Registering a caregiver - how does it work?

Employed caregiver or self-employed? Are you looking for a job as a nurse in Austria and wondering which position is the best choice? Whether as an employed caregiver with social security or as a self-employed caregiver with more flexible working hours - each option has its own advantages and disadvantages. In this guide, you will find out what legal steps you need to take to successfully register as a care worker in Austria.

We will clarify which documents you need, which authorities are involved and what costs or subsidies you will incur. Whether 24-hour care, hourly care or alternative models - here you will find all the important information you need to get your career in the care sector in Austria off to the best possible start.

Lisa's father has now been around for many decades. With his walking aid, he can only cover short distances with small steps. 

The dishes in the kitchen are left unused for days on end. The boxes of pills remain full by mistake. There's a piece of smoked cheese in the fridge and an inch-thick layer of dust on the shelves 

Lisa realizes: it's time for a caregiver to look after her father. After she has been in only 5 steps to find the right caregiver has been found, the care can pretty much begin. But before that can happen, a few legal precautions are taken.

24-Hour Care - What is it?

24-hour care often involves caregivers who usually live with the person being cared for in 14 or 28-day rotations and then have 14 or 28 days at their own disposal. Caregivers who have completed at least 200 hours of theoretical home care training are recommended. 

With 24-hour care household services as well as lifestyle support and, by agreement with the relevant doctors, nursing activities. More details can be found in the blog post on the Difference between 24-hour care and nursing care can be read. However, it makes a difference whether the caregiver is employed by the family or self-employed.

The caregiver is employed by the family

1. employment contract

Oh yes, that makes a difference, Lisa found out. Hiring a caregiver is more common in the industry unusual. This is mainly done at institutes, facilities for people with disabilities or rehabilitation centers, as it is very cost-intensive. Although she would have liked to employ a carer, she realized that this would probably only work out for her and her father if she won the lottery. 

If you still decide to use self-employment an employment contract must be concluded with the caregiver. This employment contract must include the home care or

Act on Domestic Helpers and Domestic Employees and comply with its employment contract provisions. Accordingly, the contract must include the points of vacation, sick leave, care leave and termination of the employment relationship. In addition, there is the employment certificate, which must be signed by the caregiver and the employer.

So are the Minimum wage rates in the respective federal state, to which taxes and social security contributions must be added. Corresponding Sample employment contracts can be found on the Internet.

2. registration with social security + employer account number

The next step is social security. If no cleaning lady, carer or other employee has been employed to date, the Austrian Health Insurance one Service provider account number can be applied for. To do this, contact the location or  

the federal state of the Austrian Health Insurance Fund in which the care is to be provided. care is to be provided. The caregiver must be registered before starting work.

Advantages and disadvantages

• advantage: The caregiver is bound by instructions and has precise specifications regarding the time, place and tasks of their care activities.

• Disadvantage: This form is a very cost-intensive variant. Only a few can and want to afford this form of support, which is why employment mainly occurs at institutes.

   

     

Nurse works on a self-employed basis

After Lisa was able to rule out the employee relationship of a caregiver for herself, she came to caregivers on a self-employed basis. This form of care is very popular in the industry very common. 

Although the caregiver works independently, the bureaucracy can still often be difficult due to language barriers. Carers therefore often approach relatives to ask for their help. The following things need to be taken into account:

1. trade license

If a care worker is to work on a self-employed basis, they must have a trade license. Consequently, only a work contract needs to be signed, which the carer issues themselves.  Whether a person has a trade license can be easily check online. 

If the caregiver has not yet registered a business, they can do so with the competent trade authority, the district authority or the magistrate. The competent trade authority is the one in whose vicinity the person to be cared for lives (see point 2). To register the business, you need an identity card or passport, a registration form and a criminal record certificate. 

The costs for business registration amount to 70 euros. The ongoing membership fee at the Chamber of Commerce varies from state to state between 40 and 140 euros per year. 

If the caregiver forgets to register a business, this would constitute illegal employment and the care recipient could possibly Problems with the tax office and the regional health insurance fund get. In addition, the funding for 24-hour care must be transferred back.

