Live in caregiver contracts are written agreements between a caregiver and the client who is hiring the caregiver. A live in caregiver contract is a legal document. Therefore, the client may want to seek the help of a lawyer to make a contract that abides by the laws of the state and protects the client.
Caregiver contracts may be between a client and an agency that provides caregiver services. When contracting home care from an agency, the agency typically has its own contract for the client to sign. The client should read this document carefully and be sure they agree to the terms before signing.
A caregiver contract may outline the basic responsibilities of the caregiver. This list of expectations can eliminate some misunderstandings between the client and the caregiver about the job. The list of duties may include which household chores and personal care tasks the caregiver is expected to do.
In some cases, a detailed list of tasks in the contract can protect the client if the client terminates the employment due to the caregiver’s negligence to do the outlined job tasks. If a caregiver is terminated for this reason and disputes the termination, the client can use the legal contract to support their case.
Live in caregiver contracts may include limitations that the caregiver is required to obey such as not giving advice to the person they are caring for regarding estate planning or finances. There may be other boundaries that the client wishes to set that are specific to their circumstances.
If the caregiver is to use a personal car to transport the person who they are caring for, the caregiver contract may state that expectation as well as what insurance the caregiver is expected to carry on the vehicle and passengers. The caregiver should also be required to keep a current driver’s license if driving is a job responsibility.
Sample caregiver contracts are available on the Internet, however it is important to remember that such a contract is legally binding. Since laws vary in different jurisdictions, the prudent thing to do is to seek local legal help for making a caregiver contract.
If the client has signed a contract with a home care agency, there may be additional terms included in the contract that would not be included if the client was hiring a caregiver directly. The contract is likely to still have lists of expectations of the caregivers even though the actual caregiver may not be involved in signing the contract.
The agency’s contract may include a clause that prohibits the client from trying to hire the caregiver directly in order to stop working with the agency. The contract may include some company policies such as a particular paperwork the caregiver is expected to file or the procedure for temporarily discontinuing services if the person in need of care is hospitalized.
Hiring a live in caregiver can be a stressful time for the individual or the individual’s guardian or family. Though it may be tempting to trust the caregiver without a contract, a good live in caregiver contract protects both the client and the caregiver.