Caregiver Job Description Template
A ready-to-post caregiver job description for non-medical home care: pay, schedule, duties, requirements and what you offer, plus the legal points a job post has to get right.
By Caregiver Scheduling Team ·
A caregiver job description should lead with pay, schedule and location, then list the care tasks, the requirements and what the agency offers. Keep it under 300 words. Applicants decide in seconds whether the job fits their hours and their drive, and a written description also fixes the essential functions of the job before you interview.
What should a caregiver job description say?
Pay range, shifts and neighborhoods first. Duties, requirements and benefits after. Copy the template and fill in the brackets.
Caregiver: $____ to $____/hour, [area], [part-time / full-time]
[Agency name] provides non-medical home care to older adults and people with disabilities in [service area]. We are hiring caregivers for [days/shifts] near [neighborhoods].
What you will do
- Help clients with bathing, dressing, grooming and toileting
- Assist with walking and transfers
- Prepare meals and help with eating
- Light housekeeping and laundry
- Remind clients to take medications
- Run errands and drive clients to appointments [if applicable]
- Provide companionship
- Record each visit in the app and report changes to the office
What you need
- [State training or certification, e.g. Home Care Aide registration, HHA or CNA, or willingness to complete training]
- Pass a background check [and TB test, if required]
- Reliable transportation [valid license and insurance if driving clients]
- A smartphone for the caregiver app
- Kindness, patience and reliability
What we offer
- Weekly pay [or your schedule]
- Paid travel time between clients and mileage reimbursement
- Clients near where you live
- Your schedule in an app, with open shifts you can pick up
- Paid training [and other benefits you offer]
Apply: [link or phone]. We respond within one business day.
What duties belong in a caregiver job description?
The duties above match what the Bureau of Labor Statistics lists for home health and personal care aides: personal tasks like bathing and dressing, housekeeping and meals, schedules and transportation, and keeping clients connected to their communities (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). Leave out anything your license category does not allow. Medication administration, wound care and vital signs are home health or nursing tasks in most states. See can caregivers give medication.
| Section | Include | Leave out |
|---|---|---|
| Duties | Personal care, meals, housekeeping, companionship, documentation | Nursing tasks your license does not cover |
| Requirements | State training, background check, transportation, smartphone | Years of experience, unless the case needs it |
| Pay | A real range and the shift differentials | “Competitive pay” |
| Schedule | Days, shift lengths, neighborhoods | “Flexible” with no detail |
Why does the job description matter legally?
Because it is evidence. The EEOC treats a written job description prepared before advertising or interviewing as evidence of the job’s essential functions under the Americans with Disabilities Act (EEOC, The ADA: Your Responsibilities as an Employer). If lifting and transfers are essential, say so in the posting. If they are not, do not screen people out for them.
Two more rules:
- Caregivers are non-exempt. Under the current federal rule, agencies cannot use the FLSA companionship or live-in exemptions (29 CFR 552.109). Pay at least minimum wage for every hour, including travel between clients, and overtime after 40 hours. See do caregivers get overtime.
- Pay transparency. Several states require a pay range in every posting. Washington requires the wage scale or range and a description of benefits for employers with 15 or more employees (RCW 49.58.110). Check your state.
How much should the posting offer?
At or above your metro’s median if you want applicants this week. The national median for home health and personal care aides was $17.21 an hour in May 2025, and the BLS projects 18 percent job growth from 2025 to 2035. See caregiver pay rates by state and our caregiver pay tool.
How do you get more applicants from the same post?
Put the number in the title and the neighborhood in the first line.
- Pay in the title. Posts with a range get more qualified applicants, and some states require it.
- Name the area. “Clients in North Austin” beats “Austin area”.
- Say what is paid. Paid travel and mileage are real advantages. See travel time pay.
- Short application. Name, phone, availability. Ask for the rest later.
- Respond within a day. See how to recruit caregivers and where to post caregiver jobs.
Which job title should you use?
The one your state and payers recognize: caregiver, personal care aide, home care aide, homemaker or companion. Do not use “home health aide” or “CNA” unless the job requires that credential.
How Caregiver Scheduling handles this
Caregivers get their schedule, client addresses and directions in the app, check in with one tap and accept open shifts nearby. Verified check-in and check-out times show the gaps between visits, and timesheets that calculate travel time from them are coming soon. $199/month for up to 10 caregivers or $299/month for up to 50, free for 30 days.
FAQ
What is the difference between a caregiver and a home health aide? Home health aides have specific federal or state training for Medicare-certified home health. Non-medical caregivers provide personal care and companionship under state home care rules.
Should I list pay in the job post? Yes. It increases applications, and states such as Washington require a range for employers with 15 or more employees.
Can I require caregivers to lift clients? Only if transfers are a real part of the job. Write it in the description before you post, and apply it to every applicant.
What experience should caregivers have? Many agencies hire without experience and train. See hiring caregivers without experience.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Check your state’s wage, pay transparency and training rules.