A Guide to Engaging your own Support Workers

Transcription

1 A Guide to Egagig your ow Support Workers This resource was idepedetly developed by My Place (WA) Pty Ltd ad is fuded by a grat from the Australia Govermet Departmet of Families, Housig, Commuity Services ad Idigeous Affairs. This resource, alog with editable attachmets, ca be dowloaded from

2 The opiios, commets ad/or aalysis expressed i this cosultatio process are those of the author, do ot ecessarily represet the views of the Miister for Disability Reform ad caot be take i ay way as expressios of govermet policy.

3 This booklet will help you if: 1. You have fudig for your persoal support through a fudig body, 2. You have thought about the best ways to arrage your support (that is, through a agecy that provides these services versus orgaisig it all yourself), ad 3. You have decided to employ or cotract your ow support workers ad maage your fudig yourself. If you have ot carefully explored poits 2 ad 3 above, it is strogly recommeded that you work through Attachmets 9 ad 10 at the ed of this resource, ad decide what will work best for you. If you decide to employ your support workers yourself the follow the steps i this booklet. Eve if you choose to have a provider employ your support workers, you may fid the material i this resource useful. Note: Support workers are people who are paid to assist people with disability with persoal care ad other health ad lifestyle activities. They also sometimes called support persos, paid carers or persoal assistats. c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia 3

4 Do I wat to employ my ow support workers? May people with disability feel more i cotrol of their life if they ca choose their ow support workers ad maage the employmet arragemets themselves. However, beig the employer or egagig a idepedet cotractor requires you to accept resposibilities ad meet certai legal ad regulatory resposibilities, such as: taxatio superauatio isurace ad work health ad safety Each of these topics is discussed i Attachmet 9. It is vital that you read through these topics to uderstad your legal obligatios before you choose to employ or egage your ow support workers. If after readig through these obligatios, you choose ot to employ your support workers yourself, you will have a clear idea about the services you wat ad will be i a better positio to purchase those services from a provider. After you have carefully read Attachmet 9, you should work through Attachmet 10 to decide which maagemet model will work for you. What will this resource help me to do? 1. Employ or egage or your ow support workers 2. Prepare a Budget, Weekly Pla ad Roster 3. Prepare a Duty Statemet 4. Prepare a Applicatio for Employmet form 5. Advertise for support workers 6. Determie what you are lookig for i a support worker 7. Iterview applicats 8. Choose the best applicat 9. Coduct a pre-employmet iterview 10. Appoit your support workers 11. Trai your support workers 12. Keep your support workers safe 13. Maage ad supervise your support workers 14. Termiate your support workers Note: It will be temptig to skip some of these steps ad hope perhaps to complete them later. It is very importat ot to do this, because all of the steps are importat. Issues that might ot seem importat at the momet ca become extremely importat ad lead to serious disagreemets that ca have legal cosequeces. 4 c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia

5 1 Plaig to employ or egage your ow support workers You should start by makig a list of the areas of your life where you wat the help of a support worker. Begi by listig ay help you eed with your persoal care. Next, thik about whether you wat help with your health care (such as attedig doctors, detists, therapists or hospitals). Thik about whether you eed assistace i gettig out ad about i your commuity: perhaps to go to the library, atted a class, visit a fried, do your shoppig or go o a outig. Also thik about whether you will eed ay assistace to write letters, sed s, pay your bills, call your service provider, keep a record of your expeses ad paymets, or acquit your fuds to your fuder. It will take some time to make this list, so expect to work o it several times before it covers all of your eeds ad iterests. Example of a Weekly Pla Morigs Afteroos Eveigs Moday Showerig, dressig, Shoppig Cookig, tidy up, breakfast, clea up trasfer to bed Tuesday Showerig, dressig, Visit sister Cookig, tidy up, breakfast, clea up trasfer to bed Wedesday Showerig, dressig, Go for a drive Cookig, tidy up, breakfast, clea up trasfer to bed Thursday Showerig, dressig, Shoppig Cookig, tidy up, breakfast, clea up trasfer to bed Friday Showerig, dressig, Pay bills Cookig, tidy up, breakfast, clea up trasfer to bed Saturday Showerig, dressig, Shoppig ad Cookig, tidy up, breakfast, clea up Football trasfer to bed Suday Showerig, dressig, Go to movies Cookig, tidy up, breakfast, clea up trasfer to bed Occasioally Visit doctor, Etertai frieds at paperwork for fudig home, go out to dier c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia 5

