Many families that hire a senior or elder caregiver to care for a loved one want to document the arrangement so that all parties - the senior caregiver, the supervising family member, other family members and the senior receiving the care - all understand the terms and scope of the employment agreement. This is a best practice at all times! You will want this document to restate the terms of employment, including hours and wages, and to memoralize the items you originally agreed upon with the caregiver. So what do you need to include in this senior caregiver work agreement?

 

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, companionship services

As more and more seniors are opting to "age in place", more families consider privately hiring senior caregivers as a way to help their loved ones stay in their homes, which are a safe and happy environment . This is uncharted territory for most people, and adult children who may have hired nannies to care for their children years ago wonder what they need to consider when hiring the senior caregiver.

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, companionship services

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, babysitter nanny tax, housekeeper, cleaning lady, maid, nanny, companionship services

Direct hiring of senior caregivers by families continues to increase, and families have questions about minimum wage, overtime and whether to pay the elder caregiver when they are sleeping. US News and World Report recently noted that "by a 9-to-1 ratio, people prefer to stay in their homes as they get older rather than moving into an institution." They often become household employers as they hire individual home-care workers to help them age in place.

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, companionship services, companionship exemption, senior home-care workers

You have a new baby in the house, you are not sleeping well, and you need to line up a great nanny before you return to work. Or mom is declining and you have to hire a senior caregiver to stay with her while you are working because she just is not safe alone any longer. Hiring caregivers, whether a nanny for your children or someone to care for your aging loved one, is a stressful experience.

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, household payroll tax

Q. We have a regular babysitter. Most weeks she watches the children 3 afternoons/evenings a week, just until I get home from work, so my wife can attend classes. We only pay her $200 a week. I have heard about "nanny taxes" but since she is not full time or a real nanny, that doesn't apply to me, right?

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, babysitter nanny tax, housekeeper, cleaning lady, maid, summer nanny, companionship services, household payroll tax

Many of HomeWork Solutions’ professional staff hold American Payroll Association (APA) professional accreditation. Regular professional education is a requirement to maintain credentials, and we receive many notices regarding webinars that help fulfill CPE credit requirements.

Topics: elder care, household independent contractor

Topics: elder care, household payroll tax, payroll tax enforcement

 The US DOL has proposed a series of rules changes that will result in a substantial number of elder care and home care workers being covered by the Fair Labor Standards Acts' (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime protections. This continues a trend of increased regulation and enforcement in the area of domestic service employees, with an increasing number of household workers being subject to Wage and Hour protections and enforcement. The proposal more strictly limits and defines the services of a "companion," and states that household employers MUST maintain accurate and contemporaneous time tracking records and pay household staff for every hour on duty. It also states that employees of third party employers such as staffing agencies are not exempt from minimum wage and overtime protections. Public comments will be solicited when the proposal is published in the Federal Register.

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, homecare, companionship services, companionship exemption

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, homecare, companionship services, companionship exemption