Invisible0ne Asked March 2023

Private caregiver wants to be paid even though the patient has been admitted to a hospital for a few days. Is this a common practice?

My private pay caregiver is requesting that she be fully compensated for her usual hours even though the patient is currently in a hospital. I’ve been giving her other tasks, such as cleaning, to at least give her something to do & a reason for me to pay her. She is angry about having to “be a maid” (all work is specified to the patient, no other family members, etc. ) And I agree, she is not a maid. Housekeepers are paid a fraction of what she gets. I’ve offered to pay her to visit with the patient in the hospital, but that it will be for travel time/gas & time spent at the hospital, not the full day's pay. Over the holidays I gave her an exceedingly large cash gift in appreciation of her work. Perhaps this why she thinks she can get paid even when there’s no work?

I can’t begin to count the amount of times I’ve been sent home from a job without pay because there simply was no work available that day. I understand & appreciate that we all want job security. But I cannot control the health of the patient. Hospitalization happens.

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If you want to keep a good caregiver you would do well to remember that they have bills to pay whether they are coming into the home or not, there is no shortage of others who need care (in my area many agencies even have wait lists) and they may simply not be available when the patient returns home.

Helpful Answer (9)

OK your updates make a big difference, although there may be tons of other job opportunities for caregivers there are few if any than hand out $5K holiday bonuses as well as a generous weekly paycheck with enough free hours per week to enable secondary employment, IMO the power balance is definitely in your favour and she is the one who should be thinking twice before biting the hand that feeds her.

Helpful Answer (8)

@cwillie

I was a caregiver for several years to a man who handed out a 5K Christmas bonus to his caregivers every year. If the family can afford it, why not?
Bottom line.
If they want to keep the caregiver then pay her not to give another client the hours.

(5)

Several times while my parents were hospitalized I paid my private caregivers part of their full pay just to keep them. Once a caregiver was paid to be at the hospital evenings. While in rehab I hired them to spend evenings with my dad who needed extra help.

Do what you can to offer help. My caregivers were happy to clean their apartment and do anything.

I was very blessed to have these ladies.

Helpful Answer (8)

I pay my caretakers when my father has to be taken away from his residence for any reason (dr appts, hospitalization, etc). I take their job seriously. It is their livelihood. I want them to know that I take it seriously. I don’t want them looking elsewhere for work when he is away. I believe it shows them respect for what they do and that they are not just someone who fills space when I need them. One of my caretakers is able to come to the hospital when my dad is there and I pay mileage as well as “hospital pay“ which is a little more hourly. The way I look at it is I would be paying them anyway, so it’s not really an additional cost other than mileage. They are giving me a huge break if they can come to the hospital and I don’t have to be there all day as well as all night.

Helpful Answer (7)

Make that vacation pay so that she doesn't expect another vacation or she can be a maid for a few days and improve her patient's living conditions. No one gets paid for nothing unless they're recipients of welfare.

Helpful Answer (7)

Exactly!

(0)

Pay her. She could have found other work for the time in the hospital, but she planned on setting the time aside for you. You want to keep her? Pay her.

Is she a cash employee? If she were paid legally she could file unemployment for those days.

Helpful Answer (6)

If you expect this caregiver to continue to keep you on her schedule then she has to be paid to not take other work while the client is in the hospital.
I did private-pay caregiving for many years and was in exactly this situation many times. A client gets hospitalized. Or has to temporarily go into rehab. Or goes on a vacation. Whatever.
What I always did was insist on half pay to keep them on my schedule and I do nothing. If a client or their family still expects me to clean the house and visit the client in the hospital, then it's full pay.
I always charged hourly and the price is the price. Half pay if I'm keeping you on the schedule. Full pay if you expect me to clean and stay with the client.

Helpful Answer (6)

This aide is being paid $40 an hr for 3-8hr days and gets a 5k bonus at Christmas. Don't u think she is being paid very well?

(9)

This person is CNA? My daughter is an RN who specializes in woundcare and just fought for 95k a year on a new job. Thats about $45 a hour.

Since Burnt has done this type of work and now owns a business, I would go with half pay. But she did do some work, so maybe this time give her full pay.

Helpful Answer (6)

I see both sides here, but if I was satisfied with the caregiver’s care, then I would pay her full salary rather than risk losing her.

All of the answers from previous posts are good. There are a couple of responses that I especially agree with though, I agree with Stacy to check the workman’s compensation to see if she is covered for housekeeping.

I also like the point that cwille made about not biting the hand that feeds her, especially since her employer has been very good to her.

Each person should show respect and gratitude for each other. It’s an equal partnership. They are dependent upon each other. Therefore, they shouldn’t be in a power struggle with one another.

Helpful Answer (6)