Rights and responsibilities

The obligations of independent caregivers

Independent caregivers are committed to working for the good of the care recipient with other people and facilities involved in the nursing and care of the care recipient.  Furthermore, they are subject to a duty of confidentiality on all matters entrusted to them or of which they become aware in the course of their duties.

The rights of independent caregivers

  • The right to the contractually agreed payment for services provided
  • Independent caregivers are not obliged to provide services as part of their contractual obligation that are the responsibility of medical professionals. 
  • The right to live in the apartment of the person requiring care (exclusively on contractual agreement) 

 

A temporary replacement for an independent caregiver may only perform nursing activities if health care professionals have transferred these to the caregiver according to legal provisions  - after appropriate training. In the guidelines, other contractual arrangements also may be made, such as how to proceed in the case of illness of the independent caregiver
(e.g. avoiding any direct contact with the person requiring care).


The obligations of independent caregivers

  • Registering the profession of personal care
  • Provision of the contractually agreed services
  • Compliance with the guidelines for everyday activities and for emergencies
  • Obligation to cooperate with other institutions and persons involved in the care and medical care of the person requiring care
  • Confidentiality
  • Obligation to manage the budget record
  • Compliance with professional ethics
  • Upon conclusion of the contract, the mandatory written form of the caregiving contract and the information requirements of the Consumer Protection Act in particular must be observed.
  • Mandatory reporting
  • Registration with the social security
  • Tax and fee payments
  • Membership in the Chamber of Commerce

 

With 24-hour care, cover can only be provided by another independent caregiver and not by any employees of the care provider. This is because salaried employees are always subject to current working time regulations, as the Home Care Act with its special provisions does not apply to them. 24-hour care cannot therefore be carried out by an employee of a caregiver. Nor may an employee  carry out nursing activities.

Here are the most important conditions for delegating nursing and medical activities:

 

  • The delegation of nursing and medical activities may only be carried out in individual cases.
  • Nursing and medical activities may be performed only if the independent caregiver is constantly or at least regularly present in the household for prolonged periods.
  • A maximum of three people who must be related to each other can be cared for per household. 
  • Written consent must be provided by the person requiring care or by a family member, or their agent or representative.
  • There must be a written order by a medical professional relating to the defined activities.
  • As part of the guidance and instruction, an explicit reference must be made to the possibility of the caregiver rejecting the assumption of these activities.
  • The person who carries out the professional guidance or instruction must make sure that the caregiver has the necessary skills.
  • Delegation of nursing and medical activities has a fixed-term. It ends at the latest when the provision of care ends.