This is a selfish, perhaps unintentional, move on the sons part.
Either give you the week off or pay your full wages for shortened hours. Those are the only 2 choices he should have.
If you like your job and want to keep it, call him and explain that you need ALL of your pay or you need to be free to take a temporary gig. Let him know that you like your job and would hate to have to find something else but, your landlord doesn't take money off the rent because you are not getting a full check.
Honestly, most people have no clue how to be an employer and that means treating their employees fairly, honestly and justly, they usually fall flat faced before they learn. This could be his fall and you can help him not hit hard by being open and honest.
If you are not paid for the time they are visiting you should be given notice. You could be proactive though. If you know they come for Thanksgiving and Christmas plan on taking the week of Thanksgiving off and the same right around Christmas. If you can, take another caregiving job at that time so that you will get paid. And if they decide that you are needed you can say that since you normally are "given time off" at the holiday you put in for a temp job. I suppose the answer to your question though is... What is the wording of your contract? Are you paid "properly" by that I mean working the proper number of hours, after that are you paid "overtime". (after 40 hours are you paid overtime) Are taxes taken out? Is this job contributing to your quarters for Social Security?
I think you should look for another job immediately, and you should not stay on the job for the hours the son actually wants you. You won’t be sacrificing so much pay as he will already have cut your hours.
He has arranged for himself a nice visit where you let him get away from care when he wants, and you pick up the slack. Leave him with the problem of working out what to do when he really has the full job. You never know – he may find that he values you and has second thoughts about being a cheapskate!
Just read OPs response. I think what is happening here is that family is coming and staying for a period of time. So its felt that for that week or so, OPs services are not needed. So she will not be paid for that week.
I agree, if son wants to keep you, then he should pay you. But, you should always have a written contract with everything covered. Would you expect payment if both sisters went to a relatives house for a week so you weren't needed. If so, this needs to be covered in a contract. Do you expect to be paid if your sick or theirs a family emergency...needs to be covered in a contract.
You have to realize though that as a person who worked f/t and p/t, especially p/t, if I did not work, I did not get paid. If I came in an hour late, I got docked. Got sick and had to leave work, I got docked. It was only when I worked for companies that offered vacation pay and PTO that I got paid for time I took off. This maybe where the son is in his thinking. He pays you an hourly wage for a hour worked. You aren't working, so he doesn't see where he needs to pay.
Were you told that you would not be needed and not paid while family is here? If so, you now have thought it over and feel that thru no fault of your own, you feel you should be paid for those hours because you count on that check. See what he says before you tell him you will be looking for another job. Can you take less money? Really, if he is a good boss and the women are easy to care for, you too may not get a better job. It is a lot of money to give up, though. I so hope there is a compromise. Please update us.
I agree with you.. I never miss work and I do understand I don’t get paid if I miss work due to illness or emergencies, my clients son plans on having me work a few hrs instead of my full 10 hrs each day while he visits. He is staying a wk I would think because he decides to visit it shouldn’t effect my hrs and pay since I’m not calling off. I take care of 2 elderly ladies and it’s exhausting and I can make the same amount of pay taking care of just one at other jobs. Feeling unappreciated.
When I was working in ELder Care, when I was 'with' my client, I was being paid. She had a LOT of visitors and I would take that 'off time' to do jobs that were hard to get to when she was up and wanting to be busy. Cleaned the hamper (always smelled like urine w/o regular deep cleaning) caught up the laundry, counted pills, vaccumed or mopped her floors where it could never bet damp for her to walk on--point being, I have ZERO 'downtime' in my shift.
A good CH will always find something to be doing.
My clients family not only never 'cut' my pay, they went to my company and insisted on tipping me out each month so I was making a decent wage of $15 an hour instead of the $8.50 they paid me. It was all done aboveboard and legally and the other CG's in the company never knew. (I was also working a 2nd job for $20 an hour 'flipping' houses with my sister. Why would I keep a job that was truly hard over $11.50?)
