The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) announced that a new system of home care service provided by foreign caregivers will be introduced as a new option in the beginning of 2013. Service will be charged by hour and employers do not need to provide accommodation, be responsible for their insurance or report to the authorities when the caregiver is missing.
caregivers would only be responsible for taking care of the person in need and are not required to provide extra services for other family members. According to the CLA, foreign caregivers will be protected by the Labor Standard Act under the new system.
Under the new regulations, people over 80 years old who score less than 60 on the Barthel scale — an index that assesses a person’s ability to perform daily functions — will be eligible to hire foreign caregivers. It is estimated that 33,000 senior citizens will benefit from the eased regulation
People can apply to the CLA for one foreign caregiver if they are seriously disabled mentally or physically, need round-the-clock care as assessedby a medical institution, or score under 30 on Barthel’s Score
Under the new system, institutes or nonprofit organizations with experience in long-term care can apply to the CLA to handle the foreign caregivers. These institutes and organizations would be responsible for taking care of the caregivers, including their insurance and reporting to the authorities when foreign caregivers are missing.
People who are in need of home care will need to pay by the hour to the organizations under the new system. Customers can purchase 24-hour services, with institutes assigning two to three caregivers to work in shifts. Under the new system, caregivers will be trained by their institutes according to the different needs of customers. Institutes will then assign jobs to caregivers based on their specialties. Currently, foreign caregivers only receive 90 hours of training.
With regard to fees, services provided under the new system might be costlier than those under the old system if calculated by the hour, but would be lower than hiring local caregivers; however, people purchasing services will bear less responsibility for the caregivers under the new system.
