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En France, environ 10 millions de personnes sont considérées comme étant “proche aidant” de personnes à domicile en situation de handicap ou de perte d’autonomie, selon le baromètre 2019 de la Fondation April avec l’institut BVA. L’aidant familial ou le proche aidant joue un rôle crucial dans la vie des personnes âgées dépendantes. En effet, elles leur apportent de l’aide à domicile, c’est à dire soins et assistance régulière pour leur permettre de vivre dans de bonnes conditions malgré leur état de santé.
Caregivers are often considered "invisible heroes" because they often provide unpaid care outside of their regular work hours, without having specific medical or paramedical training. They provide regular assistance with daily activities such as grooming, dressing, feeding, or accompanying the person to medical appointments.
The concept of family caregiver is broader than that of family caregiver, because it does not presuppose a family link between the caregiver and the person being cared for. The close caregiver may be a friend or neighbor, who provides regular assistance. Since 2016, the Code de l'Action Sociale et des Familles defines what a "close caregiver" of an elderly person is, in the following terms:
"Is considered as a close caregiver of an elderly person his spouse, the partner with whom he has entered into a civil solidarity pact or his cohabitant, a parent or an ally, defined as family caregivers, or a person residing with him or maintaining close and stable ties with him, who helps him, on a regular and frequent basis, on a non-professional basis, to perform all or part of the acts or activities of daily life."
The roles of family and informal caregiver can be exhausting and can cause stress and anxiety for those who perform them. They may face challenges such as fatigue, social isolation and financial pressure. It is therefore important that these individuals have support and resources to assist them in their role.
When a loved one (parent or grandparent for example) finds himself in a delicate situation of loss of autonomy, the question arises as to how to organize oneself to be able to help him daily? It is possible to hire home help for the elderly, but many people prefer to take care of their loved one themselves, either entirely or in addition to home help.
It is often difficult to become a family caregiver while having a professional activity, especially when the family member in loss of autonomy requires regular assistance. Once the situation is diagnosed, the caregiver must make a decision on how to manage his or her work according to the evolution of the loss of autonomy, the illness or the disability of his or her loved one.
This decision may include reducing one's work hours, temporarily or permanently interrupting one's work activity, or maintaining one's work while organizing to provide the necessary care for one's loved one. This decision can be difficult to make and must be re-evaluated regularly depending on the evolution of the situation of the person being cared for and the ability of the caregiver to provide the necessary assistance while maintaining his or her own life balance.
Caregiver leave allows employees to temporarily stop their professional activity in order to help an elderly dependent person. The employer is obliged to accept your request, if the eligibility criteria are met. During the caregiver leave, no remuneration will be paid by the employer.
This is not a long-term solution, since the maximum duration is 3 months. It is possible to obtain renewals, but for a maximum of 1 year over the whole career.
Since October 1, 2020, the leave of close caregiver is now compensated, not by the employer but by an allowance from the CAF or MSA. This is the Allocation Journalière du Proche Aidant (AJPA).
At the end of the caregiver leave, the employee returns to his or her job or to a similar job with at least equivalent pay.
As a caregiver, it is possible to become an employee of the person you are helping, in order to receive a salary for the activity you perform for him or her.
If your relative benefits from theAllocation Personnalisée d'Autonomie as part of an assistance plan, then the APA can be used to pay you. To do so, you must be a family member (with the exception of the spouse, cohabitant or PACS partner). You will have to justify that the tasks you perform as a family caregiver are consistent with the assistance plan, as well as the hourly volume.
If your loved one does not receive the APA, the remuneration will be free.
In both cases, it is an employer-employee relationship that is established, with all the associated legal constraints such as the payment of social security contributions, vacation days, etc...
Contrary to caregiver leave, this solution has the advantage of being able to organize your help over the long term, but it must be carefully thought out because the consequences on your life and on your family balance can be very important.
There are few financial aids for caregivers, and certainly, there is a strong lack of awareness of financial aid schemes. Indeed, they depend on the situation of the caregiver and that of the person being cared for, and have very specific conditions of eligibility. Here is an overview of the financial aid available to a caregiver of an elderly person.
As mentioned above, if you decide to take a caregiver leave, you can benefit from a daily caregiver allowance (AJPA), since you no longer receive your salary during the leave period.
In 2023, the AJPA amounts to 62.44€ per day. It can be paid for a maximum of 66 days over the course of your career. Depending on your fund, you should apply to the CAF or the MSA.
Being a caregiver can become exhausting, and make the relationship between the person being cared for and the caregiver difficult. Thus, it is perfectly legitimate to feel the need to take a break, and to allow oneself moments of respite. Various temporary care solutions allow the family caregiver to rest, regain strength and recharge his or her batteries, so that his or her commitment to the person being cared for remains intact. For example, calling on home help or a temporary accommodation solution.
Financial assistance may be granted to finance respite time, under relatively restrictive conditions. First of all, the person being cared for must have an assistance plan and receive the APA. Then, only when the APA ceiling is reached, it is possible to obtain an increase in the APA to finance a respite solution. For this, the caregiver must be considered indispensable.
In 2023, the increase in the APA to finance the caregiver's respite amounts to 540.23€ per year.
You can benefit from tax assistance if you are hosting a relative on a long-term basis, or if you are contributing to your relative's EHPAD expenses, in two different ways:
En tant qu'aidant familial, vous pouvez parfois avoir besoin de soutien pour vous aider à faire face aux défis de la vie quotidienne. Voici quelques idées pour obtenir du soutien:
It is important to remember that you are not alone as a family caregiver and that there are resources and services to help you. Don't hesitate to seek support when you need it.
