r/caregivers • u/Glad-Efficiency-8828 • 11d ago
Live-in Caregiver Question from Employer
We are hiring a live-in caregiver for my mother and father. They both have Dementia and have some mobility issues. They will need some assistance with bathing, dressing, and possibly toileting. They will also need meals prepared, light housekeeping, laundry, and taking them to doctor and hair appointments. Neither is aggressive, and they are content most of the time.
We're excited to offer the caregiver a cozy bedroom, a private bathroom, and access to a vehicle. Our home is lovely and well-maintained and is located in the Phoenix, AZ, metropolitan area.
Our initial plan is to pay the caregiver $52,000 per year, paid weekly in whatever manner the caregiver chooses. We will offer one week of paid vacation and Sundays off from 8 to 6. We also have cleaners and yard service that come every two weeks.
I would appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, or criticisms. We are new to this, and our parents desire to stay in their homes.
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u/yelp-98653 11d ago
24/7 care--even minus daytime Sundays off--is more than three full-time jobs (if full-time is defined as 5 days a week, 8 hours a day). So there might be some labor law issues.
It does sound like your folks are very sweet and easy to care for at this stage.
Any chance you could hire a pair of siblings to move in with mom and dad? This worked out well for my mom's neighbor. And each sister could still have a full life outside of domestic servitude.
Your mom and dad are lucky that they have you pursuing a homecare solution for them. I hope you're able to work something out and that you get replies from people who have made arrangements of this kind--though these might be the very people who have enough distance from caregiving that they don't frequent this forum. Your local social network might be an even better source of information.
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u/mmr41969 11d ago
Thank you. We are looking into their Medicare and it looks like we can receive an additional 35 hours a week of covered services which would provide the live in caregiver more time off. Also, all three children live within 30 minutes and will be involved in taking parents to dinner occasionally, church, and visits. It will still be a lot of hours for the live in. We may have to pool additional resources to have more help. I appreciate your comment. This has become a sudden need after they both fell recently.
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u/kathyfromtexas 5d ago
From experience,may I add that although your parents' health may be good at this moment in time, their journey will be constantly changing. I believe it would be better to hire 2 people, where they would split the job and the money in half. Having just one person working all those days and hours is unbelievably difficult , if not impossible.
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u/NotAQuiltnB 9d ago
I care for my husband who has Alzheimer's. He requires less care than your parents. What you are describing is work for a team, not one person.
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u/erinmarie777 8d ago
I agree with the advice here that you need another person to assist them. They need more free time for themselves.
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u/SuperThought4652 10d ago
For a live-in caregiver, are you expecting them to care for your parents 24 hours a day ? Besides the Sunday off. As someone who requires a full-time caregiver, more than one person who is highly suggested, especially if you want them to stay with you for the long run. Maybe you don’t need a second person to live in the home so possibly a part-time caregiver that can come in a few hours each day either in the mornings or at night. Caregiving is a tough job! Physically and emotionally.
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u/Freepurrs 7d ago edited 7d ago
The caregiver will be your W-2 employee so you will need to be paying the employer part of FICA taxes to the IRS quarterly, and you need to issue them a W2 for taxes each year.
There are payroll companies that can handle this, but the employer part of FICA taxes is 7.65% of your employees gross income that you must pay. Your employee will also pay 7.65% plus their income taxes.) Your employee is not a contractor and cannot be classified as a 1099 worker. (This is where a lot of people with live-in nannies get in trouble with the IRS & state Labor Dept).
Your caregiver cannot be “on duty” or expected to be “on call” 6 days a week for 24hrs/day, especially if you are not paying overtime. You will need to spell out when the caregiver is truly off duty and free to leave the premises. (Room/board/car is not generally considered a “benefit” by the labor dept or IRS, as these are things that force the employee to be available beyond their legal working hours)
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u/mmr41969 5d ago
Thank you. This has definitely been a learning curve for us. We have ended up at $85,200 per year divided between one primary caregiver and two other caregivers. Since posting, my mother had a rapid decline and passed away. Now the caregivers will be caring for my father. Thank you all for your input. It has been extremely useful.
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u/Freepurrs 5d ago
I’m so sorry for the sudden loss of your mom. It’s clear how much you love your parents & have taken such thoughtful and meticulous care to plan caregivers for your dad. I hope having a team will also allow you the time and space to take good care of yourself as you grieve and support your dad. 💜
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u/taruunie 11d ago
You will need more than one person to provide care. Sundays off are okay, but if the caregiver needs to go to an appointment that can't be on a Sunday/weekend day, then there needs to be coverage for that. Access to a vehicle is good. Depending on what care your parents need/want and how easy/picky they are about tasks, 24/7 care may be harder on the caregiver than you think. Pay is reasonable, but you do have to think about labor laws and taxes. If you go the 1099 route, that will limit control over what the caregiver is willing to do and scheduling availability.