Find Senior Care (City or Zip)
Join Now Log In
D
doctorno Asked June 2020

Live-in caregiver compensation?

I previously posted a question about live in caregiver pay. From the answers it seems a live in caregiver pay is the same compensation as a non live in. Given that, is it possible to charge the live-in caregiver for room and board? Otherwise what is the advantage, if any of having a live-in?

pnutbutrnchoc Jun 2020
It’s the assumption that you have a partner in caring for loved one(s), expectations, time off etc. having been mutually established and agreed upon.
Agencies are most happy to charge extra for respite care and extraneous coverage time(middle of night care & holidays. Un-interrupted sleep rules?)

If you can find an individual (1099) or agency charging a flat fee that is manageable, get clarification of the liability coverage, food consumption, errand\appointments for gas are good to have in writing.
Hope this helps.

FloridaDD Jun 2020
Every state is different.  Last I knew, NY allowed live in to be paid only for 13 hours if they worked 24, but got 8 hours of sleep time (of which only 5 was contiguous).   Somehow, hard as it is for me to believe, people take these jobs.  I suspect that many taking these jobs are undocumented and/or do not speak English very well (but just speculation).  People contesting this labor law have lost in court.

ADVERTISEMENT


cwillie Jun 2020
If someone needs live in care it is usually because they can't be left on their own at all and they have needs that informal (family) caregivers are not able/willing to provide for, so the advantage is peace of mind that someone is available 24/7. So live in care ensures help is available for someone who.....
-needs help through the night
-may fall and not be found until the next caregiver arrives
-has dementia and needs constant supervision to keep them safe, especially one who decides to go for a walk and may forget the way home
-needs some help with dressing, bathing meals and other ADLs which requires sporadic care at unspecified times, making scheduled caregivers less than optimal

I think you have to think of live in caregivers in the same way we view emergency responders, nobody expects EMS to only be paid when they are actually on call or firefighters to pay room and board for the time they spend at the firehouse.

Isthisrealyreal Jun 2020
Okay let's see, live in caregiver wanted. Pay in accordance with DOL standards, however, you will be paying your employer rent to give us the convenience of having you available to us for 24/7/365. You will also be required to buy your own food, even though you will be preparing and serving up meals for your boss. Oh yes, you will have to prepare your own meals because you can not leave your client alone to go out to eat. Please call to schedule an appointment.

Crickets

The benefits are that you have someone at the house for the majority of the time. Slavery was abolished, so you have to pay for services wanted. You can not ask someone to give up their lives to care for your loved one and not pay them a fair, livable wage and provide a living space that is required by your loved ones needs. The caregiver has to think about their future and current needs.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ask a Question

Subscribe to
Our Newsletter