6 2 Preparig a Budget, Weekly Pla ad Roster Your fuder will provide you with iformatio about the amout of fudig available to you per year. The fuder may also have guidelies as to rates per hour to pay your support workers. You will eed to reserve some of your fuds for expeses such as: worker s compesatio, persoal liability isurace, home or vehicle isurace, superauatio, aual leave or leave relief, ad traiig. You ca the estimate the fudig you have left each week for payig support workers. To do this, divide the aual fudig by 52. If you divide the amout of fudig available each week by the hourly rate you ited to pay your support workers, you will kow the umber of hours of support you have available each week. Week Fudig = Hours of support available per week rate per hour Now you ca develop a Weekly Pla showig the umber of hours of support you wat each day of the week (there is a blak versio for you to use i Attachmet 1). While these might be similar for every day of the week for some people, others might have quite differet eeds for differet days of the week. Note: O your Weekly Pla it is wise ot to pla to use all of the hours available to you. It is importat to keep some support hours for use if you eed extra assistace because you are ot well, if you eed extra help to go to medical appoitmets, or eve to go o vacatio. If you employ more tha oe support worker, it will be helpful to show o your Roster which support worker will be o duty for each day of the week ad each time period (there is a blak versio for you to use i Attachmet 1). Whe you have a clear idea of the types of support that you wat ad whe you wat those supports, you ca start preparig a Duty Statemet. 3 Preparig a Duty Statemet A Duty Statemet is just a list of the sorts of thigs that you wat your support workers to do for you. The example i Attachmet 2 is ot likely to be exactly right for you. You will eed to develop your ow, or modify the sample Duty Statemet, util you are satisfied that it lists all of the assistace that you eed ad wat. This is a good time to thik about whether you wat your support worker to have a First Aid Certificate ad to list ay special eeds you might have such as to be able to prepare ad give you your medicatios, be able to assist with trasfers, operate a hoist, drive a car (yours or theirs), or use other special equipmet. 6 c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia

7 4 Preparig a Applicatio for Employmet form Whe you have completed your Duty Statemet ad Weekly Pla, you are ready to advertise for support workers. You will eed to decide whether you wat people to cotact you by telephoe or to complete a writte applicatio form. Note: While you might ot wat the bother of a lot of telephoe calls you ca ofte lear quite a lot about the applicat especially if you ask them to tell you somethig about themselves. You ca also tell them a little about the job ad they ca start thikig about whether it iterests them. This may save you ad the applicat time ad eergy. You might be better able to choose those who you will iterview if you have already had a telephoe coversatio with them. If you do ot wat to show your private address o the advertisemet, you ca always arrage a post office box ad have all applicatios posted there. Alteratively, you ca ask them to sed a electroic applicatio to your address. Eve if you do ot wat to ask people to complete a applicatio form, it is worthwhile preparig oe so that you kow the questios to ask whe they cotact you. It is also very useful to have a applicatio form if a lot of people apply for the advertisemet, because it is ot always easy to remember the details of all of those telephoe coversatios. If you ask people to complete a applicatio form (see the sample i Attachmet 3) this will provide you with a lot of the iformatio you will eed if you decide if they are suitable. Of course, you will eed to chage the example give to suit your Duty Statemet ad to add ay other questios you might wat to ask. If you have a parter or other people livig with you, whe you have drafted the applicatio it is a good idea to discuss it with them to see if they ca thik of aythig else that should be icluded. 5 Advertisig for support workers Now that you kow the tasks you wat your support worker to do ad the days ad times you wat them to work, you ca prepare your advertisemet. Your advertisemet should be short ad clear (see the samples i Attachmet 4). It is importat to say if you wat them to have such thigs as: a First Aid Certificate, ability to assist with liftig ad trasfers, or experiece workig with people with disability. You might like to say whether they eed to have prior experiece or whether you will arrage traiig after the support worker has bee appoited. c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia 7

8 Advertisig i major ewspapers ca be quite expesive ad ca result i equiries from people from distat suburbs. Local commuity ewspapers sometimes have a free advertisemet sectio. Some employmet agecies will advertise for you for o cost or for a very low fee. Local libraries, shoppig cetres ad commuity cetres ofte have otice-boards where you ca place free advertisemets. These have the advatage of usually attractig people who live locally. Uiversities, TAFEs ad other traiig istitutios ofte have studets lookig for part-time work. Istitutios that provide traiig i health care such as ursig, physiotherapy ad occupatioal therapy have studets who might have kowledge ad skills that could be useful for you. You should also cosider your ow family ad frieds etwork. May people seek work by askig their frieds. The advatage of your family ad fried etwork is that they kow you well ad are likely to suggest people who would be right for you. Note: Whe writig a advertisemet it is importat to remember that it is agaist the law to discrimiate betwee people o the basis of: Race or ethic origi Religio or religious beliefs Geder, marital status, family resposibilities or sexual preferece Pregacy or potetial pregacy Physical, itellectual or psychiatric disability or disfiguremet Trade uio activity or political opiio, or Age If you eed your support worker to assist you with persoal matters such as showerig ad dressig, the it ca be appropriate to state whether you wat a male or female. 6 Qualities you wat i your support workers It is worthwhile makig a list of the qualities you wat i your support workers. These qualities could iclude: friedly ad easy-goig puctual ad reliable possessig commo sese discreet aroud visitors ad others sesitive to what is happeig i your home able to maitai cofidetiality flexible ad adaptable suitable for accompayig you to appoitmets/activities patiet ad uderstadig 8 c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia

