My husband hires an independent (non-agency) in-home caregiver for his mother, 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. He intends to give the caregiver paid holidays on Thanksgiving and Christmas. His mother will be spending those days and the day following each holiday at his brother's house. His question is, "Is it customary to also pay the caregiver for the day after the holiday, if the person being cared for doesn't need them?"
Or, in general, if the one cared for is out of the house and not needing care, is it proper to simply tell the caregiver, "We won't need you tomorrow."
My husband is concerned that his very excellent caregiver would be losing income that she can't pick up elsewhere.
This issue is not addressed in any written agreement.
It seems a bad idea to risk spoiling a good relationship for such a small amount of money, and such an awkward amount of time for her to make up elsewhere. If your MIL were going to be away for two weeks or something it might be different. But two odd days? Can it really be worth it?
An “excellent” caregiver can be hard to find - and hard to keep if she doesn’t receive payment she is counting on but not receiving for no fault of her own. So why take the risk?
At the most it will be a gesture that makes her feel valued and appreciated. At the least - she might feel shortchanged and taken for granted. Seriously- you don’t want the latter.