman, what is she expected to do? Just do some housekeeping before the lady comes home? Like, the op is saying this is not long term.
My only point in all this is not to say that a caregiver is the same as an RN. Not in skills, and WOW, certainly not in salary and benefits. BUT they are more and more needed, and less and less happy with the abuse of being expected to accept less than minimum wage, and no days off, no benefits at all, and to be there when wanted and not when not wanted. The fact that a senior goes into hospital for say four days? One might look on it as a welcome vacation, but certainly it is less welcome when one isn't paid and has bills that will show up no matter whether they can work that day of not.
So right or wrong I think this is coming. We are going to have to pay more for help as there are fewer and fewer to do the work and more and more who need the work done. I think if we CAN (and of course this is paramount) we would be really wise, if we have a worker who is "gold" to do all we can afford to do to appreciate and keep him or her.
Just opinion. I fully recognize how horrifically expensive in home care can be over time. Don't know how many do it. And feel awful for both sides in the issue.
my issue with the caregiver is she should at least go to the hospital and sit with your Mother. She would actually be doing less as they have assistants at the hospital so she would be a companion and assist with issues when the bell isn't answered in a timely fashion.
having someone available that Mom is familiar with also helps prevent institutional dementia which I witnessed with my Grandfather.
if your Mother is released to a rehab facility Medicare will cover up to 100 days. If this happens I would insist she go to the rehab and do her hour's and earn her salary.
I appreciate you paying a generous wage and bonus. I used to get $9.00 an hour as a private aid. The aids at my Moms facility are underpaid as well. They are wonderful and it ticks me off
This arrangement is a partnership. Why should she demand exactly what she wants? A good deal occurs when both parties are satisfied.
I would think that if she expects to get paid while not doing caregiving because of the hospitalization of patient then she needs to do something. I don’t like this person’s attitude. How long will the patient be in the hospital?
If it’s for a short period of time then pay her but she has to do something for the pay and don’t take any crap from her! Housework, hospital visits, etc.
In the meantime, maybe look for someone else. It is difficult to find good help and if you have a good relationship for the most part, try to work something out. In the meantime, look for someone else just in case.
My family hires IHSS caregivers through our county.
Look into it. The caregivers are all background checked and experienced.
I hope you can work something out with this person but definitely look at your options.
My in laws have had aides since 2020. For over 28 months, they’d be regularly in the hospital. They did housework to prepare for their return. They took the cat to boarding. Etcetra and so on.
This so,an will always be trouble. I suggest you get rid of her.
she should be willing to do other work for you. keep the communication open.
I’d say it really depends on how much you want to keep this one particular caregiver. Good ones are hard to find, and yet I too, don’t care for attitude.
in my seven years of being a house manager, I never paid caregivers who were not caring for my Mr. and Mrs. They too got bonuses and other perks to keep them happy and none of them complained.
I just read how much you’re paying her. My goodness this woman is not very appreciative. But I would also say at the pay rate you’ve gotten her very used to a healthy income and it would be hard to make ends meet for extended rehab or hospital stays. Other people have good ideas like half pay or having her there @ rehab even if she’s doing nothing but keeping her company.
As a former House Manager who conversed with the head of a caregiving company, we both agree - good caregivers have us by the balls. (I apologize for the graphic but it’s accurate).