Third Lockdown: What Impact on the Professionalization of Domestic Workers?

Predictable but dreaded by all, the news broke last week: a third lockdown, announced by the President, came into effect on April 3. As the professional branches for childcare providers and domestic employees have already taken stock of the health crisis in recent months, the current situation should have limited impact on employees' professional development, with an increased demand for skill development. As the national platform for domestic work professionalization, IPERIA has already implemented several adjustments to ensure continuity of current and upcoming activities. Is the training and certification offering still accessible? Under what conditions? How can we support partners in maintaining their activities? Here's what you need to know.

Essential Professions

The ongoing health crisis for over a year now hasn't spared the domestic work sector. Sector stakeholders have faced a real challenge in ensuring business continuity and supporting the 3.4 million individual employers and 1.4 million employees concerned. Whether for supporting loss of autonomy, childcare, or housekeeping, the professions of childcare provider, childminder, personal carer, and family assistant are essential to national solidarity and social cohesion. Since the crisis began in February 2020, they have played a crucial role in caring for children of healthcare workers or those whose missions were essential to the country's activity, and in maintaining vulnerable people at home. Today, recognition of personal carers' essential mission is reflected in this profession's inclusion on the priority list for COVID-19 vaccination eligibility. Thus, vaccination is available to personal carers, regardless of age, who support individual employers receiving:

• Personal Autonomy Allowance (APA)
• Disability Compensation Benefit (PCH)
• Third Party Compensation Allowance (ACTP)
• Disabled Child Education Allowance (AEEH)
• Third Party Supplement (MTP)
• 80% disability card or inclusion mobility card (CMI)

All Modular Offerings Can Be Accessed via Distance Learning

Certification: Remote Evaluations and Jurys Maintained

Adapted Support and Simplified Administrative Management of Training

When the first lockdown was announced in March 2020, to avoid an abrupt halt to training activities, IPERIA, with support from its partner University of Home Care Services, provided accredited training organizations with a distance learning best practices guide, an online training platform, and educational assistance. These measures were necessary to ensure operational continuity, in addition to streamlining administrative processes through complete digitization of training files and simplified procedures. Still relevant, these measures have been reinforced for this third lockdown, with one new feature: faster training session scheduling to support childcare providers during lockdown.

As this third lockdown was anticipated within the sector, it represents a slowdown but not a complete stop for employee professionalization. Despite special conditions, personal carers, childminders, childcare providers, and family assistants have continued developing their skills in recent months thanks to efforts and measures taken by all stakeholders to continue and facilitate their professional development. This must and will continue in the coming weeks. A toll-free number 0 800 820 920 is also available to individual employers and their employees for all professional training inquiries.




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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Updated practical guide for sector stakeholders to prevent COVID-19 spread!