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I want to hire the caregiver that has been available. The agency has faulted by not providing other coverage for this one caregiver. Did the agency breach the contract by not giving adequate care as promised? On this caregivers day off, there is no one sent to help the client. Can I get out of the service agreement? Can I fire the agency and hire her?

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Lovemyjob, read the contract. There may be a "finders fee" if you should decide to hire the caregiver on your own, and those fees are very expensive. As for not providing other coverage, again read the contract as there is probably a clause in there.

Usually Agencies are licensed, bonded, insured and has workman's comp in case the caregiver gets injured. Thus, if you are able to hire the caregiver away from the Agency, will you be able to pay her payroll taxes, be insured for workman's comp, and any other benefits the caregiver might have been given?

When I went looking for a caregiving Agency, I checked out only the nationwide Agencies. The one I choose had excellent caregivers. There was only one time in over a year that the Staff couldn't find someone to cover as it was a last minute request [Dad was discharged from the hospital early] so I had to watch him. Oh, the finder's fee was $10k should I wanted to hire their employee.
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love, I wouldn’t try to do this to save money. The caregiver you like is receiving benefits for that higher fee, which s/he must like and deserve. After you read the contract, you’ll know what you can demand for future coverage and let them know you’re serious about them providing what they state. There is a huge array of online forums for consumer reviews these days, so you may remind them of that as a bit of leverage.
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There should be a contract between you and the agency which should answer most of your questions. Regarding the caregiver and agency, many times they signed a non-compete contact as I am sure this happens often. As far as getting out of your contract, read it regarding those off days, was the agency to provide aide 24/7 or 7 days a week? If so and they have not, I would use that to get out of your agreement. You need to ask your caregiver does she work somewhere else on off day with you
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The agency is grossly negligent. They have put your loved one at risk by not fulfilling their agreement. Go ahead and hire your caregiver of choice away from them. They should be afraid of you suing them for non-performance. You shouldn't be afraid of them. If the agency is not performing then there is no contract in force. You do not need to give them 'notice'. Whatever the caregiver has as an arrangement with the agency is not your concern. Just make sure you get with your insurance agent to make sure they are covered in case of accident. You should hire the caregiver as a 1099 independent contractor. The caregiver will be responsible for any taxes, soc sec, etc. Also draw up some sort of basic agreement and have the caregiver rep that she has her own workmans comp. After all this is in place, call the agency at the end of the day and tell them there is no need to send any more caregivers. No need to worry about 'getting out' of a service agreement. They have already defaulted and you should make them worry that you may sue them.
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Oh no, careinhome, I would not proceed in that manner. The company is NOT grossly negligent.

I am a nurse and I work for an agency. I have one patient that I care for 3 days a week. I am considered per-diem. That means I don't have to work any day I don't want to because I don't get benefits. The full time staff are assigned to a patient 5 days a wk. or split between 2 patients. Some just want to work here and there and not have a set schedule.

In my agency, there is no "guarantee" of nurse or caregiver coverage. That would actually be impossible to guarantee. What if all the staff weren't available due to previous commitments, are sick, kids are sick, don't have transportation, are working with another patient, etc.

I doubt very much that a 'guarantee' is in their contract. It would be foolish to cancel a company who can provide staff most of the time. As I understand it, you, the consumer, can leave at any time. I have known patients that go from one company to another. It's not illegal to do so.

Lovemyjob,
Please check the agreement you have with the company. You will find that you can not hire the c/g from the company without a fee. I guess you could end your dealings with the company and go to another company. Get coverage from them and wait awhile, then your old c/g (the one you want to privately hire) could give termination notice to the company and you could give termination notice to your new company but it's a tricky thing. If you're caught hiring her, they will probably press charges to get their fee. Make sure both of you know how to have her pay taxes correctly.
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Lovemyjob: I do not know why on the caregiver's day off that they don't have an alternate caregiver. You should check the contract you signed. Agree with freqflyer.
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I use a family owned agency - their caregivers are not paid benefits and choose to work or not or change plans if they like
Sometimes agency can fill a slot at the last minute and sometimes not especially if a caregiver has a child that gets sick

