A carer hired directly usually costs less per hour than one placed by an agency. The difference is not a scam on the agency's part. It buys supervision, replacement cover, insurance and a complaints process — all the things that matter on the day something goes wrong and nobody planned for it.

What the agency fee buys

  • Replacement when the carer is on leave or sick, without you filling the gap
  • A supervisor contactable outside office hours
  • Insurance covering the carer, the client and the premises
  • A written care plan reviewed at intervals
  • A complaints route that does not depend on confronting the person in your home

What direct hiring asks of you

Hire directly and you become the employer. Wages, rest days, accommodation and the legal limits of what a domestic helper may do all sit with you, alongside the risk of a gap in cover the week the carer goes home for a family emergency.

A written agreement is not distrust. It is the document that lets a difficult conversation happen without either side improvising, and it is what makes the arrangement survive its first disagreement.

The cheapest arrangement is not the one with the lowest hourly rate. It is the one that still works on the week the carer cannot come in.

Questions readers ask

Is hiring a foreign domestic helper directly legal?
It can be, but the permit conditions and the rules on what a domestic helper may do are specific, and nursing care generally falls outside them. Check the current conditions with the Immigration Department before you commit, and treat any promise that clinical tasks are covered by a household permit with real suspicion.
What should be in the written agreement?
Duties and their limits, hours and rest days, wages and how they are paid, accommodation and food, notice on both sides, and what happens in an emergency. Keep it short enough to be read and specific enough to be useful. Both parties should hold a signed copy, and it should be revisited if the person's needs change.

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