2. Relocation of the operating site

      

For her father's 24-hour caregiver, Lisa has given her old room, which had served more as a storage room since she moved out, a new lease of life. The bed with the bedding from her youth, her large wardrobe where there is still adhesive residue from posters she hung up and her desk where she spent hours racking her brains over the math homework exercise.

Lisa wanted to make sure that the nurse felt at home here. After all, she will be living with her father. To do this, the carer must also relocate her place of work and report this relocation to the trade authority.

This message mustat the latest on the day of the start of care arrive with the new family at the trade authority. This can be done conveniently via the online Form be made.

3.  Work contract or fee notes

       

In contrast to the employee relationship, remuneration is based on a self-employed basis via a contract for work or fee notes. fee notes, which also include Insurance and travel costs defined are defined. Caregivers are responsible for paying their taxes (income tax, sales tax, ... - see Federal Ministry of Finance) and social security contributions yourself. 

Lisa nevertheless supports her father's nurse and goes through the fee notes and the work contract with her. Because language barriers can also cause difficulties here. By discussing the matter, any misunderstandings between the two parties can be clarified quickly and easily. The Chamber of Commerce provides both sample contracts and templates for fee notes available.

4. Mandatory health, pension and accident insurance

    

The business registration automatically creates a Mandatory health, pension and accident insurance at the Social Insurance Institution for Trade and Industry. To register for insurance, an insurance declaration and the declaration of consent must be completed and sent to the SVS. This can be done using a cell phone signature convenient online. As a rule, the SVS forwards this to the Chamber of Commerce, which in turn forwards it to the tax office so that all responsible institutions are ultimately informed.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Advantage: The family receives support from the state through care subsidies.
• Disadvantage: You have to provide the caregiver with a room, which not everyone has the capacity to do.

More options

In addition to 24-hour care, there are other forms of care that could fit the bill.

Hourly support

For hourly care decide for yourself how much support they need to care for relatives. The services include basic care such as personal hygiene, household activities and errands such as shopping or accompanying them to doctor's appointments. Changing dressings or administering medication can also be included in the scope of an hourly care service. If the care is below the Minor care or is carried out via service providers such as the Red Cross, this does not need to be registered. 

The advantage of hourly care is, as previously mentioned, the support in the household without having to provide the caregiver with a room. However, if the support activities increase, a 24-hour caregiver should be considered.

Caregiver leave

For more than six years now, employees have been able to take care leave or part-time care leave to take a organize a caregiver for their loved one or to take care of their loved ones themselves. To do this, the current employment contract must be valid for at least three months without interruption.

In addition, care leave or part-time care leave cannot be claimed in every case. part-time care leave cannot be claimed in every case. 

This is only possible for close relatives with care level 3 or higher or close relatives suffering from dementia and minors with care level 1 or higher. Close relatives include spouses, parents, grandparents and children. A joint household is not a necessity.

Also um Caregiver's Allowance can be applied for. About the amount of the maternity allowance or  

The Ministry of Social Affairs decides whether this is granted at all. It can be applied for using the ready-made Forms be. The Chamber-of-Labor provides comprehensive information in this regard.

Lisa has looked intensively at the options for caregiver registration and found a solution that best suits her father. Even though she doesn't care for him herself, she can still actively support him and feels relieved by the clarity she has gained. The choice between employed and self-employed carers is an individual decision that depends on the needs of the person providing care and your own financial means. It is important that you obtain comprehensive information in advance to find the best solution for you and your loved ones.

For more information and further links on the registration of nursing staff, please visit the website of the Austrian Digital Office.

Would you like to know more about hourly care or care leave? Then write to us. Haven't found the right caregiver yet? Then register now at noracares!

Your Nora

trade license: Official license to practice as a self-employed professional in Austria.

House Employees Act: Legal basis for the employment of domestic helpers and care workers in private households.

Nursing leave: A legally regulated leave of absence from work to care for close relatives.

Minimum wage rate: Statutory minimum wage for employed nursing staff, varies depending on the federal state.

Sozialversicherungsanstalt der gewerblichen Wirtschaft (SVS): Insurance providers for the self-employed in Austria.