A carer who lives in your relative's home, with the working hours and rest periods the law sets, selected for her experience with dependency and backed by verified references.
Placement agency no. 1300000318
4.8 · 94 Google reviews
One-off fee · 6-month guarantee in Madrid, Barcelona and Marbella
WHAT DOES A LIVE-IN CARER DO?
She lives with the person and organises their day
A live-in carer lives in the elderly person's home and handles their daily care: getting them up and washed, preparing their meals, helping them take their medication on time, taking them to the doctor and out for walks, and keeping them company. In law she is a live-in domestic employee whose main job is caring for a member of the household.
Getting them up, washed and dressed
Preparing their meals and minding their diet
Helping them take their medication on time
Moving them safely: repositioning and transfers
Going with them to the doctor, on walks and errands
Keeping them company and their routines steady
WHAT SHE DOES AND DOESN'T DO
What falls outside a live-in carer's role, and who covers it
Living in does not make her a 24-hour carer or a nurse. It pays to be clear about this from the start and to plan who takes care of the rest.
Not her roleWho covers it
Working 24 hours
She has a maximum working week and rest periods: the hours outside them are covered by the family or another carer.
Her 36 consecutive hours of weekly rest
A weekend carer or the family itself; as a rule, Saturday afternoon or Monday morning plus all of Sunday.
Staying awake all night
If your relative needs someone alert through the night, a night carer: the live-in carer needs her rest between working days.
Medical tasks
Dressings, changes to prescriptions or doses and nursing procedures: the doctor and the nurse from the health centre or the home-care team.
Running the whole house
Household tasks that are not about the person are agreed in the contract or done by another employee.
Her holidays: 30 calendar days a year
Plan who stands in for her. Dates are agreed; failing agreement, the family sets 15 days, she chooses the rest and both are known two months ahead.
All of this goes in the contract: working hours, on-call time and how it is paid, overnight arrangements and tasks. We advise on the contract and, if you prefer, our in-house employment advisers handle the registration.
BEFORE YOU HIRE
A live-in carer's hours and rest periods
In law, a live-in carer is a live-in domestic employee: caring for members of the household is part of domestic service (Royal Decree 1620/2011, art. 1.4).She has the same contract, the same Social Security registration and the same working-time limits, which do not change because she sleeps in the home.
The schedule is agreed, but within these limits: 40 hours of effective work a week; on-call hours on top, paid at least at the ordinary rate and averaging no more than 20 a week, unless compensated with paid time off; 2 hours a day for main meals; 12 hours between the end of one working day and the start of the next, which may drop to 10 if the rest is made up within four weeks; and 36 consecutive hours of weekly rest (art. 9).
MonMonday: Working: her hours plus agreed on-call time
TueTuesday: Working: her hours plus agreed on-call time
WedWednesday: Working: her hours plus agreed on-call time
ThuThursday: Working: her hours plus agreed on-call time
FriFriday: Working: her hours plus agreed on-call time
SatSaturday: Works in the morning, off in the afternoon
SunSunday: Day off: another carer or the family covers it
Working: her hours plus agreed on-call time
Works in the morning, off in the afternoon
Day off: another carer or the family covers it
40 h
cap on effective work each week
20 h
average weekly cap on on-call time, unless compensated with paid time off
36 h
of consecutive rest every week
30 days
of calendar holiday, on top of public holidays
An example only: the actual split is agreed in the contract. As a rule, the weekly rest covers Saturday afternoon or Monday morning plus all of Sunday (Royal Decree 1620/2011, art. 9.5).
2026 PAY AND COST
What a live-in carer earns and costs in 2026
The range is the market range for live-in staff in 2026; for a carer, pay rises with the level of dependency, training and experience with dementia. Agreed on-call hours are paid on top, and a weekend carer is paid in proportion to her hours. Our fee is one month of the agreed salary plus VAT, and only if you hire.
A live-in carer will share a home with your relative, so we check what she can actually do and how she does it, not just what her CV says.
You receive the first profiles in under 3 hours and, before deciding, you can arrange a 2-day trial at home with the candidate. Looking in Madrid? We explain how we work there, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.
