What are the pros and cons of hiring a carer privately?
At Fish, we understand that to some, hiring a carer can feel like a lot to take on. That’s why our enhanced polices ‘Care Protect’ and ‘Healthcare Protect’ include extra support to our customers. These policies come bundled with access to a 24hr Employment Law and Health & Safety advice line. Please note that this isn’t included with our Basic Protect policy.
Furthermore, our Protect insurance policies come with access to Aquarium. This is a useful portal full of training and management tools to support you. We’ve assembled a range of free guides to help anyone that’s looking to hire a carer privately. We’ll cover everything from the pros and cons, to wages, taxes, insurance and more.
Private care at home
If you or a loved one needs some extra care at home, there are many options available. You may have decided that you’d like to explore the options surrounding privately employing a carer. You may not have explored the overall options yet. These include agencies, local authorities and more. We’ve put together a separate guide to help you to decide on what’s right for you.
Check out our blog on Hiring a Carer in 2023 to explore these options.
Below, we’ve broken down some of the key pros and cons of private employment to help you decide.
Why would I hire a carer privately?
There are many benefits to privately hiring a carer. It’s a great option for those who need the freedom, and not just ‘a one box fits all’ solution. These are some of the key points:
- It’s your choice on who you hire. You’re able to select a caregiver based on their character and your own impressions of them.
- Increased flexibility means you can find someone to suit your needs. Some agencies and authorities may have set ways of operating – and these may not suit everyone.
- No agency fees to pay. If you’re happy and able to manage things yourself, you can cut out the middleman. Thus, reducing the costs when getting a carer.
- A better relationship. Hiring someone directly means you can find someone who is on the same wavelength. This can build a great personal bond between carer and client. This is ideal for creating companionship for anyone living alone.
- If you receive it, your Social Care Personal Budgets could contribute towards the carer.
What are the things to consider when privately hiring a personal assistant or carer?
As you’ll become an employer, you will need to take responsibility for a range of things. These responsibilities may suit some, but not others. We’ll cover more responsibilities later in our series of guides, but these are perhaps some of the challenging points:
- Managing an employee can be hard at times. You’ll need to consider their holiday and sick leave and create an easy ‘plan B’ for these occasions. You’re also in charge of their discipline and behaviour.
- Trust is a big factor; you need to really trust someone to allow them into your home. Not to mention their ability to take care of yourself/a loved one.
- PAYE – wages and taxes can be daunting at first. Ensuring the person is paid correctly, plus tax and national insurance can be a challenge. There is also the case of providing pension schemes to explore. Particularly if you’ve not looked after this before.
- Multiple employees should ideally be arranged. This is so you have a backup plan to cover for sickness, holiday etc.
- The hiring process involves advertising, interviewing, checking DBS and references.
- Reliability you may need to replace your carer and start the hiring process again if they depart from your employment
By getting insured with Fish when employing a carer, you can choose cover such as Public & Employers Liability Insurance. To find out more about our insurance policies, visit our main product page, where you’ll find a breakdown of the benefits and exclusions.
More from this series
If you’re looking to hire a private PA or Carer, we’ve assembled a series of useful guides to get you started. Use the links below to browse:
