The Ministry of Labor plans to allow families of critically ill people to hire migrant workers from other employment categories to increase the supply of caregivers, a ministry official said yesterday.
The measure is to be introduced to avoid possible negative effects on such families after the launch of a new policy that waives Barthel Index evaluations for Taiwanese aged 80 or older who want to hire live-in foreign caregivers.
The Legislative Yuan last year passed an amendment to the Employment Service Act (就業服務法), allowing people aged 80 or older to hire live-in foreign caregivers without undergoing health evaluations based on the Barthel Index — a clinical scale used to assess a person's ability to perform daily activities.
Photo: CNA
The exemption also applies to households with members aged 70 to 79 who have been diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer or above.
The amendment was promulgated, but while the changes are expected to benefit an additional 100,000 households by enabling them to apply for caregivers, it might affect the families of critically ill people — those who are bed-ridden and have ailments or diseases such as dementia.
The concern is that caregivers could choose to take care of people who do not have a critical illness.
With that in mind, the ministry is drafting accompanying measures that are expected to be implemented by the end of this month, said Su Yu-kuo (蘇裕國), a division chief at the ministry's Workforce Development Agency.
To expand the pool of available caregivers, the labor ministry would allow families of people with critical conditions to hire migrant workers from across different job categories, Su said, adding that the existing rule requires job transfers to be within the same employment category.
Workers from the manufacturing, agricultural or construction sectors who wish to switch to live-in caregiving would first have to complete 20 hours of supplementary training — either in person or online, Su said.
As long as the training is completed and both parties agree, the transfer can proceed, he added.
Under the ministry's proposed measures, people with mild diseases would no longer need to go through the Ministry of Health and Welfare's long-term care service platform to apply for caregivers, Su said.
Instead, employers could post a seven-day job advertisement on the TaiwanJobs Web site to proceed to the next step, Su said, adding that related measures are expected to launch between now and next month.
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