9 ot likely to try to take over from you willig to lear ew skills dressig suitably beig able to commuicate easily with them feelig comfortable about beig with them havig some iitiative aticipatig difficulties beig calm i a emergecy uderstadig their role as a support worker 7 Iterviewig applicats After you (hopefully) have several applicats, it is time to look through them to choose the best oes to iterview. It is ot ecessary to iterview all applicats. It is very importat to iterview applicats before cosiderig them for employmet. You get a chace to meet them ad liste to their aswers ad questios. You should begi by choosig the top two or three o the basis of your telephoe coversatio ad/or their writte applicatio. Of course, if oe of these seem suitable, you ca always iterview some more. Whe you have eough applicats that seem likely to be suitable, it is importat to cacel your advertisemet. Note: It is strogly recommeded that you iterview people away from your ow home. Iterviews could be held at the local library, shoppig cetre or other safe place. As you do ot kow the applicats, you might ot wat them to kow where you live or what you have i your house. It is importat to be careful. Before settig times for the iterviews, you eed to decide the list of questios that you ited to ask (see sample i Attachmet 5). Allow at least 30 miutes for each iterview. It is recommeded that you ask your parter (if you have oe), a fried or family member to joi you for the iterview. It is importat that the people livig i the house feel comfortable with your support worker - especially if you have a parter. Havig more tha oe iterviewer will eable you to discuss the applicats after each iterview ad, if you share askig the questios, this will give you greater opportuity to watch how the applicat reacts durig the iterview. At the begiig of the iterview you should itroduce yourself ad ay other iterviewers, tell the applicat that you have a list of questios you would like to ask them ad say that there will be a opportuity at the ed of the iterview for them to ask you questios. It is polite ad friedly to ask at the begiig if they are comfortable to begi or whether they have ay questios they would like to ask for gettig started. c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia 9

10 Whe they are ready, a easy way to get started is to ask the applicat to tell you somethig about themselves. This gives you a opportuity to lear somethig about them ad it shows that you are iterested i them. A relaxed ad comfortable applicat will give you a more accurate uderstadig of how they might be as your support worker. 8 Choosig the best applicat Whe you are choosig betwee the applicats you have iterviewed, it is helpful to go back to your Duty Statemet ad ask yourself how you feel about each of them performig those tasks. It is ot sufficiet that the applicat ca do the tasks. The support worker comes ito your home ad works extremely closely with you: helpig you perhaps with showerig ad toiletig. It is very importat that you feel comfortable with the support worker performig those sorts of tasks ad that they feel comfortable also. You should re-read your list of the qualities you wat i a support worker ad ask yourself whether you thik that each applicat has those qualities. It is, of course, difficult to guess whether people will have these qualities o the basis of a short iterview. Some idicatio ca be gaied from the way they are dressed ad the way they hadled the iterview questios. However, a big part of the choice depeds upo the sort of people you like. For example, if you are easily frustrated whe people do ot have a good grasp of Eglish, or talk cotiuously, or who speak very quietly (or loudly), it might ot be a good idea to employ such people. If you have doubts about the suitability of a particular perso, it is usually a good idea to choose a differet perso. If you thik that a perso might be suitable, but are ot quite sure, you could ivite them to a secod iterview. 9 Coductig a pre-appoitmet iterview Eve if you are cofidet that oe of the applicats will be suitable, it is wise to arrage a secod iterview with them. You might like to say that you are thikig about offerig them a positio, but that before you do, you wat to: Note: It is ot ecessary to decide o who you will choose o the day of the iterview - if ideed you decide to choose ay of the applicats. It is better that you to take time to thik about your choice, ad eve to ivite someoe back for a secod iterview if you are ot certai about them ad wat to ask further questios. ask a few more questios, provide further iformatio about the role, 10 c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia

11 aswer ay questios they have, ad tell them the forms they eed to complete before they ca be appoited. The secod iterview should cover the followig matters i some detail. a. Detailed discussio of the Duty Statemet b. Your Persoal Profile c. Gettig a Medical Certificate ad Police Clearace (or Workig with Childre Clearace) d. Letter of Appoitmet e. Work Health ad Safety It is importat that all of these issues are clarified. Misuderstadig ca easily occur ad ca complicate future workig relatioships, or eve put you or the support worker i dager. a Detailed discussio of the Duty Statemet A useful startig place for the secod iterview is a detailed discussio of the Duty Statemet. At this stage you could describe typical workig sessios ad explai what is expected of them. You should describe ay traiig provided such as whether they ca watch aother support worker for some sessios before they udertake the tasks themselves. Durig this discussio, or at the ed, you should ask the iterviewee whether they have ay questios or cocers ad the discuss these with them util they are satisfactorily resolved. b Persoal Profile The ext step i the secod iterview would be to provide them with a copy of your Persoal Profile (see sample i Attachmet 6). It ca be extremely helpful for the ew support workers to kow somethig about you such as: your disability what assistace you eed your likes ad dislikes how you like to be addressed what you do ad do t like to eat the thigs you do (if this is applicable to their role) ay other people livig i the house ad how the support worker should iteract with them Support workers eed to kow what to do if they have a emergecy ad ca t come whe they are expected, or what to do if you have some emergecy whe they are workig with you. A simple Persoal Profile ca help you remember all of the thigs you wat to cover ad, if you give the support worker a copy, it will be a valuable remider for them. c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia 11