Another family agency I considered using had very strict rules - all in their favor not the clients

Trying to depend on outside help for someone in need of care at home is not an easy thing to do
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SueC1957, if your agency only can provide care when they feel like, you're working for the wrong agency. I own an in home care agency. I am well versed on this subject. I agree she should check her agreement and if the agreement says they will only provide care when they can, she should find a more professional agency ASAP. It's a tough business but the care of a family member should never take a back seat to agency concerns or hardships. I am certain there is an immediate out of the contract under the described circumstances unless it is an unfairly burdensome agreement and in that case any judge will side with Lovemyjob.
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Someone said to go with a National homecare agency. I used a National agency and had vacancies several times a month over the 2 years we had in home care. We live in a rural area, so it was difficult to find an agency that would agree to serve us. We initially had 24/7 care because my FIL was weak. As he improved we decreased services. When he needed nighttime care again, we tried to hire a person who originally cared for him, through the agency. We were able to do that because she had left the agency more than a year prior to us requesting her service. She declined helping us due to personal reasons, but found a caregiver who could. We wanted to hire outside of the, because when we had service at night through the agency there were more times they could not fill, but more so, we were frequently getting someone we had never met and only ever served us one night.
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It's only Monday and agency let me know that they have 4 shifts to fill in the schedule this week due to caregiver cancellations
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Careinhome,
It must be great to own a caregiving company that *always* has enough staff. That's just not the case in Southern California. I'd love to know what you do when you have a "hole" in the c/g's shift. Do you go? I'm being serious. 

These types of in-home jobs (whether nurse or c/g) pay low. That's why there are often gaps. Everybody is applying to work at other places, doing other types of work or working in the hospitals. How do you pay the bills in the San Diego area on $11.-$12./hr.? (That's what they pay here.)

It certainly isn't that the company is providing care "when they feel like". They'd love to fill all the gaps but they can't attract enough workers with the low pay. This is one reason I live in Tijuana, Mexico instead of San Diego. I can't afford to live in my own country with what I make. I made 2-1/2 times what I make now when I worked in the hospital 15 years ago. Unfortunately, I can't work there now.

I've worked as a c/g and as a nurse for in-home companies. In both capacities the people I've cared for have had "holes" in their schedule at some point. I have called in sick twice in 2 years. Both times, I was driving to the house but had severe abd. pain. I pulled over in the hospital parking lot and called off. I don't think the shift was able to be filled. I kept working while recovering from diverticulitis. I'm very dedicated to the family.

I can only work 95 hours a month. That was fine when my patient only had 88 paid hours a month. He was recently interviewed by one of the two agencies that pay for my care and granted him another 20 hours a month. I can only fill 7 of those hours. As of now, there is no other nurse on staff that can fill the days the client wants. They are looking.

That's the problem when you have this type of company. Not enough c/g's or nurses are banging the doors down of the in-home agencies, trying to get the low paying jobs they offer. I have gone through 8 staff members leaving in the 2 years I've been there also.

For now, I might change a day that I work (not that I have to) to accommodate another nurse who can only work on one of "my" days. She's leaving in August. Then the "hole in the schedule" starts again.

I'm so happy that your area has an abundance of c/g's. You are fortunate indeed.
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We used a small caregive agency with Dad, for part time care 3 days a week. I must say when our regular gal could not come, the owner came out with the fill in to introduce her to dad (ALZ) and mom and make sure everything was fine. We also wanted to hire our regular gal full time privately( like the Brady Bunch Alice) she was awesome! But the buy out was thousands of $$ for 2 years! And then add on the extras like SS, insurance.. no way! They train these people, and have an investment in them staying. We were lucky she only was unable to come about 3 times in 2 years! We still think of her fondly, and when Mom needs care we will be asking for her back!
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I've had quite a few offers over the years working as an admin assistant for temp agencies - but knew better than to accept them. Wiser to stick to the agency over the long run.
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This morning's caregiver cancelled at midnight last night

It's been a tough scheduling week as it is
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