Taking away others cleaning help erev pesach

amother

Thu, Mar 14 2024, 5:33 pm

amother Beige wrote:

I have a lady coming 3 days a week. I have no idea where she works the other 2 days. I don't see any reason I can't ask her if she has extra time for me if I need it. If I employed someone and I knew she also worked at my neighbor, my friend, some other Jewish family - ok, that's questionable behavior because she'd have to dump someone else to come to me. But since I have no clue who she works for, why should I not be able to ask her for more help when I need it and give the benefit of doubt that she isn't going to be stupid enough to drop a regular client just to give me more hours short term?

If you live in a frum community, she most likely works elsewhere the days that you don't have her.
Ask her if she works for someone esle, before you ask her if she can work for you more hours.

amother

Beige

Thu, Mar 14 2024, 5:33 pm

amother Lightgreen wrote:

In which communities do people stop cleaning ladies they see on the street?
Can you really recognize your friend/sister/neighbor's cleaning lady if you see her on the street?

My mom used to find her housekeepers by going to the bus stop where she knew they all hung out waiting for the bus at the end of the day. I'm sure she's not the only one who knows where to find them. And yes, it's obvious they are housekeepers. Nobody else in an affluent neighborhood is waiting for a bus.

amother

Lemon

Thu, Mar 14 2024, 6:45 pm

amother DarkViolet wrote:

I once saw a cleaning lady in my neighbors yard playing on the swing set. I knew that the CL and kids weren’t my neighbor so I asked her if she had a friend who was available. This WAS NOT before pesach, tho. The CL called me and told me she was available because she quit working for the other lady, would I want to hire her. I was offering more hours and the other woman was rude and not pleasant she said. ( I happen to know that’s a true statement) I hired her. The other woman had a tynah against me for years. I didn’t feel I stole her but she clearly did.

I would have called her employer and told that her CL offered to work for you, and told you she was quittting her. If she wants to leave your neighbour for whatever reason, whether she's not nice to her or something else, she should sort it out with her.
The way it was done of course your neighbour was upset. If she leaves her that's her choice but you shouldn't take her like this, it's underhand.

amother

Ecru

Fri, Mar 15 2024, 2:20 am

amother OP wrote:

Erev pesach season is here, and the cleaning lady stealing has begun. (...)

... and here comes the seasonal thread about people "stealing" other people's household help.

Pay your help appropriately.
Treat them nicely.
And they will probably stay with you.

I specially hate the aspect of "don't dare to pay more than I do" that often appears in those threads. That's immoral and illegal.

amother

Wandflower

Fri, Mar 15 2024, 6:46 am

My neighbor was desperate for a cleaning lady so I helped her by being the go-between with my cleaning lady who had some extra hours.
Arranged for the cl to go to her. Gave her directions to her house. Spent time on the phone with the neighbor helping her communicate.

After two weeks, she offered the lady more hours than I could, and boom, I had no cleaning lady a month before pesach. I called the neighbor, and she had no qualms about what she did. She accused of thinking I owned the cleaning lady, and that the cl isn't a slave, etc. Started talking about working rights and lecturing me as though I had something wrong.
After pesach, the cleaning lady reached out. Of course the neighbor cut her hours. I wouldn't take her back because thank goodness I found someone right before pesach who didn't charge me extra even though she could have. I had to show loyalty to my new cl.

I thought the lesson was to never help others when they need a cl, but after thinking about it, I decided not to allow that neighbor to turn me bitter. I did get burnt once again, but I continue to help others because the cl poachers are the minority. Most frum women have seichel and rachmanus.

amother

Fri, Mar 15 2024, 10:00 am

amother Ecru wrote:

Read the entire thread please. This was all addressed.
Treating the help more then well, paying them nicely, giving bonus, good meals....... does not help in this situation.
The worst part of this is, that people that snatch others help before pesach, fire them after pesach & then the cleaning women go begging their former employees to take them back because they find themselves without a job.
Such a horrid chillul hashem.
The women that snatch others help before pesach, don't care about the cleaning ladies at all. They only care about themselves & they're the one's that are treating their help like objects & not like people. They don't treat them well at all but they're just enticed by the money.

ora_43

Sat, Mar 16 2024, 5:47 pm

amother Lemon wrote:

The woman quit her job with the neighbor. That is sorting it out with her. It's not the resolution the neighbor wanted but it's still a definitive end to that relationship.

She didn't even quit in order to get a better job with that amother. She quit without a job offer in hand. But even if she'd quit because of a better offer - that's just how employment is. Companies do this all the time. Nobody, but nobody, is calling up someone's existing workplace and being like "hey, we're from Company X, does so-and-so work for you? oh, she does? what a shame, we wanted to hire her. oh well."

What OP is talking about - 'hiring' someone at a better rate, only to fire her after Pesach - is a different story and is really nasty behavior. But just plain hiring someone who used to work elsewhere isn't remotely problematic.