Government Needs To Make Family Carers’ Payments Simple And Sensible

The Court of Appeal’s just-released decision that family
carers of disabled people are not employees of Whaikaha, the
Ministry of Disabled People, shows policy in this area must
be fixed, says New Zealand Disability Support Network CEO
Peter Reynolds.

“While it’s positive to finally have
a Court of Appeal decision on this issue, it’s not a good
outcome if disabled people and their carers are left in a
legal fiction that the disabled person is their family
members’ employer. This uncertainty will continue to cause
stress about access to support.

“Deeming a disabled
person to be their family carer’s employer simply won’t
work in every case. Whaikaha holds the purse strings and
determines how much money is allocated, with ‘host’
organisations performing the administration of paying wages,
looking after tax and managing entitlements like holiday
pay. Many people have disabilities that mean they can’t
fulfil the role of employer in a meaningful
sense.”

“The Government needs to look
seriously at this issue and find a way to fairly compensate
family carers without pretending that they’re employees.
Ministers and agencies, including Whaikaha and MSD, need to
put their heads together, consult with the sector and come
up with a solution for family carers that’s simple,
that’s accessible and that
works.

“Uncertainty for family carers is
just another problem that the sector doesn’t need, as we
face chronic underfunding and wait for the Government to
come to the party on the care and support workers’ pay
equity claim,” says
Reynolds.

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