Introducing the SENEF and Progisap Press Review. This monthly press review is a digest of all the latest news from the care services sector. Here is the March issue.
Studies Home help for disabled people: an emergency situation
Fedesap Frank NATAF, President of Fedesap, expresses concern about the lack of funding. The aim is to respond to the persistent challenges facing the home help sector. In an article published by Le Media Social, he highlights the difficulties facing the sector. In particular, the difficulties faced by people with disabilities are highlighted.
Frank Nataf particularly highlights the problem of the low minimum rate. It has been set at €23.50 for 2024. This situation is creating complex dilemmas for home help services.
The decisions taken in this context have a negative impact on the beneficiaries of these services. But they also have a negative impact on the organisations themselves and their employees. This creates a dynamic in which all stakeholders are affected by the constraints of the current system.
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Families in temporary difficulty: from 2024, the CAF will pay more for home help
The family branch of the Caisse d’Allocations Familiales (CAF) offers financial assistance to families facing temporary difficulties. This is particularly the case in situations such as parental separation, the illness of a parent or the birth of a child.
This assistance, known as Home assistance (AAD), is now more accessible to low-income families. Thanks to a revision of the scales by the CAF in 2024. Families now pay less according to their income, with a significant reduction for those on the lowest incomes. In addition, a 50% tax credit is available to families for home services, regardless of their tax situation.
Care services: two out of three employees work solely for private employers
Definition: The employee may be recruited, paid and declared by the individual, without any intermediary or by an organisation. The employer-employee relationship entails rights and obligations for both parties.
A recent study by INSEE revealed that two-thirds of personal services employees prefer to work directly for individual employers rather than for organisations.
This choice is often motivated by lower hourly rates. The sector, which includes 26 activities such as help for the elderly or disabled, benefits from a 50% tax credit and attracts mainly women, accounting for nine out of ten employees.
Employees working for private individuals put in an average of 560 hours a year, while those working for organisations put in 890. They also have greater flexibility in terms of choosing clients and working hours.
However, this self-employed status has its drawbacks, such as the lack of job security and social benefits. Despite this, one in five agency employees also works for private individuals. This booming sector is dominated by the private for-profit sector, to the detriment of the voluntary and public sectors.
Reminder: what is the SAAD?
The Home Help and Support Service (SAAD) offers a range of home services designed to help elderly, disabled or sick people remain independent in their own homes.
It is made up of a team of qualified professionals, such as care assistants and social workers, who provide personalised support tailored to the specific needs of each beneficiary.
Services include help with washing, meals, household chores, accompaniment to medical appointments and basic care management.
The SAAD helps people to remain in their own homes in conditions of comfort and safety, while preserving social links and the well-being of frail people and their families. To find a SAAD near you, you can consult your GP, town hall, CCAS or MDPH, or search online on specialist websites such as Aladom.
SAADs charge fees that vary according to the services provided, the frequency of interventions and the geographical region, and different sources of funding such as the APA, PCH, pension funds or supplementary health insurance may cover them. It is advisable to contact the structure directly to obtain a personalised quote based on your needs and financial situation.
Home help, nursing homes… what’s in the bill on ageing well and independent living
After almost a year of debate, the French Parliament has adopted the bill on ageing well and independent living. Initially deemed inadequate by many MPs when it was examined by the National Assembly in April 2023, it has been enriched with a number of measures, including the creation of a territorial public service for autonomy.
The Joint Committee, made up of members of both chambers, reached a compromise on the points of disagreement. Here are the main measures contained in the adopted text:
- Creation of a departmental autonomy service to centralise information and support for people losing their autonomy.
- Combating elder abuse by setting up a departmental warning unit.
- Authorisation for mayors to consult registers of recipients of certain benefits in order to detect isolated people.
- Authorisation for residents of old people’s homes to bring in their pets, subject to consultation with the health authorities.
- Increased support for home help services, in particular with a budget for the mobility of professionals and the creation of a professional card.
- Experimentation with flat-rate payments for home help services.
- Exemption of grandchildren from the obligation to provide maintenance for grandparents living in old people’s homes.
- Tougher controls on care homes, with automatic non-renewal of authorisations if external assessments are unsatisfactory.
- Creation of a home autonomy service combining nursing care and home help, with a period of adaptation until 2030.
- Modulation of Ehpad fees according to resources and the nature of the places available, subject to certain limitations.
In addition, the government plans to launch a debate on a programming law for the elderly to define the funding resources and reforms to be undertaken, although it is not yet certain that this will happen.
Parliament strengthens support for the elderly at home
After more than a year of deliberation, members of parliament have finalised a bill aimed at improving support for the elderly. Despite the best efforts of the majority, this proposal does not meet the expectations of dependency experts, who are urging the government to adopt a more comprehensive approach to dealing with an ageing population.
While some recognise its importance as a first step, many criticise its lack of ambition. The main aim of the text is to make it easier for the elderly to stay at home rather than in specialised institutions.
In particular, it provides for the introduction of a professional card for home carers and measures to make it easier for them to travel. In addition, we plan to experiment with new ways of funding home help services, as well as creating a one-stop shop to better guide the elderly and their families towards the services available.
However, the proposal does not meet the immediate needs of home help structures, which are in financial difficulty. In addition, profit-making establishments have abandoned their obligation to invest in improving accommodation conditions, which is a crucial aspect.
Specialists in dependency care have expressed their disappointment at the absence of a genuine law on ‘old age’ in the legislative timetable.
Study on salaries in Care Services: Comparing, yes, but with the right focus
DARES (the French Ministry of Labour’s Department of Studies, Research and Statistics) and INSEE recently published a study on Personal Services salaries in 2019, showing a significant gap between employees of private individuals and those of Care Services organisations. The average hourly rate for an employee employed by a private employer is €14.30 gross, compared with €11.80 for an employee of a Care Services organisation.
However, Fedesap, the leading national federation of care services companies, disputes these findings. It claims that the explanation put forward by DARES and INSEE, according to which Care Services organisations deduct part of their revenue for operating costs, is incorrect.
According to Fedesap, the pay gap can be explained by two main factors:
- Individual employers pay employees ICCP (Compensatory allowances for paid leave) on a monthly basis, whereas Care Services organisations pay them when the leave is taken. This results in a difference in pay.
- The hourly rate for employees of individual employers represents their total remuneration, whereas for employees of Personal
- Services organisations, it is only part of their remuneration. Time spent travelling, training, etc. is also paid in addition.
Fedesap is calling for social, fiscal and regulatory harmonisation in the Care Services sector. To avoid distortions between the different forms of intervention and the different legal statuses of employers.
To discover the press review for January and February, click here.