“We are very happy with our experience with Maids & Co. We had quite a demanding search, as we have three children under five and were preparing for a big international move from New York to Spain. Although we were unlucky with a few candidates who changed…”
Tatiana2 months ago · Google review
★★★★★
“Isabella and her team were fantastic in helping us find a nanny. From an initial call to align on profiles to the process and platform they use, together with the candidates presented, it was a smooth an easy process. They were very communicative and helped…”
David5 months ago · Google review
★★★★★
“Great and easy experience hiring our new house keeper with Maids & Co. They are very helpful and were continuously searching for the perfect candidate. We are very happy and will keep working with them in the future.”
Georgia6 months ago · Google review
★★★★★
“My experience having Maids&Co supporting me finding and choosing an assistent was the best! Very organized, plenty of good options, speedy and trustworthy. I recommend it.”
Pati10 months ago · Google review
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Live-in carers: what you need to know
The legal minimum is the 2026 SMI: €1,424.50 a month over 12 payments, or €1,221 over 14. On the market, live-in staff earn between €1,500 and €2,500 gross a month over 12 payments, plus board and lodging, and the level of dependency and experience with dementia push a carer's salary up. Any on-call hours agreed are paid on top, unless compensated with time off.
In name, yes; in working hours, no. A live-in carer cannot work 24 hours: her maximum is 40 hours of effective work a week, her on-call time averages no more than 20 hours a week (unless compensated with paid time off), and she has 2 hours a day for meals, 12 hours' rest between working days (reducible to 10) and 36 consecutive hours off each week. For your relative to have company around the clock you need to plan cover: a weekend carer and, if the nights need watching, a night carer.
Her salary plus the family's Social Security contribution, 22.27% of the contribution base: €317.24 a month at the SMI and roughly €334–557 a month across the market range, for a total of €1,835–3,060 a month. If weekends or nights need covering, add the person who relieves her. Our fee — one month of the agreed salary plus VAT — is paid once, and only if you hire.
Whatever the contract says, within the law: up to 40 hours of effective work a week, plus any agreed on-call hours. For example, spread from Monday to Saturday, with 36 consecutive hours of weekly rest, which as a rule covers Saturday afternoon or Monday morning plus all of Sunday. Once her working day and any agreed on-call time are over, she is not obliged to stay in the home.
In law, none: both work under the special employment relationship for domestic service, with the same contract, the same registration and the same rest periods (Royal Decree 1620/2011). The difference is the main task: the housekeeper looks after the house and the carer, the elderly person. That is why we ask a carer for experience with dependency, transfers and medication, and a housekeeper for experience with cleaning, ironing and cooking.
Someone else: a weekend carer covering those 36 hours, or the family itself. A weekend carer is paid at least the share of the SMI that matches her hours (Royal Decree 1620/2011, art. 8.1); if she works by the hour as live-out staff, at least €9.55 an hour in 2026.
She sleeps in the home and, if the person needs her one night, she can help; that time counts as work. What she cannot do is stay awake all night and work the next day: she is entitled to 12 hours' rest between working days (10 if the rest is made up). If your relative needs someone awake at night, you need a night carer, and any night-time on-call hours agreed are paid or compensated with time off.
Yes. She lives in the home, so she needs a room of her own in decent conditions, plus meals. By agreement, board and lodging may be deducted from her salary up to 30%, provided she receives at least the SMI in cash (Royal Decree 1620/2011, art. 8.2).
If the carer leaves or does not suit your relative, we offer a free replacement within the first 6 months in Madrid, Barcelona and Marbella. And wherever you are, if you are not satisfied during the first month, we refund 50% of the fee.
The first live-in carer profiles, with checked references, arrive in under 3 hours; very specific profiles can take up to 48 hours.
COVERAGE
Live-in carers in Madrid, Barcelona, Marbella and across Spain
We select live-in carers in Madrid, Barcelona, Marbella and across Spain. Interviews take place remotely and the trial at your relative's home, so living in another city never holds up the search.
In Madrid, Barcelona and Marbella the hire also carries the 6-month guarantee: a free replacement if the carer leaves or does not settle in.
