Many live-in carers remain unsure of what exactly their job involves, and the lines remain somewhat blurred as to what they think they should do and what may be asked of them after they arrive at a placement. Additionally, there seems to be a struggle knowing how and where to set boundaries.
Ideally, boundaries should be set from the very start of a placement. Trying to change things as days pass becomes more difficult every day.
So, where do we draw the line between carer and cleaner for example?
It seems that cleaning is often the area where the live-in carer feels they are taken advantage of, and before exploring any further it is important to note that roles do differ from one placement to the next.
Even in a private placement there should be a description of required duties. As a live-in carer it is your responsibility in any placement to find this out. Before even agreeing to accept a private placement you must know what you are walking into.
Live-in care is no different in this aspect than any other job. No one would simply accept a job offer without knowing exactly what was involved, the hours of work and the rate of pay. Why would this be any different in live- in care?
Once the job description is agreed on, and the rate of pay accepted then, whether a contract is signed or not, it is accepted that the carer will arrive on a certain day and carry out certain duties.
For any agency placements the carer will be provided with a job description. In fact, this should be discussed even before the position is accepted so both parties know what is involved.
For example, the carer is told that the client has a cleaner who takes care of the house cleaning, leaving them to take care of the client, and then one day the cleaner quits.
Strange as it may seem, family and clients are going to assume that the carer picks up the slack and takes over the cleaning.
Of course not, because being the cleaner was not part of the initial agreement. The carer is within rights to refuse to do more than the basic cleaning or ask for extra money should they choose to take over that role.
As a carer, the responsibility is to clean your own room and bathroom and the areas that your client uses, within reason.
So you should keep the client’s bathroom clean, as well as the kitchen, sitting room and/or dining room. The carer is expected to wash the floor if needed, vacuum and keep areas dust free.
This is all basic stuff which any person would do in their own home, and since a carer lives at a placement, this is what they should be doing.
Problems arise when extra duties are added onto an already heavy workload and the carer finds themselves in the unpleasant position of knowing they are being taken advantage of, and worse, not knowing what to do about it.
Carers are not hired to clean windows, wash the car, weed the garden, polish the silver, move the furniture and clean underneath, shampoo the dog, unload and clean the cupboards, or shampoo the carpets.
Carers are not hired to do heavy cleaning, they are only expected to undertake light cleaning duties, and while the definition of light housework is subjective, there is a definite difference between a light clean and a deep clean.
Imagine that you have arrived at a placement only to find that the fridge is dirty, desperately needing to be cleaned, or that the microwave is splattered with food. Do you take on the job of cleaning these appliances, even though this may be regarded as more than light cleaning?
Most live-in carers would do a light clean because to leave things in that state means a health risk to the client and themselves.
However, once the appliances are clean, a simple wipe over with a damp cloth is really all that is needed to keep them in decent condition. Most live-in carers would not have any issues with this as it is something that they would most likely do in their own home.
While these are things that can be expected of a live-in carer, asking for all the silver to be polished or the car washed and the garden weeded are not considered light household duties, no matter which way they are addressed.
Unfortunately, a client or family may have the approach that the previous carer did those jobs so why can’t that continue with every carer? It becomes a very fine dividing line between helping out and feeling that you are being used.
In any situation it always helps to have a contract to refer to, so if at all possible make sure you have this before you start to discuss things.
If you do not have a contract the lines can become blurred, particularly when refusing to carry out extra jobs.
If you can speak to your client, then pick a quiet time to discuss things. Calmly state your case, reiterating what you were hired for and what you thought was expected of you. Explain that although things change, there are some things that are simply not the job of the carer.
You may be able to speak to a family member and explain how things have changed, more work is coming your way, and you feel that this was not what you were hired to do.
In a private placement you should approach the family, if talking to the client does not get results, More often than not they will simply let things go along because it is all too easy to leave things as they are and hope that the carer does not rock the boat, so to speak.
Working through an agency means that you will have a support team, or person who can intervene and discuss the issue with family and client.
Either way, if you feel that you are being taken advantage of, being asked to do more than was in the job description or feel that you are being used, then it is vital that you discuss this with someone.
Holding feelings of resentment and anger inside is never a good idea and no good will come of bottling things up.
Unfortunately, family and clients will tend to ignore a situation where they may have to do something to change things, leaving the carer in the precarious position of having to start a conversation which may lead to a confrontation.
Ultimately, if a carer is being taken advantage of, it is worth reminding the family or client that the primary role of a carer is to care for someone, rather than clean the windows, wash the car and mow the lawn.
Tags:
© 2025 EJOBBOARD LTD. All Rights Reserved.