What we do: The Home Care Mediation
Contents
- 1 What we do: The Home Care Mediation
- 2 The process: Care Plan and Procedure
- 3 The Variety of Options
- 4 The Care Mediation Commissions
- 5 What Else We Do
- 6 Self Employed Carers
- 7 Why to Choose the Live-in-Care as Service
- 8 The Live-in Carer’s Task may Include
- 9 Why to Choose Us
- 10 Are Testing Periods Available
We offer Live-in home care service through our dedicated caregivers and partners. The carers live in the house of the service user and therefore are present 24 hours. This does not mean their working time is 24 hours. That is not possible. It will be regulated in the contract for services that you will have to sign with one of our partners which are professional care providers who act as the employers of the carers. So here comes our first and very important task as part of our service: To communicate the care contract between you and the service provider.
But we want to make it fair to you. We defend your interests so we aim to get the right caregiver for your case and at the same time to negotiate best possible contract in terms of pricing.
The process: Care Plan and Procedure
We assess the care situation based on the information you provided to us. We set up a care plan together with you. Then we communicate the case with our partners who are established care providers. They will provide profiles of caregivers who have reviewed your case and are willing to take care of your loved ones as per the plan outlined to them. We then arrange the travel preparations with their employer. You caregiver will arrive and start working on the date you have indicated.
But our service to you is an ongoing process. We will always be available to discuss any changes you may wish to make in the future. For example if the care situation changes. Since our live-in-carers will, in most cases come from Eastern Europe and they will be employed by a care service company, rotations of the care personnel will be necessary. The posting periods depend on each individual caregiver but usually the minimum time period required by the care service providers to employ a carer for posting abroad is 3 months. So as part of our service it is our job to monitor those personnel shifts and when the time for a change comes closer we will send you suggestions and when you approve the next carer we will arrange the departure of the previous one and the arrival of the new one.
In this way we can guarantee continuous service.
The Variety of Options
The greatest advantage of our model is that we do not stick to one care service provider. We have many partners throughout the entire European Union. We have partners from Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and the Baltic states. They all are care service providers who have optimized their recruitment and advertisement to natural persons willing to take jobs as carers abroad. They offer language courses to their staff as well as care education and ongoing support. Our partners have a long history of serving clients in Germany, the United Kingdom and many and other western European countries. They are in full compliance with the posted workers regulation of the EU. This means their employees are covered with all insurances required as well as A1-Certificate. Please note the A1 certificate is not a private document. It is issued by a government body of an EU member state and is valid on the territory of the other member state where the care worker is posted. The A1-Certificate is a proof that all working and pay rate conditions such as the Ireland’s minimum wage are met, so there is no social dumping. Of course all posted care workers will be formally registered with the Irish Workplace Relations Commission. This posting model provides an insurance that we have a big variety of options for our clients. You can choose between the many operators.
The Care Mediation Commissions
As of now we do not charge any commissions. Our service is free for all people searching for elderly care solutions. We however receive a small fee from the care service providers.
What Else We Do
We also cooperate with staff agencies who are not the employers of the caregivers they provide. If we have to use such independent carers we can provide you with information on how to register as an employer in Ireland and put you in connection with an accountant if you do not have one. He will help you with monthly payslips and deduction and payment of taxes. He can also help you to complete your tax relief application. In this case however the placement agency which has found your carer will charge you a placement fee. So our service in this case comes to the point to negotiate the lowest possible placement and accounting fees for you. As we mentioned above our policy is to keep our service free for all people who are searching for elder care solutions. So in this case will receive small fees from the placement and accounting companies/
Self Employed Carers
This is what we don’t actually do. We do not deal with any self-employed matters because we do not believe this is in the best interest of the majority of people searching for home care solutions. If a person lives in the home of the service user it is presumed he/she receives instructions from the the service user or his family. A self employed person must not receive instructions from the client on how to do the job. This may be qualified as hidden employment with the family or service user as the hidden employer. We promote clear models of working relationships such as employer-employee, that is why our company policies are set up to avoid self-employment models. Furthermore there are not so many eastern Europeans who are willing to take care jobs as self employed persons. So if we utilize such a model there can be interruption of the service when the caregiver has to be changed for some reason. Our policy is to provide continuous solutions without interruption of service.
Why to Choose the Live-in-Care as Service
What is essential is that with the Live-in care service you can successfully optimize the care costs as you will not have to use separate services such as “night care” or “visiting day care”. The live-in-Care is like a nursing home but in your own home. Well the home of the service user. But in contrast to Nursing homes all the care is provided within an environment the service user is familiar with. This greatly contributes to his/her comfort thus improving life. The livein care is the most cost effective solution compared to any other care solution.
The Live-in Carer’s Task may Include
- Personal hygiene / shaving; bathing /
- Diapers change
- Help to use of bathroom and WC
- Medication reminder
- Food preparation / Meal planning
- Nutritional and Dietary needs
- Help with wheelchair / walker
- Shopping
- Light house work
- Accompanying to social events such as visiting friends, church or other institutions
- Help with social contacts
- Putting to bed
- Dressing
- Monitoring
Why to Choose Us
We offer cost effective care solutions. Our leading model is the posting model. It is extremely convenient as you do not deal with labor contracts and you do not have to “negotiate” with your caregiver about just everything. She has an employer to whom you pay and that employer deals with everything. Your only obligation is to pay one invoice for services per month. This is convenient compared to other models where you have to pay separate placement fees and salaries.
Are Testing Periods Available
Almost. Like every contract the care services contract must have a termination clause. With some operators we can negotiate a very short termination clause. Like just a few days during the first month of service. For example if the normal termination clause is two weeks advanced notice, we could negotiate something shorter like 3 days. If you decide that you are satisfied with you carer and you do not terminate the care contract within the first month of service the standard termination clause will be effective after that first month. Please note the termination clause in case of death of the service user or in case he or she has to go in hospital for an extended period of time is just 2 days. That means you will not incur any expenses except for those 2 days plus the departure costs which are limited to maximum of 100 euro.