Difficulties in employing staff in French retirement homes

Based on the results of the EHPA survey, the DREES (Directorate for Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics) highlights in an analysis report the difficulties of recruiting staff of accommodation establishments for people dependent elderly (EHPAD).

In all occupations combined, EHPAD employs an average of 62.8 full-time equivalent employees per 100 places (figures at the end of 2015). For health care staff only, the rate of supervision varies from almost 23 positions per 100 places for private for-profit institutions to 37 posts in public health facilities.

All the players in the sector face real recruitment difficulties and face a significant turnover of their staff which creates tensions on the labor market.

Recruitment difficulties

The Ehpad have made a significant need for staff turnover since 15% of the employees who work there have less than twelve months of seniority.

The study points to strong recruitment difficulties for a large part of the actors who have an impact on the management of their activities. In fact, 44% of the structures surveyed stated that they encountered difficulties in hiring, which resulted in the presence of unfilled positions for more than 6 months in 63% of cases.

This phenomenon is particularly accentuated in the private sector Ehpad, since 50% of them are aware of this recruitment problem, particularly for care assistant positions for which 16% of these establishments have vacancies.

The importance of geographical factors

Among the factors that accentuate recruitment difficulties, the location of the establishment has a significant impact that differs between rural areas and large urban centers.

Tensions on the labor market are accentuated in rural areas. Thus, the majority of the Ehpad established in isolated communes face difficulties to recruit. In fact, 15% of the positions of coordinating doctors remain vacant for want of candidates.

The EHPA survey notes that at the end of 2015, the Hexagon had 7,400 residential care facilities for dependent elderly people offering 600,400 places, including more than 585,000 occupied. These establishments employed more than 430,000 employees for an hourly volume equivalent to 377,000 full-time equivalents.