12 c. Medical Clearace & Police Clearace (or Workig with Childre Clearace) At this secod iterview it is useful to tell the applicat that you ad/or the fuder requires that they have a Medical Clearace ad Police Clearace (or Workig with Childre Check if they are supportig a perso with disability uder the age of 17 or there are childre i the house) before they ca be egaged. Note: Natioal Police Clearaces ca be applied for at most post offices or o-lie at Iformatio about a Workig with Childre Check ca be foud by eterig those words ito your Iteret browser alog with the iitials of your state or territory. d Letter of Appoitmet If you have decided to offer the applicat the positio of support worker, the this is a appropriate time to begi workig through the Letter of Appoitmet (see the sample i Attachmet 7). Oce siged by both parties this will become a legal documet that shows the agreemet betwee you ad the support worker. It is importat that you ad your support worker uderstad ad agree upo all of the details ad that both of you kow that it is a legal agreemet. Chages ca be made to the documet if both parties agree. I such cases a replacemet documet eeds to be prepared. The replacemet documet will become legally bidig after beig siged by you ad your support worker. The Letter of Appoitmet also should set out the terms uder which the agreemet ca be eded by either party. The Letter of Appoitmet should set out the details of the fiacial agreemet betwee you ad the support worker. That icludes: the rates of pay per hour, approximate umber of hours per week that they will be expected to work, sick pay, holiday pay, paretal leave whether there is a salary loadig for weekeds, eveigs ad public holidays. Your fuder will probably require regular iformatio from you about how your fudig is beig spet ad the wages your support workers are receivig. It is vital that you uderstad what is expected of you ad that you arrage ay support you eed i order to maitai these records ad forward the required iformatio to your fuder withi the required timeframe. The Letter of Appoitmet should set out how taxatio will be maaged. It is very importat that this iformatio is part of your legal agreemet ad that it has bee arraged appropriately for your situatio (see Attachmet 9 for further iformatio). The Letter of Appoitmet should set out whether the support worker will receive superauatio paymets uder the Superauatio Guaratee legislatio (see Attachmet 9 for further iformatio). 12 c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia

13 10 Appoitig your support workers Whe you have worked through the Letter of Appoitmet with the applicat you have selected, it is a good time to ask them how they feel about the job ad whether they have ay questios or cocers. You may also wat to offer them a chace to take home a copy of the Letter of Appoitmet so that they ca thik about it ad discuss it with family or frieds. If they are comfortable with the proposed coditios as set out i the Letter of Appoitmet, the you ca both sig the cotract. It is importat to remid the applicat that the cotract will ot apply util a appropriate Medical Clearace ad Police Clearace (ad ay other requiremets you have listed) have bee received by you ad/or the fuder. You will eed iformatio about how your ewly appoited support worker would like their wages to be paid. It is best to get them to complete a Paymet Istructio form (see sample i Attachmet 8). If paymets are beig made through your fuder, it is likely that they will have a paymet form that they would wat you to use. Whe the Letter of Appoitmet has bee siged by you ad your chose applicat ad you ad/or your fuder has received a acceptable Medical Clearace ad Police Clearace (or Workig with Childre Clearace if required), the you will be able to cofirm the appoitmet of the applicat as your support worker. 11 Traiig your support workers Durig the secod iterview with your chose applicat you should discuss with them the traiig program that you have i mid ad seek their suggestios as to ay areas where they might like some additioal traiig. You will eed to clarify how much you are willig to cotribute to ay such traiig ad whether ad how much they will be paid durig the traiig sessios. It is almost always useful (if this is possible) to eable your ew support worker to watch the people who are curretly providig support. After watchig several times your ew support worker ca be ivited to udertake some of the tasks themselves uder the supervisio of the more experieced support worker or family/frieds - whoever is curretly providig your services. It is importat to remember that people will vary eormously i their level of cofidece, their skills ad their ability to lear. Some will be extremely ervous, some might be over cofidet, some will liste carefully ad others might thik they uderstood what you said, but really have misuderstood i importat ways. I these early stages buildig the relatioship betwee you ad your support worker will be as importat as the speed at which they are learig to perform the tasks you eed. Most people will thrive o words of ecouragemet, whereas criticism or ay egative commets are almost guarateed to slow their progress. Feedback that begis That is c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia 13

14 really well doe. I m amazed at how quickly you have leart to do that! ca be followed by Next time it would be eve better if you were able to....this will make your ew support worker feel useful, valued ad supported. Traiig should cotiue util you ad your support worker are cofidet that they ca complete the tasks themselves, or you decide that they are just ot suitable for the role. If you decide at the ed of extesive traiig that they just caot perform the required tasks, the it will be a time for a polite ad frak discussio about what they are ot able to do to the required stadard. 12. Work Health ad Safety If you employ or egage a support worker, you must esure, so far as is reasoably practicable, their health ad safety while they are providig support to you. Remember, while it is your home, it is their workplace. Your legal obligatios uder the Work Health ad Safety Act (2011) iclude: maitaiig your home so that it is free of risks to health ad safety providig ad maitaiig safe equipmet providig ad maitaiig safe systems of work providig for safe use ad storage of substaces providig adequate facilities for your support worker s welfare providig proper iformatio, traiig, istructio ad supervisio to miimise ijury or illess moitorig the heath of your support worker, ad the work coditios i your home to miimise ijury or illess At a practical level you should look for obvious thigs such as electrical cords or mats where they might trip people, slippery tiles, ueve steps, obstructios, limited access or iadequate equipmet for liftig ad trasferrig, poor lightig, iadequate vetilatio, usafe electrical equipmet. Thik about whether there are ay dagerous situatios that you have bee igorig. Fixig these could also beefit you. Also cosider whether you have all of the liftig equipmet such as hoists, wheelchair tie dow equipmet ad vehicles or ay other safety equipmet such as RCDs, smoke detectors, first aid kits, fire extiguishers, fire blakets or ay other equipmet that might help make life safer for you ad your support workers. Thik about how you will go about traiig them to do their job properly ad safely. Work health ad safety is becomig icreasigly complex, far-reachig ad puitive i the evet of o-compliace. The Worksafe departmets i each state ad territory will be able to provide advice ad resources about makig your home a safe workplace. Just type worksafe ad the iitials of your state or territory ito your Iteret search egie. Alteratively, you may wish to egage a WHS cosultat to give you comfort that you are doig all you reasoably ca ad are ot at risk of breachig ay laws. 14 c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia

