Reconciling care and work - is that possible?
If you are a working person and want to care for a relative at home, you can get financial and practical support in everyday life. All you need to know is which funds are available, when and under what circumstances - and of course, to what extent you can adjust your working hours in favour of caring for a relative. You should therefore be familiar with certain terms and the most important contact points so that you are not completely lost when faced with this difficult situation. So that you don't have to start from scratch, you will get a small crash course in the following.
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Organise ad hoc care for a relative
If you suddenly have to organise care for a relative, you have the right to take ten days off. This can happen if, for example, after a stroke, your relative is no longer able to care for themselves without any warning. Immediate care at home may also be necessary after a hospital stay. If you take the ten days to organise this new situation, you will receive the so-called care support allowance [1] - normally about 90 per cent of your normal salary - as a wage replacement benefit during this period. You must apply for this money from your long-term care insurance fund or private long-term care insurance company.
Get as much information as possible quickly
Now it is important to get sensible advice quickly. You can get advice directly from the long-term care insurance funds or from the so-called "care support centres" [2]. These are independent, good places to go to quickly get all the information you need about the services provided by the long-term care insurance funds and local long-term care services or other authorised providers of care services, etc. in your region. They will also help you fill out the necessary forms.
Managing everyday life for your loved one
You will need a nursing service if nursing measures are necessary that you cannot or do not want to do yourself - for example, wound care or help with regular personal hygiene. The care service will discuss with you which medical prescriptions exist for your relative and whether you need any additional support. The staff will visit your relative regularly from now on, depending on your needs. This service will be billed directly to the long-term care insurance fund, unless your relative has private insurance.
Staying at home longer for care
Under certain conditions [3] and if you work for an employer with at least 16 employees, you can take up to six months' leave to care for your relative. This is called "care leave". You can take up to three months off work to care for a close relative in the last phase of their life. To have more time at home for your relative over a longer period of time, you can take up to 24 months of family care leave. This means that you can reduce your working hours to up to 15 hours per week - but you cannot be released from work completely. But beware: this regulation only applies to companies that employ more than 25 workers.
Can I afford it?
If you take a leave of absence such as caregiver leave or family caregiver leave according to the Caregiver Leave Act, you can receive an interest-free state loan [4] so that you are not too burdened financially by this time. In addition, you receive a subsidy of up to 160.94 euros per month for health insurance and 31.67 euros per month for long-term care insurance. The long-term care insurance also pays your contributions to the pension insurance if you do not work more than 30 hours a week during the care period.
Who will care for me while I am on holiday?
If you want to go on holiday, are ill yourself or do not have time, then you can make use of the so-called prevention care [5] as a caring relative. However, this is only possible if you can prove that you have been caring for your relative for at least six months. This applies for a maximum of six weeks per calendar year and also only if the person to be cared for is classified at least in care level 2. In this case, the long-term care insurance covers the costs of substitute care by third parties, up to a total of 1,612 euros per year. However, this is only the case if the person replacing you is not a relative up to the second degree and does not live in the same household. There is also short-term care, where your relative is temporarily accommodated as an inpatient. You can combine short-term care and preventive care - and thus have more money available for one of the two areas.
What your relative is entitled to
Somewhat confusing are the many different pots from which the various care services are paid. This is why people like to confuse terms that sound similar but mean different things. For example, care allowance and care benefits in kind. Care allowance and care benefits in kind are two different things [6]! From care level 2, the person in need of care is entitled to a certain amount of either care allowance when care is provided by a relative or so-called care benefits in kind - which are provided by a care service or similar service provider. The exact amount is determined by the classification into a certain care degree. This classification is determined by the Medical Service of the Health Insurance Funds (MDK) [7]. This determines how much your relative is entitled to in addition to the medically prescribed care measures in order to be able to pay for further support in everyday life, for example by a care service or other approved service providers. So-called "SGB XI benefits" are paid from this amount. "SGB" stands for "Social Code" [8]. There, the support services that make everyday life easier for a person in need of care are defined in more detail. These are, for example, assistance with personal hygiene, shopping or cleaning.
This is how much your relative is entitled to if he or she has been classified in the appropriate care level:
| Care allowance monthly | Care benefits in kind | |
|---|---|---|
| Pflegegrad 2 | 316 Euro | 689 Euro |
| Pflegegrad 3 | 545 Euro | 1.298 Euro |
| Pflegegrad 4 | 728 Euro | 1.612 Euro |
| Pflegegrad 5 | 901 Euro | 1.995 Euro |
If you transfer parts of the daily tasks to a care service, but the amount is not fully used because you prefer to take over many tasks yourself, the care allowance can also be combined with the care benefits in kind. Your relative will then also receive the care allowance on a pro-rata basis according to the percentage of the care benefits in kind used.
Detailed information on more than 200 pages is provided by the "Ratgeber Pflege" (Nursing Care Guide) of the Federal Ministry of Health. You can download it directly from the internet: [9]. If you want to know exactly, you can also read directly in the Social Code: [8].
Conclusion
If you want to contribute to the care of your relative, you can take a break from your job. However, this also depends on how many employees your employer has. If your relative is classified at least in care level 2, he or she can claim substitute care services for the organisation of everyday life - which are not provided by you, but by a service provider. This relieves you. You can get detailed advice on these questions from a care support centre or the care insurance fund.
Sources & Notes
[1]: Care support allowance: https://www.aok.de/pk/fileadmin/user_upload/AOK-PLUS/05-Content-PDF/Infoblatt-Pflegeunterstuetzungsgeld.pdf
[2]: Care support centres: https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/service/begriffe-von-a-z/p/pflegestuetzpunkte.html
[3]: Requirements for care leave: https://www.wege-zur-pflege.de/themen/pflegezeit.html
[4]: Interest-free loan: https://www.wege-zur-pflege.de/fileadmin/daten/Antraege/Familienpflegezeit/Neu_barrierefrei_30.03/Informationsblatt_barrierefrei.pdf
[5]: Care in case of incapacity: https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/verhinderungspflege.html
[6]: Care allowance vs. care benefits in kind: https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/wissen/gesundheit-pflege/pflege-zu-hause/pflegesachleistung-oder-pflegegeld-welche-leistungsart-passt-zu-ihnen-13425
[7]: Medical Service of the Health Insurance Funds (MDK): https://www.mdk.de/ .
[8|: SGB-IX benefits: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_11/BJNR101500994.html
[9|: Download "Ratgeber Pflege" of the Federal Ministry of Health: https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/service/publikationen/pflege/details.html?bmg[pubid]=13
