Setting expectations for your live-in-care giver

The person you hire will not be family member or guest. She will be an employee. Setting rules from he beginning will help make this relationship a success. Consider the following list of parameters:

Limit the hours: Live-in helpers can’t work 24 hours a day. Provide a reasonable schedule with time off. Generally, shifts last for eight hours but they can be distributed throughout a longer but reasonable time period.

Flexibility: If your situation requires flexibility, be sure to establish how extra hours worked or “on call” hours will be schedule and compensated. It is also a good idea to balance availability allowing the caregiver some flexibility – make sure she is given time off to be on her own or with friends.

Privacy: Your helper requires adequate privacy during non-working hours in her bedroom or the bathroom. Establish appropriate common areas of the house where she can relax. It is a good idea to provide the caregiver with a TV in her room.

Food and fridge: Decide if the helper will share food or buy her own. Will she have free range of the fridge, or have a designated shelf? The employer is responsible for the food expense so establish a list of expected food that the caregiver would enjoy. Consider allowing the caregiver to purchase certain favorite items, if a receipt is provided.

Establish a meal schedule: Give your worker the choice of having meals at established mealtimes or on her own, so long as it doesn’t interrupt her care-giving.

Phone: Installing a second phone line for your live-in helper is a good idea and can eliminate issues about phone use and paying for long-distance calls. If you will not have a separate phone, establish a clear phone policy. The caregiver will need to have access to an internet terminal for email or even web cams to communicate with her family.

Visiting rules: Allow reasonable time for guests to visit your caregiver.

Remember it is important to suggest that the relationship be two-way from the start. Your caregiver should feel good about her job so she stays and she puts as much effort into it as possible.

Add comment January 1st, 2009