15 Note: A comprehesive Work Health ad Safety checklist for home - based support ca be dowloaded at Ifokits/Home_based_care.pdf 13 Maagig ad supervisig your support workers At the ed of the first week, the first moth ad perhaps every moth i the early stages it is importat to provide your ew support worker with feedback o how they are progressig with regard to meetig your eeds. It is polite ad costructive to begi feedback sessios by ivitig them to say how they are fidig their role ad whether they see ay areas where they eed further traiig or support. If they make suggestios regardig further techical traiig, the it might be useful to cotact your fuder to see whether they provide or kow of ay such traiig. If you have icluded a probatioary period i your letter of appoitmet, the you eed to have a formal meetig before the probatioary period expires to give the support worker feedback tell them whether you ited to keep them o after the probatioary period. 14 Termiatig the employmet of a support worker If after extra traiig ad several discussios you become coviced that a support worker is just ot goig to be suitable for you the it is importat to pla carefully before takig ay actio to ed their employmet. The steps required deped o the ature of the agreemet betwee the two of you. If the arragemet is completely iformal ad o cotract has bee siged, the it may be possible simply to tell the support worker that their help will ot be required after a particular date - or to give them paymet i lieu of otice. (See Attachmet 9 for further iformatio about termiatio). However there are state ad federal laws regardig ufair dismissal desiged to protect workers ad it is importat to kow whether these apply i your situatio. 15 Coclusio Employig your ow support workers ca be empowerig ad deeply satisfyig. It puts you more firmly i charge of your ow life. However, you will eed to pla carefully ad make good decisios to achieve these beefits. The approach will ot suit everybody. Some people will prefer to have a agecy to do the hirig/firig, traiig, preparig of rosters, payroll, staff evaluatio ad maitaiig of admiistrative records. Some agecies offer models whereby they udertake some of the c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia 15

16 above tasks while perso with a disability chooses the tasks that fit withi their iterests. You are ecouraged to choose the model that suits you best. If you choose to employ your ow support workers the you are urged to act upo the iformatio provided i this booklet ad so ejoy the beefits of this approach. Note: The documets i the Attachmets are examples oly. It is ot aticipated that they will be appropriate for you i their preset form. It is expected that you will chage them to meet your eeds. Some of the Attachmets are quite techical ad it is recommeded that you seek your ow advice from a suitably qualified perso. You ca dowload a modifiable versio of the Attachmets from 16 c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia

17 Attachmet 1 Sample Weekly Pla ad Roster Total fudig per year $ Total fudig per moth $ Total fudig per moth $ Hourly rate suggested by your fuder $ per hour Number of hours of support per week you have available Weekly Pla of Available Hours Morigs Afteroos Eveigs Total Moday Tuesday Wedesday Thursday Friday Saturday Suday Total Note: The above Roster ca also be used as a Timesheet where you or your support worker ca record the actual hours worked. Roster showig the times each support worker is o duty Morigs Afteroos Eveigs Total Moday Tuesday Wedesday Thursday Friday Saturday Suday Total Note: The above Roster ca also be used as a Timesheet where you or your support worker ca record the actual hours worked. c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia 17

18 Attachmet 2 Sample Duty Statemet for a Support Worker 1 Lifestyle support 1. Provide persoal ad practical assistace to eable the perso to live their chose lifestyle. 2. Liaise with the perso, other support workers ad family members to esure cosistecy ad cotiuity of care. 3. Advocate for ad with the perso, where appropriate. 4. Respect the perso s right to privacy ad maitai cofidetiality at all times. 5. Immediately iform the perso of aythig which may impact o the perso s livig arragemet (such as health issues, accidets, or hazards). 2 Health care support 1. Arrage ad collect prescriptios, where requested. 2. Atted medical appoitmets, where requested. 3. Moitor the perso s geeral health. 3 Daily livig support 1. Assist with showerig, dressig ad basic hygiee, where requested. 2. Assist the perso to trasfer to ad from the bed to the wheelchair/shower chair/ vehicles, where requested. 3. Assist with washig, iroig ad persoal presetatio, where requested. 4. Assist with shoppig for food, domestic ad persoal requiremets, where requested. 5. Assist with preparatio ad cookig of meals, where requested. 6. Assist with eatig ad drikig, where requested. 7. Assist with settig, clearig ad washig of dishes, where requested. 8. Assist with home cleaig duties, where requested. 9. Drive the perso to ad from appoitmets ad evets, where requested. 4 Commuity access support 1. Accompay the perso o outigs ad activities, where requested. 5 Geeral 1. Maitai proper records, where requested. 2. Udertake other duties, where requested. 18 c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia

19 Attachmet 3 Sample Applicatio For Employmet Persoal Details Surame: First Names: D.O.B. Address: Postcode: Tax File Number: Telephoe: Private: Other: Male/Female (circle) Married/Sigle (circle) Driver s Licece: Number Class State Do you have ay previous drivig covictios? (If so, please describe) Ca you provide a vehicle if requested? Yes / No Are you a Australia Citize? Yes / No If o, do you have a valid workig visa? Yes / No (provide evidece of visa status) Recet Employmet Record (last job first) Employer: From: To: Mai duties: Employer: From: To: Mai duties: Qualificatios ad Skills Relevat qualificatios or Traiig Courses Date Completed Proof of qualificatios ad traiig listed above may be requested. c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia 19

