Your Parents Need Help, But They Aren’t Ready For Assisted Living Yet?

Making the decision to seek additional help to care for your aging parents can be stressful for everyone involved. When your parents need more help than you can provide, but aren’t ready to move into a care facility, you may need to find a care alternative. Hiring an in-home caregiver is one of the best options. Here are some strategies that can help the transition:

Have An Honest Discussion

It is important to have conversations surrounding your loved ones wishes before they need assisted care. Doing this can help them communicate what they want, so you can move along with those plans when the time comes. This is far better than having to make a big decision about living arrangements and care during a time of crisis. Show your parents that you are their advocate and that you’re on their side. Be sensitive to the feelings they have as they think about this new chapter of their life.

Begin The Search For A Qualified Caregiver

If assisted living is not an option, finding a compassionate in-home caregiver may fulfill the additional care requirements they have. This allows your loved ones to get the care they need, in the comfort of their own home. A Senior Companion may either live-in or live-out and provide both companionship and assistance with daily tasks, or a Home Health Aide, which is a live-out position that focuses more on day-to-day medical assistance, but can also provide personal support to your loved one.

Understand Your Responsibilities As A Household Employer

It is important to understand whose employee this will be. A general rule is whoever is paying the wages is the employer, so determine if this will be you or your parents. You will also have household employer tax obligations, and may also need to withhold payroll taxes from your employee.

The employer’s payroll tax obligations include:

Social Security & Medicare Taxes
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
State unemployment and disability insurance taxes

It is important to remember that it is not legal to pay your caregiver’s wages ‘off the books’ or classify them as an independent contractor. This is a common misclassification and carries costly risks to both the household employer and to the worker. Learn more about distinguishing a household employee from an independent contractor here. If your caregiver works more than 40 hours you will be required to pay overtime wages under federal law. Your state may also have daily overtime laws you will need to comply with.

Moving forward with hiring an in-home caregiver is a big decision. Our experts at Old State Staffing will help ensure you find the right candidate, and connect you with resources to handle your payroll, taxes and/or benefits.

Aging, Assisted Living, Family Care, Growing Up, Parents, Senior Citizens

At Old State Staffing, we simplify hiring private staff for families throughout Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia and beyond. Ready to hire? Call us or submit a new hire request. Need guidance? Book an introductory meeting with one of our staffing experts!

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