The family has signed a contract and mine was that when I was present in the home, even if my client happened to not be there (unusual situation) or was busy with visitors, I was still paid. I'm pretty sure if that happened to me, even once, I would have walked away.
Good grief. An in home CG is your lifeline to sanity-why would you balk at the few dollars you spend to relieve yourself of the endless needs of an elderly relative?
I have a caregiver for my mom who works 24 hour shifts during the week. When I come to visit not only do I NOT dock her pay (I would never even think do such a thing), but I try to help out, getting mom drinks or emptying her commode to give the caregiver a bit of a break.
She is like gold to me (us) and I want her to be happy and treated fairly. My mom is pretty demanding.
The problem, as others have pointed out, is if you are working directly for the family and don't have it in writing that you will be paid the full 10 hours, it's difficult to fight. I hope things work out.
When we were still doing home care, sometimes the person would be able to leave a couple of hours early due to a doctor's appointment or some such thing. We would still pay them as if they were there the whole time because we knew it was a tough job, and we wanted to keep them happy. In fact, one time we had two caregivers show up for the same shift due to some scheduling snafu, and we actually still paid the second person as if they did the work, even though they got to go back home. Now if they did not have to come over at all on a certain day, we would not pay them for that day.
Finding good home care givers is hard. You want to keep them happy, even if that means paying a few extra bucks. Nickle and diming your workers is a good way to get them to quit.
Thank you for responding . I take care of 2 elderly sisters in their 90’s I did agree when I was hired that if one sister left to visit family for a few days I would get paid for caring just for one. I was never told that if family came to visit over the holidays that my hrs would be cut and I could go home without pay. I do plan on addressing this in hopes that they understand if I’m left without my full paycheck I will give me notice. I just don’t know how to put it into words without offending the son that hired me.
Basically, being private hire you have no real right without a contract or agreement. I would sit with family and tell them that you are dependent on your wages and must have security in knowing your work hours daily and weekly so that you can budget for your living needs. You either can or cannot come to an agreement with them, and if you cannot you must move on where you can find agreement. In future, these jobs need to have a meeting with the responsible party and an agreement you come to as to number of hours you will expect to be paid weekly. Also a list of their expectations of what you will and will not do regarding the care, cooking, cleaning, etc.
Are you told you can go home because someone is now there with your client? If so, with no written agreement, I guess they can dock ur pay. If you are expected to stay during the visit, then yes, you should be paid. Is the family who visits signing your check, they are the POA?
If you are hourly pay, then I guess they can dock you. But if your paid a salary, you get paid the same thing every week. This is a discussion that needs to be done between you and whoever pays you. They need to know that u rely on a certain amt of hours to pay your bills just like everyone else.
We have a few members that work as Caregivers, Hope they can help.
Yes the son of the client I care for hired me. He is visiting for a wk and will be staying at the residence. Since he will be there with his mom he won’t need me to complete my full 10 hrs and plans on giving me the rest of the time he is there off without pay. I will still go to work for a few hr each day but will be leaving early. His visit shouldn’t affect my pay. He is visiting for a week this month and a week in December.
Someone else posted What does your contract state? Also, who is your employer? If it is the patient then they are your boss if it is a adult child then that person is your boss. Outsiders will come in and try to take over you have to stand up to them and tell them they are not your employer.
It's a cheap a** move for the family to do that and it is not right. I hope you are not a live in and have your own home to go back to every day. If I were you I would tell them that you have an agreement to get paid for 10 hours a day, regardless of if they are there or not (unless you have an agreement that states otherwise) and they need to pay you for the 10 hours a day. If they refuse I would find another job and leave this family behind. BurntCaregiver is an excellent resource for you and on this board about families and how they take advantage of care givers and how to set boundaries so you don't get taken advantage of by families like this.
