We have been getting home support in 3x a week. They come in the morning on mom's dialysis days to help her with personal care and meals, and back in the evening to help with meals and make sure mom is comfortable. They do quite a lot in a small amount of time, including some housework like dishes or bedmaking, and it's a huge help to me - I can now sleep in a bit on dialysis days (my morning personality is not suited to helping someone shower or clean their bottom!!), and I can plan evening activities knowing someone is there to make sure mom is safe and looked after.
We're in Canada. This is organized through the public health system, but the home support is operated by a private company that holds the contract with the government. How much you pay is based on your income - low income people would get a full subsidy for home support, for example. Mom has enough income that we are not subsidized, but honestly, I feel what we pay is pretty nominal ($40 per day), and consider us lucky to live where we do. For that, we get about an hour and a quarter's worth of home care per day - 45 minutes in the morning and a half hour in the evening. We could get up to 4 hours per day if we were assessed for needing that much. The down side of using "public" home support instead of going to a private company is that there is a rotating group of workers, and who we get when can be a little unpredictable.
I know these women - they are almost all women - don't make much money in comparison to the work they do. Minimum wage in my province is $11.35, and I'd be surprised if they make much more than that. I'd guess $12-15 at most. Lots of them seem to be single moms. We don't always get the same workers, but there are 2 regular ladies that mom and I both really like, and these 2 almost always do the morning the shifts (which are the longest and most physically intimate). The rest are workers we see occasionally, but we're getting to know them too.
So my question is - is it appropriate to tip home support workers during the holidays? And how much do you think would be appropriate? Would you differentiate between the workers who provide regular care and the ones who are there occasionally? Would it be more appropriate to give gifts? (I don't do holiday baking or crafts, so it would end up being store bought gifts.) I would greatly appreciate your thoughts on this!
Make a donation in her name to a non=profit of her choice. Make her a goodie plate or something small (a scarf or pair of gloves) but stay away from cash or gift cards. The aide needs to reports all gifts received to the agency they work for.
What if the gift comes from a family member of the vulnerable person though?
My mom is in NH so we can't do gifts to anyone over a few dollars however they usually have a Xmas party so I donate a nice bottle of wine for the draw they have at the party so it is not to any 1 person but to the group - these parties are generally in early Dec. so do it soon - this way the maintenance man / cook / directer all have equal chance to get the gift & they do as much behind the scenes as the front line people
There are laws here in Ontario that no person working with vulnerable people can accept significant gifts or they can be charged with elder abuse so by going to a group not a person then that means no body is singled out - hope this helps
We are in BC, Canada. Home support is provided by a private agency under contract to the regional (public) health care body. We pay the agency directly, but the fee scale (even if you don't get subsidized, which we don't) really seems nominal compared to what people are paying in the US, considering we could get up to 4 hours a day for $40 if we needed it (less than minimum wage). I guess technically we pay the rest through our tax dollars. But having been an office temp at one point in my life, I know how much usually goes to the agency and how little goes to the worker!
The problem with this policy is that an exceptional caregiver doesn't directly receive the gift of appreciation she deserves! I suspected that the agency of our mom's reliable caregiver had such a policy, so we slipped cash into a Christmas card. She was very grateful.
I volunteer in a literacy program and a student gave me a thank-you note with a cash gift. I was touched by her gesture but embarrassed; I didn't need the cash, and she had dug deeply into her pocket to give it.
My program director said I could suggest she donate the money to the program instead. The program receives an abundance of donations and grants, so I found that idea offensive. I wrote her a warm thank you card returning the cash, explaining I'm not allowed to accept it, and would be happy to go for coffee one day together after class instead.
We have a Head Nurse/Worker that arranges the Home care & anything else we need my suggestion would to be call your person/Worker & ask her what is acceptable. I am going to do that myself. We are totally subsidized as my mothers income is low. I do bake so I might make just make cookies. As a 24/7 caregiver it does get tough. I do appreciate whatever help I get with our homecare & right now they don’t do as much as Your mom’s people but in all I still appreciate them very much. I have also noticed some are single mothers.
Hope I was of some help. If you ever need to chat message me please anytime.
Cheers GailMarie
When I was a single mother caring for other people's children the best gift was cash. Although gift cards are nice, they limit you to one store (unless you buy a 'Mall' card), the item purchased is often a bit more or less than the gift card value, so I would have to top up, or not get the full value. Boxes of chocolates are immediately regifted, I do not want them.
Cash can be used to pay an utility bill or be tucked away for a rainy day.
Another nice thing was being taken out to lunch or dinner (nothing fancy) by the family. Or having a lunch left for me (I prepared lunch for the children and dinner for the family).
How to allocate the money between workers? I love math, I would add up the hours for each care giver over the next month. The top two would get something over and above, the others, as you may not see them on gift day, I would do a total cash gift and ask the agency to distribute it.
If you disregard that the shifts are different lengths, and just assign $10.00 per shift for the next 4 weeks, you would be dividing $240.00 between the workers based on # shifts worked. Of course you can use any $ amount per shift. You can give the regulars something extra to recognize their additional contributions.
Depending on where you live you could give tickets for the care giver to take her family to a special Christmas event. In Victoria, Butchart Garden's Christmas lights are beautiful, but make sure you give extra to cover the cost of hot chocolate and a treat. Vancouver has the new Christmas Lights, and I believe Grouse Mountain has a Christmas event too now. I am sure in your community there are similar events.
Thank you for posting your question. I am also from Canada and I did not know what to do at Xmas with the nurse that takes care of my husband's problem and the man that showers him. I had not thought about gift cards but that's an excellent idea. I'll give each of them an Amazon gift card so they can use it to buy whatever they may like. I don't like to give cash as it seems so ...diminishing.
Best wishes to you and your mother and may your holyday season be peaceful and serene. That's all I ask and hope also for mine.
WHAT I'D DO IF IN YOUR SHOES: (1) if tipping not allowed, buy a gift or gift card for their child(ren) somewhere. Target, toy store, book store; (2) if tipping allowed, let your heart lead the way. Honest, caring carers are gems of gold. Commitment, hard work, and compassion are invaluable. Thank them anyway you feel is appropriate; (3) we know that rules are rules and folded green thank yous are often provided regardless. I cannot give the maintenance crew any thank yous at the end of the year where I live (ind senior living). I wanted to give one of the two a bottle of Tequila and he said he could not take it. I said "okay, I'll just leave it here by the door and walk away." I never saw it again. Cheers.
$11+. We give her $100. at Christmas. I do give her a gift
on her birthday and other smaller things on occasion.
She's a single mother and does appreciate being thought of.
Honestly, for me? A little "trinket" would have been pointless and useless to me. I appreciated the cards the family gave me, and the many, many thanks better than a tree ornament or some such thing.
DO check with the company--I know mine was "opposed" to tips, but turned a blind eye if you got one.