Your rights!
The right to determine your pay, working hours and the content of your work
As an entrepreneur, live-in careworkers should set their own fees in their employment contract and preferred method of payment.
However, agencies negotiate fees with clients in advance and live-in careworkers are not able to actively participate in the negotiation process.
You are often asked to sign a power of attorney (in German: "Vollmacht" or "Inkassovollmacht") for the agency to manage your company and its finances.
This disadvantages careworkers, and only benefits the financial interests of the agencies. With regard to the power of attorney, some agencies may charge hidden fees or make you wait too long for your pay. Agencies practice wage dumping . As a result, serious differences can be seen in the remuneration of careworkers, in terms of daily rates: while a Slovakian live-in careworker earns an average of 65 Euro per day, a Romanian live-in careworker can sometimes receive as little as 35 Euro per day.
Sometimes, the agency determines your working hours and activities through the careworker-client contract, which is drawn up without the presence of the live-in careworker. This is a clear violation of the rights of independent carers! Working hours are regulated in the contracts, which is illegal and goes against the idea of live-in careworkers independence .
The professional activities you are entitled to carry out are generally regulated under article 159 df the Trade Regulation Act.. If the agency includes activities that go beyond your scope of competence in your employment contract, you have the right to object and refuse these tasks!
The right to freely choose the means of transportation you wish to travel by
As an independent careworker, you have the right to choose how you travel to work: by private car, train, plane or transportation company.
However, intermediary agencies sometimes force you to use their own transportation services, often under the threat that if you refuse, the contract between you and the agency will be terminated or the collaboration will be rescinded.
Behind this is again the interest of the agency to make a profit, which either has its own transport company or collaborates with another transport company v and gets commissions for carrying out transport services. When choosing the right means of transportation, bear in mind that drivers are sometimes overworked, drive very long distances or take far too short breaks, which creates a big risk for you!
As a result, road accidents occur regularly on route. Choose responsible transportation companies or transportation alternatives with which you always feel safe!
The right to decide on anything related to your business (Gewerbe) and manage it autonomously
This is the right and, at the same time, the duty of the live-in carerworker working as an independent contractor (with Gewerbe) in home care. In many cases, intermediary agencies take over your tasks (e.g. registering your Gewerbe, putting it on hold or closing it down, paying SVS fees, etc.) and charge various fees for these services. You are usually urged to sign a power of attorney for the intermediary agency, believing that you no longer have to worry about managing your firm.
However, in practice, things don't always work out well. Often, intermediaries don't behave properly and don't fulfill the tasks they have agreed with you. Or you find this out when you receive a notice from the SVS social insurance that you have not paid your contributions and that you have social security arrears.
Or when you go to the doctor, you find out that they won't see you because your business licence has been cancelled and you have lost your health insurance. Such misuse of powers of attorney by intermediary agencies is illegal and can be prosecuted!
The right to transparent information in your mother tongue
From a legal point of view, as an independent live-in careworker, you are on an equal footing with your contractual collaborators (the intermediary agency or its client/relatives). Therefore, you have the right to ask the intermediary agency for transparent information, in your mother tongue, about the state of health of the person to be cared for, the conditions of the care relationship and the content of the contracts (both the employment contract with the client/relatives and the organizational contract with the intermediary agency).
This right should also be guaranteed to you by authorities such as the Chamber of Commerce and the SVS social insurance house for self-employed persons. Due to the language barrier of many folks living in the home care sector, the level of information and understanding of all information is low, which creates disadvantages for live-in careworkers. Negotiate with your contractual partners and demand your rights!
The right to quality advice and effective representation of your professional interests
In the triangle of the home care system (cared-for person - live-in careworker - intermediary agency), careworkers are in the most disadvantaged position because of the language barrier and lack of knowledge about their rights and duties. This creates many opportunities for other actors to take advantage of the carers' situation.
Changing this situation, i.e. protecting live-in careworkers in Austria, and ensuring effective representation of our community's interests is our goal at IG24! We are committed to strengthening your bargaining position through awareness-raising and information campaigns, direct advice on your issues and by representing your interests at political, institutional and media level.