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You get what you pay for! I am with some of the other posters....at least pay $11-$12 an hour. Not sure I would want someone who is working for $9 an hour caring for my mother. Money can be made again....you cannot get another mother!
Just my 2 cents!
That is good to say if you HAVE $11-$12 an hour to pay. Multiply by two. It well exceeds $100,000 a year to go that route. Not a disposable income I have.
Remember I am talking about an assistant to a primary caregiver - someone who has to assist with transfers in the morning, 3 times a day (wheelchair to toilet) and into bed and never has direct responsiblity for my mother, never has to prepare her meals, never has to bathe, dress, or wipe her. Just help stablize her when she stands until she can sit. Because I don't feel a one-person transfer is appropriate for her.
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I do get, however, that the average response here is that even though the person is only working 2-3 hours out of a 12 hour day [they are not providing any sort of companionship the rest of the time] they should be paid full pay for the full 12 hours. Amplify that by all the people who are trying to stay at home and cannot afford and get by with alternate arrangements. It is a major problem as we keep getting older. I can certainly add that the care my mother gets at home far exceeds what we saw in even a good nursing home (where we put her while retrofitting a house)....So reality may play me differently and I may wind up having to give up 7 days a week to help care for her. (Instead of the 5 I was hoping for).
I wonder if Greenville Tech has a job office? When I was in college I found a job through the college employment office. They had job postings for students to look at. It was a good way to earn some money, plus it gave me references for when I graduated.
I think that is a great idea. Am definitely going to follow up with them and USC Nursing school. I figured a student would be a prime candidate.
$12-$15 an hour. I understand the actual work time is minimal... but if you are requiring someone to STAY there then that is time you need to pay for. The reality is, you want someone to stay with mom for 12.5 hours and only want to pay them for 3 hours worth of work- and at a minimum wage at that. So you'll pay them $20-/+ for a full day worth of being stuck somewhere. I hear the concern you have over the financial piece of this, but I just don't think that your plan is going to fly with many people. The gas alone would eat up that in a heart beat.
As for the whole being an employer deal... In the past I've done plenty of contract work, in which case I take FULL responsibility for all that goes along with that. I don't understand why people think there is only 1 way to do things.
You might also want to try Care.com. Maybe you'll have some luck there. Good luck!
I did not say I wanted or expected to pay someone $20 for a 12.5 hour day with about 3 hours of actual working; I was postulating as to whether or not something below minimum wage would wind up working. I can tell you from experience that you can get good reliable FULL TIME /full service caregivers for $8-$10 an hour in this locale.
Actually the IRS documentation is pretty clear that in home caregivers do not fall under the independant contractor classification [that would be the case, were I to hire an agency but my past experience with agencies has left something to be desired]
I think these are salient questions for an aging society in a poor economy.
I did not say I wanted or expected to pay someone $20 for a 12.5 hour day with about 3 hours of actual working; I was postulating as to whether or not something below minimum wage would wind up working. I can tell you from experience that you can get good reliable FULL TIME /full service caregivers for $8-$10 an hour in this locale.
Usually when you are offering fewer hours, you offer higher pay.
Is it legal to pay less than minimum wage? I find it kind of sad that such qualified people are forced to settle for such low pay.
Yes it is legal in many circumstances and this is one of them. Also, WHAT qualifications? There are none. One of my caregivers does not even have a GED (though I have encouraged her to no end to work on that). Nursing care is highly skilled care. Sitting with an old person and taking them to the bathroom is not. Once I teach them how to transfer her and how we bathe her all is good. I have two people for bathroom trips because I don't want anyone to get hurt or strain themselves. FWIW during the week (Monday-Friday) I telecommute and I am the one who is the assistant while holding down a 40 hour per week plus job. [most of my work is before and after work with a few 5 minute interruptions for bathroom trips-my own work interruptions are fewer than those of the average smoker by far-it is just being tied down every weekend that is too much for me anymore]
Also for live-in care where their work place is their primary residence they can get about minimum and come out well ahead because they are not paying food, rent, utilities. It works for the right set of circumstances - all earnings are good pocket money; their disposable income is higher than my own.
I have narrowed my weekend-only scope to a student who could take advantage of that time to study (free wi-fi, nice distraction free environment) while earning both a job reference, decent pay for the amount of work they are doing (my kids have worked some HARD jobs for minimum wage that leave zero time for study), and having a dedicated time and place for study.
Points to consider-A good discussion on the topic.
I did not say I wanted or expected to pay someone $20 for a 12.5 hour day with about 3 hours of actual working; I was postulating as to whether or not something below minimum wage would wind up working. I can tell you from experience that you can get good reliable FULL TIME /full service caregivers for $8-$10 an hour in this locale.
Actually the IRS documentation is pretty clear that in home caregivers do not fall under the independant contractor classification [that would be the case, were I to hire an agency but my past experience with agencies has left something to be desired]
I think these are salient questions for an aging society in a poor economy.
I find it interesting that you post as if you are asking how much you should pay when you clearly have already formed an opinion, and then seem to be defensive when people think you should pay significantly more than what you want. Pay them less than minimum then if that is all you can pay.
The point is a 12 hr shift where one must be in the home to help with caregiving seems as though it is worth more than minimum, otherwise I do not think the benefits would outweigh the costs for the employee. say you wanted to pay someone $5 an hour. 60 dollars minus taxes, gas, and three meals for themselves(assuming you wouldn't be providing them) doesn't leave much IMO. especially when they could be making more at a gas station.
I worked at the airport as a wheelchair assistant for under minimum for a few months, until I realized my paycheck wasn't big enough to cover me driving there every week, and my tips were not anything to call home about. trust me I had plenty of study time there as well, and wifi, but the job wasn't worth it.
Also, live in care for minimum makes ok sense to me, although I wouldn't personally do it. you are taking so many other bills out of the equation the caregiver comes out ahead, there's no travel time, no electricity, gas, water, rent, cable, internet bill etc.
No, I am just honestly surprised, knowing what my daughter gets during the week to work a LOT harder than this and suggesting I should pay someone more than she gets to do a WHOLE lot less. ......for a less skilled job..
The defensiveness is probably because of the implications that this is not legal. Everything we are doing is 100% within the bounds of the law. I could only do it under the table if I was some rich politician. .
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