Finding a carer to pop in daily

[Jannyhanny1964]

I'm trying (at a distance) to find a great person in Sevenoaks to pop in and see my elderly mother-in-law for an hour or so each day. We don't really want to use an agency, we just need to find a local gem, but we live some distance away and so we're not on the local grapevine. Any ideas?

[CMOTDibbler]

Its really hard to find someone who works for themselves as they usually only are found by word of mouth. Does your dh know any of his mothers friends, or does she go to a church? These can be good sources of information, especially if you need someone to do more than just personal care, but to generally keep an eye out for them in all aspects.

[magimedi]

I think you may struggle to find someone who will do this 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year etc. What happens if said person is ill?

I've used agencies (not in Sevenoaks) for elderly relative & found it has worked very well, there is always a 'core' group of careres who relative has got to know.

And some more random gem may well not have had CRB (think that's the word) checks etc.

[Needmoresleep]

I agree with CMOT and disagree with Magimedi. Eventually I ended up using a carer from my mums first care agency directly, as I had given her my detials and she contacted me when she left that agency. However I asked just about everyone and indeed soon after that a plumber told me his mum was a private carer whose main client had just died so that might have been an option.

The Government is clamping down on tax for the self employed. You need to make a choice, is the carer employed or self employed. The former means you are responsible for PAYE, NI pension contributons and so on. Possibly even insurance cover for the workplace. HMRC say:

Someone is probably self-employed and shouldn’t be paid through PAYE if most of the following are true:

they’re in business for themselves, are responsible for the success or failure of their business and can make a loss or a profit
they can decide what work they do and when, where or how to do it
they can hire someone else to do the work
they’re responsible for fixing any unsatisfactory work in their own time
their employer agrees a fixed price for their work - it doesn’t depend on how long the job takes to finish
they use their own money to buy business assets, cover running costs, and provide tools and equipment for their work
they can work for more than one client

I pay my mum's carer MORE than I would pay an agency, which allows for her to pay NI etc. I also leave her to it in terms of hours, simply expecting my mum to be taken care of, and so she can juggle round ovther work. (I recently increased the weekly amount as I realised that she is spending more time on my mum than I had anticipated as she taken over things like buying her clothes, groceries, and taking her to the GP if she is ill etc, plus to cover expensive days like Sundays and Christmas.) When she goes on holiday the carer asks a friend to step in.

Having someone who my mother likes and trusts is invaluable, and I am willing to pay more for it to be worth her taking on the burden of self employment. However otherwise I would use an agency as they cover the lot, including DBS checks.

[Anna4392]

I find self employed carers for my granny through a site called myhometouch.com where you can search for carers in your local area. The company does all the checking of the carers but you get to choose who you meet and how you work with them. It's kind of like and Airbnb for care.

My granny has used a carer from them since October and been so relieved not to have to go through an agency with different people coming in each day.

She is based in London but they may also have some carers in Sevenoaks, you can enter your postcode and see if anyone comes up.

Hope you manage to find someone.

[JABBIN14]

Hi, I'm new to this forum, and I am also looking for a private carer for my disabled mum in Worcester area. I've made contact with social services and various agencies but they are quite expensive. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Needmoresleep]

Jabbin14, my experience is that if you start with minimum wage, add in thing like employment costs (NI, pension, sick and holiday pay etc), agency admin costs, extra pay for weekends and holidays, petrol costs and journey time etc, most agency fees stand up to scrutiny. It is expensive. What our parents' saving has done is buy them a level of choice at this important point.

Depending on the level of care she needs you might find someone willing to do it on a casual basis. For example a neighbour who would pop in, or perhaps an au pair/foreign language student wanting somewhere to live. Or some help, say with shopping, might be available from local charities. But otherwise you pay.