Intersecting vulnerabilities. Elderly care provided in the domestic environment

Abstract

This article analyses to what extent the forms of hire in the elderly care sector, as defined by recent Spanish law, enable this work to be professionalised. Using a qualitative piece of research based on semi-structured interviews with a variety of social actors involved in the social organisation of care, we embark on the comparative study of those types of hire that have been particularly affected by the legal changes: private hire by families and the Home Help Service. Our conclusion is that in domestic environments, the physical, emotional and moral aspects that characterise care pose specific barriers to professionalisation and these impact most notably on the special vulnerabilities of migrants employed in domestic care. The high expectations raised by the new legislation about the sector’s professionalisation have failed to be realised.