Useful information
for PA’s and PAE’s |
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| Personal Assistant
or Carer? |
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The term ‘Personal Assistant’ has
been widely used by disabled people for the staff they employ for
some time now. It gives a more positive image to the job. Terms like
‘care worker’ and ‘support worker’ can be linked
to medical models of care where a person needs ‘looking after’
or ‘curing’. |
| What is a Personal
Assistant? |
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A Personal Assistant (PA)is somebody who assists
a disabled person to be independent and to make their own choices
about how they live their lives. |
| What is a Carer? |
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A ‘Carer’ is a person who has responsibilities
for another person’s care WITHOUT being paid a wage. Often the
Carer and the person being cared for are related. Carers may also
employ Personal Assistants to perform tasks such as shopping and cleaning
to help to relieve some of the pressure of being a carer. |
| Who employs
Personal Assistants? |
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When a person has a disability or is struggling
to live without assistance they can ask for an assessment to be carried
out by Social Services. This assessment should determine the level
of assistance needed to give that person a full independent life.
Social Services may offer to meet that need with their own services
such as Day Care, or Home Help. Alternatively the person needing assistance
may opt to receive cash in the form of a Direct Payment, to either
purchase help from an agency, or to employ his or her own staff. |
| Who is the employer? |
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The person receiving the Direct Payment is
the employer. As a PA you will be answerable to this person. |
| Who pays my
wages? |
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The person receiving the Direct Payment pays
the wages, it is up to them how much they pay and when your payday
is. |
| What qualifications
do I need to be a PA? |
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This is up to the employer. Most people employing
PAs aren’t interested in qualifications. The most important thing
for this job is that you get on well with each other. As each person’s
needs are very different, your employer will train you when you start
to work for him or her. |
| What does a
PA do? |
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Every job will be different; however there
will be similarities in that you are assisting somebody to become
more independent and to exercise choice in society. You may be taking
a man to a pub for a drink or taking a lady to a cinema, some jobs
involve personal care and some involve cooking and cleaning. You are
employed to assist a person to do whatever they want to do during
that shift. |
| What’s
the rate of pay like? |
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The rate of pay is usually very good. This
is because there is no agency taking a cut of the money in management
fees. The employer decides the rate of pay based on how much money
they have to spend and how many hours of care are required.If you
have any more questions about this job, please put them in the box
below and click on ‘send’. We may then answer them and add
them to this page! |
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