This is a question which many new live-in carers may ask. While we hope that the agency we sign up with will always have enough work for us, there may be times when you are without a placement.
Finding yourself with no placement can be worrying especially if the UK is not your home country. You will be forced to seek accommodation and stay there until you or the agency find another placement. Depending on the time of year, this can be several weeks.
Many carers prefer and choose not to work over the Christmas holidays, and you will find that there is always a shortage of available live-in carers so it is unlikely that you will be without work for long.
Summer, however, is quite another matter when the country seems to be swamped with live-in carers who want work.
You may very well have read on the carer forums that there are carers who work for several agencies. The reason for this is that they prefer not to be out of work for any length of time.
Should you work for more than one agency?
Legally, there is no reason why you should not work for different agencies while you are classed as self-employed. In fact, it makes sense to be registered with two or even three just in case one agency has no placement for you.
If you are directly employed by your agency you may find that there is a clause which prohibits you from being registered with another agency, so be sure to check this out.
Are there any disadvantages?
You may think that this would be the ideal situation. You work exactly when you want to and for how long – what could be better?
Unfortunately, this is not always the case. The carer/agency relationship is very similar to any other relationship. While the agency will never ‘forbid’ you to work elsewhere, you may find a certain amount of jealousy creeping into your relationship.
Agencies tend to regard carers as their own, and finding out that you are working for several others may leave a sour taste in their mouth. You may find that you are no longer offered plenty of work and what you are offered may be at a lower rate of pay.
Although this is a sad fact about agencies, you should not let it deter you if you plan to sign up with another agency. You may have to be creative with the reason why you refuse a placement, and you will certainly need to be very organized for this to succeed, but it can be done.
Final thoughts
It is frustrating, not to mention expensive to find yourself out of work, and you may find yourself scouring the classifieds for private positions.
There is no reason why working for more than one agency should not work, and work well. It will keep you working for as long as you want.
Simply because agencies can become possessive about their carers, you may consider keeping things to yourself, rather than let them know that you work elsewhere.
Eventually they may ask you about your lack of availability. What you tell them is your business but they will, sooner or later, find out that you are working elsewhere and unfortunately may not be impressed with your decision, so make sure to weigh up all the advantages and disadvantages before joining another agency
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