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I'M A STUDENT

About the work, honestly

It's rewarding, but it isn't always easy. Here's exactly what you're signing up for, the lines we hold, and the support you'll always have.

A REAL VISIT

Mostly it's small, ordinary things

You arrive

Knock loudly, let yourself be expected. Coffee usually goes on within minutes.

You help

Maybe groceries, maybe the iPad, maybe just the crossword. You follow their lead.

You log it

After each visit you jot a short note in the portal so the coordinator stays in the loop.

Before your first visit

You're trained for light cleaning & home help.

No experience needed. Every new Bonusbuur does a short, practical training session before being matched. Just so you arrive knowing how to help safely and confidently. It's free, it's paid for by us, and it counts towards your hours.

You will be trained in:

Cleaning
Tidying & laundry basics
What to do and what not to
Working around mobility

90 min

One practical session

Free

Paid for by Bonusbuur

With a coordinator

Plus a short handbook to keep

You will

  • Keep company, chat, play cards, have walks
  • Help with light tidying and groceries
  • Show them how the tablet or TV works
  • Sometimes go along to an appointment

You won't

  • Give medical care or medicine
  • Do heavy lifting
  • Replace professional home care
  • Handle emergencies alone

A coordinator on call

Every match has a named coordinator. If something feels off you can message or ring them.

Our community

Monthly meet-ups with other students. Swap tips, vent, share the good stories.

Insured & checked

You're covered during visits, and everyone's screened with a VOG.

Common worries

What if we run out of things to talk about?

That's completely normal and it doesn't mean the match isn't working. Silence is fine. Some of the best visits aren't about talking at all, they're about doing something together, like sorting through a drawer, walking to the bakery, or figuring out a phone setting. If conversation feels stiff, try switching to an activity. You can also revisit the kennismakingskaarten at any point, they're not only for the first meeting. And honestly, most students find the opposite problem: elderly clients have more stories than you have time to hear.

Let your client and the coordinator know as soon as possible. Ideally a few days in advance for exams, same-day is fine for sudden illness. No guilt needed. Your client understands that you're a student first. During exam periods, visits simply pause. If you'll be unavailable for more than two weeks, the coordinator may arrange a temporary stand-in so your client isn't left without contact. After exams, you pick up where you left off.

You're employed by Bonusbuur, so you're paid by us, not by the elderly client directly. You earn €18 per hour, paid as regular wages into your bank account on a fixed monthly schedule, with a payslip each month. You log your visited hours, the coordinator confirms them, and payment follows automatically. Because you're a Bonusbuur employee, your taxes and social contributions are handled for you, and you're covered by our insurance during every visit. The coordinator walks you through your contract and the payment setup when you start.

This happens more often than you'd expect but it's rarely ill-intentioned. Most of the time the client simply doesn't realise something is outside your scope. Typical examples: asking you to climb a ladder to change a light bulb, requesting help with medication, or asking you to drive them in your own car. The answer is always the same: say warmly that this falls outside what you're able to do, and call the coordinator if the client needs help finding the right service for it. You can say something like: "Dat kan ik helaas niet doen, maar ik check even met de coördinator wie u daarbij kan helpen." You're never expected to do anything that makes you uncomfortable, feels unsafe, or falls outside the scope agreement you both signed.

Call the coordinator. You don't need to push through a match that doesn't feel right. That's worse for both of you. Sometimes personalities don't click, schedules don't align, or the situation turns out to be different from what you expected. None of that is failure. The coordinator will talk to you separately, talk to the client separately, and either adjust the arrangement or find a different match for both of you. Many of our strongest matches happened after a first pairing that didn't work out.

Yes. Most students pause during the summer break, and that's expected. Let your client and the coordinator know well in advance. Ideally six weeks before you leave, so we can arrange a temporary replacement if your client wants one. Some clients are happy to wait for you to return; others prefer continuity over the summer. Either way, the coordinator manages the transition. When you come back, you resume with the same client unless the situation has changed.