20 Health Do you have a curret workers compesatio claim? Yes / No If you aswered yes please give details: Have you ever had a work related ijury, illess or workers compesatio claim? Yes / No If you aswered yes please give details: Has the claim bee fialised? Yes / No Referees Name Compay / Positio Ph Name Compay / Positio Ph Persos to be otified i case of emergecy Name Address Ph Name Address Ph I uderstad that a offer of employmet is subject to the employer receivig a a) satisfactory Natioal Police Clearace Certificate (ad Workig with Childre Card if the cosumer or other people commoly i the house are uder 18); b) satisfactory refereces; c) satisfactory medical examiatio report; ad d) curret First Aid Certificate or erolmet i a upcomig course (if required). I declare that the iformatio provided to me o the Applicatio for Employmet is complete ad accurate. I also uderstad that should ay iformatio that I have provided be false or misleadig I could be dismissed. Sigature of Applicat Date: 20 c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia

21 Attachmet 4 Sample advertisemets 1 For a ewspaper or iteret Part time support worker eeded for ma with quadriplegia livig i (suburb). Experiece is ot essetial. Must have ow trasport ad live o more tha 15 miutes drive away. Rig for applicatio form. 2 For a otice board or shop widow Support Worker Needed Part Time Positio Support worker required for male with quadriplegia livig i (suburb) to assist with showerig, dressig, ad other household activities. Experiece is ot essetial. Traiig will be provided. Support eeded Wedesday ad Saturday from 7.30 am to am (approximately) Ow trasport preferred $ per hour Phoe for applicatio form c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia 21

22 Attachmet 5 Sample Iitial Iterview Questios 1. Please tell us a little about yourself ad your recet employmet history. 2. Have you had ay experiece as a support worker or workig i a area related to people with a disability? (If you have specific eeds chage this questio to ask about them.) 3. How do you feel about workig with a perso with a disability? 4. What do you see as the key thigs to be aware of whe workig with a perso with a disability? 5. Would you tell us about your geeral health ad i particular whether you have had ay problems with liftig (if this is relevat)? 6. It is extremely importat that support workers are completely reliable. Ca you give us a example where you have demostrated reliability i your previous employmet? 7. You will have see i the advertisemet that the request is for a perso to work (state the days ad times whe you eed support). Are you available to work some or all of those times? 8. You have see i the advertisemet the salary that is beig offered. This is a fixed casual rate, which does ot vary for weekeds ad eveigs ad (does or does ot) iclude holiday or sick leave. Is this acceptable to you? 9. If you were appoited, you would observe aother support worker for a few days so that you ca lear what is required. At this stage ca you thik of ay areas where you would require a differet form of traiig before commecig? 10. If you were selected, whe could you start? 22 c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia

23 Attachmet 6 Sample persoal profile My (the perso s) full ame Telephoe Preferred ame for the support worker to use whe addressig me My address Date of birth My family members Relatioship Relatioship Relatioship Telephoe Telephoe Telephoe If I have a emergecy cotact Doctor Telephoe or If for ay reaso you have a emergecy such that you will be late or ot able to atted cotact me o Telephoe 1 or Telephoe 2 Cotact iformatio for other support workers: Name Name Name Telephoe Telephoe Telephoe Iformatio about my disability ad health/allergies Iformatio about my life c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia 23

24 Iformatio about my family The types of support I eed What a typical day s support looks like Thigs I particularly like i a support worker Thigs I do t like Skills you will eed to support me properly 24 c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia

25 Attachmet 7 Sample Letter of Appoitmet (Name of support worker) (Address) I,, am pleased to egage you as oe of my support workers o the terms ad coditios set out below. Upo acceptace of this offer, this letter will record the terms ad coditios of your egagemet from the date of your acceptace. 1 Probatio (a) You will/will ot (cross out whichever is o-applicable) be employed o a probatioary period of three moths. (b) Durig this period I will assess your performace ad coduct to determie your suitability. (c) Prior to the coclusio of the probatioary period I will advise you whether or ot your employmet is to cotiue o a permaet basis. (d) I the evet that you or I wish to termiate the cotract durig the probatioary period, we must provide the other party with at least oe week s otice, or paymet i lieu of otice. 2 Place of Work You will be requested to work at my home, curretly located at: 3 Duties (a) Your specific duties are as set out i the attached documet. (b) Your duties may chage durig the course of your employmet. Ay chages will be discussed with you before implemetatio. (c) You must perform your duties faithfully ad diligetly usig all of your skill ad competece. (d) You must iform me immediately if your circumstaces chage i ay way that prevets you from performig all of your requested duties. For example, chages to your medical fitess or where you o loger hold the ecessary qualificatios as set out i clause 4. 4 Qualificatios (a) You are required to have ad to maitai the followig (cross out if o-applicable): (i) curret police clearace that is less tha oe year old at the time of your employmet ad reewed every five years thereafter; (ii) curret workig with childre clearace; c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia 25

