Hourly help or a live-in worker? How to decide

We get this question every week. The answer differs from home to home, but these criteria shorten the decision.

Choose hourly help if

• The home is small or the household few in number
• You need regular cleaning rather than continuous care
• You do not have a suitable separate room
• You would rather not have someone living in the house

Choose a live-in worker if

• You have young children or a case needing round-the-clock care
• The home is large and the daily work continuous
• You need scheduling flexibility that a visit timetable cannot give

The financial comparison, briefly

Hourly help is a lighter commitment and easier to end, but the monthly cost can approach that of a live-in worker once the visits add up. A live-in worker costs more up front and carries more legal obligation, but works out cheaper where the need is genuinely daily.

One legal point

In both cases the worker must be lawfully sponsored — by you or by a licensed office. Engaging a worker sponsored by someone else is a violation, and the liability falls on the householder.