I totally agree especially during the holidays when I count on my full paycheck. I plan on addressing this but need to find the correct words. Thank you for your support.
Either give you the week off or pay your full wages for shortened hours. Those are the only 2 choices he should have.
If you like your job and want to keep it, call him and explain that you need ALL of your pay or you need to be free to take a temporary gig. Let him know that you like your job and would hate to have to find something else but, your landlord doesn't take money off the rent because you are not getting a full check.
Honestly, most people have no clue how to be an employer and that means treating their employees fairly, honestly and justly, they usually fall flat faced before they learn. This could be his fall and you can help him not hit hard by being open and honest.
Best of luck!
You could be proactive though. If you know they come for Thanksgiving and Christmas plan on taking the week of Thanksgiving off and the same right around Christmas.
If you can, take another caregiving job at that time so that you will get paid. And if they decide that you are needed you can say that since you normally are "given time off" at the holiday you put in for a temp job.
I suppose the answer to your question though is...
What is the wording of your contract?
Are you paid "properly" by that I mean working the proper number of hours, after that are you paid "overtime". (after 40 hours are you paid overtime)
Are taxes taken out?
Is this job contributing to your quarters for Social Security?
Sounds like having your cake and eating too. For him.
He has arranged for himself a nice visit where you let him get away from care when he wants, and you pick up the slack. Leave him with the problem of working out what to do when he really has the full job. You never know – he may find that he values you and has second thoughts about being a cheapskate!
I agree, if son wants to keep you, then he should pay you. But, you should always have a written contract with everything covered. Would you expect payment if both sisters went to a relatives house for a week so you weren't needed. If so, this needs to be covered in a contract. Do you expect to be paid if your sick or theirs a family emergency...needs to be covered in a contract.
You have to realize though that as a person who worked f/t and p/t, especially p/t, if I did not work, I did not get paid. If I came in an hour late, I got docked. Got sick and had to leave work, I got docked. It was only when I worked for companies that offered vacation pay and PTO that I got paid for time I took off. This maybe where the son is in his thinking. He pays you an hourly wage for a hour worked. You aren't working, so he doesn't see where he needs to pay.
Were you told that you would not be needed and not paid while family is here? If so, you now have thought it over and feel that thru no fault of your own, you feel you should be paid for those hours because you count on that check. See what he says before you tell him you will be looking for another job. Can you take less money? Really, if he is a good boss and the women are easy to care for, you too may not get a better job. It is a lot of money to give up, though. I so hope there is a compromise. Please update us.
A good CH will always find something to be doing.
My clients family not only never 'cut' my pay, they went to my company and insisted on tipping me out each month so I was making a decent wage of $15 an hour instead of the $8.50 they paid me. It was all done aboveboard and legally and the other CG's in the company never knew. (I was also working a 2nd job for $20 an hour 'flipping' houses with my sister. Why would I keep a job that was truly hard over $11.50?)
The family has signed a contract and mine was that when I was present in the home, even if my client happened to not be there (unusual situation) or was busy with visitors, I was still paid. I'm pretty sure if that happened to me, even once, I would have walked away.
Good grief. An in home CG is your lifeline to sanity-why would you balk at the few dollars you spend to relieve yourself of the endless needs of an elderly relative?
She is like gold to me (us) and I want her to be happy and treated fairly. My mom is pretty demanding.
The problem, as others have pointed out, is if you are working directly for the family and don't have it in writing that you will be paid the full 10 hours, it's difficult to fight. I hope things work out.
Finding good home care givers is hard. You want to keep them happy, even if that means paying a few extra bucks. Nickle and diming your workers is a good way to get them to quit.
I sure wish you good luck.
If you are hourly pay, then I guess they can dock you. But if your paid a salary, you get paid the same thing every week. This is a discussion that needs to be done between you and whoever pays you. They need to know that u rely on a certain amt of hours to pay your bills just like everyone else.
We have a few members that work as Caregivers, Hope they can help.