26 (iii) curret first aid certificate; (iv) maual hadlig qualificatio; (v) successful completio of the followig traiig courses: (b) If at ay time you are charged with/covicted of a crimial offece or o loger have all the qualificatios i paragraph (a), you must iform me immediately. 5. Hours of Work (a) You are requested to work the followig hours: OR (cross out whichever is o-applicable) (a) You are requested to work approximately hours per week, ad to show the times actually worked o the Timesheet I will provide you. 6 Meal arragemets (a) The followig arragemets will apply to mealtimes that occur durig work hours: 7 Telephoe calls (a) The followig arragemets will apply to private telephoe calls durig work hours: 8 Remueratio (a) You will be paid at the rate of $ per hour worked betwee Moday to Friday ad $ per hour o weekeds ad public holidays. You will be paid to the earest half hour. (b) You may be asked to sleep over o occasios ad, if you agree, you will be paid at the rate of $ per sleep-over betwee the hours of ad. (c) Your wages will be paid fortightly (i arrears) by direct credit ito your omiated bak accout i Australia. (d) I will make superauatio cotributios for you at the miimum rate prescribed by the Superauatio Guaratee (Admiistratio) Act 1992 (Cth), which cotributios will be paid ito a superauatio fud omiated by you or, if you prefer, by me. 9 (Name of Fuder or Provider) (a) A (Fuder or Provider) employee may from time to time (either pre-arraged or uexpectedly) visit your place of work to ispect ad supervise your work to esure that you are adequately complyig with your duties. (b) You must make yourself available ad fully co-operate with ay (Fuder or Provider) employee durig their visit to your place of work. 26 c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia

27 10 Leave (a) You are/are ot (cross out whichever is ot applicable) etitled to paid aual leave ad/or persoal (e.g. sick, bereavemet) leave. (b) You may request ad I may grat you periods of upaid leave. (c) You must provide at least two weeks otice of the itetio to take aual leave if you are etitled to aual leave. The gratig of aual leave is still depedet o beig able to mutually agree o a leave period. (d) There may be occasios where you caot be usefully employed due to the perso you support goig o holiday, or otherwise makig alterative care arragemets such as a family member providig assistace. I such istaces you may elect to take some or all of ay leave you have accrued ad/or take leave without pay. 11 Cofidetial Iformatio/Privacy (a) Durig the course of your work you may become aware of, or come ito possessio of, cofidetial or private iformatio about me. (b) By acceptig this cotract you agree to maitai the cofidetiality of this iformatio ad ot divulge it to ay perso, at ay time, without my coset uless it is ecessary for the purpose of carryig out your duties. 12 Dress code Although you will work i a home you should wear eat casual clothes that would be appropriate if you were assistig me to go shoppig or to a appoitmet. 13 Emergecies (a) While it is importat that you atted at the times that had bee arraged, if you have a serious emergecy you agree to cotact me as quickly as possible to tell me whether you will be late or are ot able to atted. (b) You ackowledge that such emergecies should be extremely rare ad will occur oly for uavoidable situatios. 14 Termiatio a) Other tha durig probatio, if I wish to termiate this cotract, I must provide you with two weeks otice (if I have employed you for less tha three years) ad four weeks (if I have employed you for more tha three years) or make paymet i lieu of otice. b) If you are over 45 ad bee cotiuously employed by me for more tha two years, you are etitled to a additioal weeks otice to the above otice periods. c) You are required to give me two weeks otice if you wish to termiate this cotract or forfeit paymet i lieu of otice. (a) I reserve the right to summarily termiate this cotract if you commit ay act that would be cosidered to be serious miscoduct. c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia 27

28 Please cofirm your acceptace of this offer of employmet by sigig both copies of this letter, ad returig oe copy to me. Siged: (employer) (date) Name: Address: EMPLOYEE ACCEPTANCE I have read, uderstad ad accept the terms set out i this cotract. Siged: Date: Siged by the Paret/Guardia if employee is uder 18 years old Siged: Date: 28 c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia

29 Attachmet 8 Sample Salary/Wages Paymet Istructio Form Name: (i full) Ph: Date of Birth: Address: Suburb: Tax File Number: Name of Employer: Postcode (Must be 9 Digits) Start Date: Bakig Details: Name of Bak: Bak Brach : Brach Number/BSB No. Accout Number: (Must be 6 Digits) (Maximum of 9 Digits) I (isert ame) authorise (add you, your Fuder or Provider) to deposit my salary/wages directly to my bak accout as stated above. Siged: Dated: c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia 29

