Mistakes Household Employers make with Domestic Workers

1 Household Employers consider hiring household workers who have been
either referred by word of mouth or from a job listing service
or newspaper do not do the due diligence on every employee to ensure that they know everything there is to know about the domestic worker before offering a position.

2. Employers hire the domestic employee and bank on the fact
that the references stated that this individual was “wonderful”. They assume that the employee knows how everything and does not need household training.

Big Mistake – every single new employee must be trained in how to do things in the house “your way” to ensure starting on the right foot from the beginning. The
amount of household and nanny training and input you provide in the beginning has a direct relationship with the successful outcome of that employee.


3. Employers fail to get an Employer/Employee Agreement in place
in place where all the requirements and household duties
of the position as well as the benefits, salary and other details
are very clear so that everyone knows what to expect from each other.


4 Employers leave their children in the hands of a new employee without observing carefully how the employee handles the children. What is necessary is that the first few weeks of hiring someone, the parent(s) are available to make sure that the
employee’s ways of handling the baby, disciplining the children, playing with the children and overall care is in sync with the views and choices made by the parents.


5. Employers get overly friendly with the household help making many allowances to the point where they have now crossed the boundaries and find themselves in a
position where they no longer have an employee relationship. The employer is uncomfortable giving direction to the nanny and/or housekeeper.



6. Employers veer from the labor code and overwork their employees (never providing breaks) especially in a live/in situation; ultimately, making the fatal mistake of “burning out” their employee who has no other recourse but to terminate.

7. Employers think that because the employee isn’t a US Citizen and perhaps only a resident of the state, that this does not give the employee the right to
celebrate what the employer regards as “American” holidays. So the employer elects not to provide any holidays. Meanwhile, although many states do not make
it mandatory to provide holidays to domestic workers, it is still common for household employers to give the major 6 holidays to domestic workers.

8. Employers think that domestic workers are “independent contractors” when in fact the majority of domestics do not qualify as independent contractors
unless they have a cleaning service company and come to one’s home with supplies and cleaning equipment.Otherwise, domestics who earn a certain amount
per calendar quarter must be placed on payroll as employees of the employer.

9. Employers think that because they are generous andgive their nannies and housekeepers clothes and other unwanted and used items from their home constitutes as payment for perhaps extra hours worked. A gift is a gift and every hour an employee works should be compensated with pay.


10. Employers forget to have review sessions periodically so that the employee and employer can equally voice their concerns and problems-on-the-job.
Instead these problems fester and become serious issues that cannot be easily solved resulting in a termination.

Domestic workers which include nannies, housekeepers, companions to the elderly, household managers, cooks and estate managers should receive proper training, benefits, a household manual, an employment agreement and periodic review sessions to maintain a long term mutually-satisfying employer/employee relationship.

http://www.MartaPerrone.com