30 Attachmet 9 Your legal resposibilities Your legal resposibilities will deped o the workig relatioship betwee you ad the support worker. The two most commo workig relatioships are: Employee (kow as a cotract OF service), ad Idepedet Cotractor (kow as a cotract FOR service). Accordig to the Australia Taxatio Office web-site, the characteristics of a Employee iclude: beig paid for the time they worked; you providig most of the equipmet to them to do the work (or you providig them with a allowace or reimbursemet for usig their ow equipmet); you havig the right to direct the way i which they perform their work; they caot pay someoe else to do the work. The characteristics of a Idepedet Cotractor iclude: they are paid o results achieved for the quote provided (rather tha the time worked); they provide most of their ow equipmet (ad do t receive a allowace or reimbursemet for buyig/ usig that equipmet); they are legally resposible for rectifyig ay defects i their work; they have freedom i how they perform their work; they are free to sub-cotract the work to someoe else. Note: For more iformatio o the differeces betwee Employees ad Idepedet Cotractors visit ad type Employee or Cotractor? Get the facts ito the Search box. Outside of the above two workig relatioships, there is also what is kow geerally as private ad domestic arragemets. The terms private ad domestic are ot specifically defied aywhere i legislatio, so the ordiary meaigs of these words have to be relied upo. A Superauatio Guaratee Rulig made i 2005 (SGR 2005/1) makes referece to the Macquarie Dictioary defiitio of domestic to mea of or relatig to the home, household or household affairs ad private to mea belogig to oeself or idividual or persoal. Therefore, if a perso with disability or a family member egages a support worker to provide support i their ow home that is wholly of a private ad domestic ature (such as providig persoal care ad support to a perso with disability) ad it is provided o a flexible basis, the support worker should complete a Statemet by Supplier (tickig the wholly of a private ad domestic ature box), or supplyig a similar form of words, ad provide it to the perso with disability or family member. Most support work is flexible ad provided i limited periods of time. These times may be the same each week for a while, the they may chage to suit the perso s or family s eeds. They may cease altogether for a while if the perso goes away o holiday or becomes ill. However, if the support worker provides support o a regular 30 c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia

31 ad cotiual basis, the the perso or family should apply for a Pay As You Go (PAYG) Withholdig Accout, which is discussed i the ext sectio. Note: To dowload a Statemet by Supplier form, visit ad type NAT 3346 ito the Search box. The atioal (Fair Work Australia) Award that typically covers support workers is the Social, Commuity, Home Care ad Disability Services Idustry Award (2010). However, it is ulikely that this Award would apply to a support worker egaged by a perso to support them i their private home. Although there is o automatic Award coverage for support workers you employ yourself to work i your ow home, there are several miimum coditios of employmet that apply to all classes of workers (icludig private ad domestic workers) regardless of whether or ot they are covered by a Award. Support workers (whether they are full-time, part-time or log-term casual) will usually be etitled to 52 weeks upaid paretal leave after 12 moths cotiuous service. The Paid Paretal Leave Act (2010) also provides eligible workig parets with up to 18 weeks pay for the birth or adoptio of a child. This is a Commowealth Govermet icome support paymet, ad is ot paid by the employer. Support workers (icludig those employed uder private ad domestic arragemets) are etitled to oe weeks Notice o Termiatio after oe years cotiuous service, two weeks otice after oe to three years, three weeks otice after three to five years ad four weeks otice after more tha five years. A further week of otice must be added if the support worker is over 45 years old ad has bee cotiuously employed by you for more tha two years. Taxatio Issues If the support worker is deemed to be a Employee, Sectio of the Taxatio Admiistratio Act (1953) applies, which meas that you will have to withhold a amout from the support worker s pay to remit to the Tax Office as Pay As You Go (PAYG) icome tax. If you are employig the support worker through a icorporated body such as a busiess (with a GST turover of more tha $75,000 per year) or o-profit orgaisatio (with a GST turover of more tha $150,000 or registered as a Deductible Gift Recipiet or Icome Tax Exempt Charity), you will first eed to apply for a Australia Busiess Number (ABN). Eve if the icorporated body does ot turover these amouts, it may still be able to apply for a ABN. Note: To fid out whether your icorporated body is eligible for a ABN or to register for a ABN, visit ad type ABN Registratio ito the Search box. c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia 31

32 If you (or a family member) are employig the support worker, ad do ot have a ABN, you will eed to apply to the Tax Office to register for a PAYG Withholdig Accout before you pay ay wages to your support worker. Note: To register for a PAYG Withholdig Accout, visit ad type NAT 3377 ito the Search box. The perso or family would also eed to obtai a siged Tax File Number Declaratio form from the support worker ad sed a copy to the Tax Office. Note: To register for a PAYG Withholdig Accout, visit ad type NAT 3092 ito the Search box. If the support worker is deemed to be a Idepedet Cotractor, they are geerally resposible for their ow tax paymets. However, i the relatively ulikely evet that the Idepedet Cotractor does ot provide you with a ABN, you may or may ot be required to withhold tax. If the total paymet is less tha $50, or if you are payig as a idividual (i.e. ot as a icorporated body) ad the services are for persoal rather tha busiess use, you do ot have to withhold tax. You are advised to talk to your tax accoutat about this if the situatio of a Idepedet Cotractor ot givig you a ABN arises. I all of these areas it is vital that you ad the perso you are proposig to appoit as a support worker have the same uderstadig of what will happe with regard to all of these fiacial matters. If this is ot the case, cofusio ad disagreemet are almost certai to occur oce you begi workig together. Note: You ca calculate the amout of tax payable visitig ad typig Idividual Icome Tax Rates ito the Search box or callig the Australia Taxatio Office s Geeral Tax Lie o Superauatio Issues Uder the superauatio guaratee law you must pay superauatio cotributios for your eligible support workers, at a miimum rate of 9% of their ordiary time earigs. This rate will icrease to 9.25% from 1 July 2013 ad icrease each fiacial year util it reaches 12% i July The Superauatio Guaratee Admiistratio Act does ot limit itself to employees i the traditioal sese of the word. Eve if your support worker is a Idepedet Cotractor (refer to previous discussio), but the work they perform for you is wholly or pricipally made up of physical or metal (or eve artistic) labour, the they will be deemed a employee for superauatio purposes. 32 c My Place (WA) Pty Ltd Perth, Australia