S/O how much time for cleaning lady's lunch? paid or not?

amother

Green

Wed, Jul 25 2018, 9:16 pm

How much time do you allot for cleaning lady's lunch if she works 4 hours? how about 8 hours? Do you pay her for that? If you pay for that time, what do you do with cleaning ladies who take advantage when you tell them to take time for lunch and they take a lot longer than they need to? This is assuming you're home with her and see how long.

lfab

Wed, Jul 25 2018, 10:48 pm

I don't have any cleaning help but I think for 8 hours it would be fair to provide her with 30 minutes for lunch and pay her for that time. If she was there only 4 hours I wouldn't pay her for time she takes to eat lunch. Most full time jobs provide you with a lunch break, part time jobs don't. If she's scheduled to go to someone before/after you it's her responsibility to give herself time between the 2 jobs to eat. I may provide her with a sandwich but I wouldn't pay her for the time she takes to eat it.

amother

Tangerine

Wed, Jul 25 2018, 11:46 pm

amother wrote:

I'm debating this questions myself... I work full time and have a mandatory unpaid 30 minute lunch every day. If I don't get paid for lunch why should my cleaning help? I'll probably pay her but I don't think we'll have an official 30 minute break.

Your work arrangements have nothing to do with your cleaning lady's work arrangements - that's why.

amother

Coral

Thu, Jul 26 2018, 12:24 am

amother wrote:

Your work arrangements have nothing to do with your cleaning lady's work arrangements - that's why.

That's ridiculous.

Of course my real-life work arrangements (I'm not the PP, but I do agree with her) have to do with general real-life work.

If I don't get paid for MY lunch, and most hourly people in this world don't get paid for their lunch, why should my cleaning help just because she's my cleaning help?

I get fairness and mentchlichkeit, but I think this site takes treating your cleaning lady with respect to an unfair extreme.

That being said... I do provide my cleaning lady with meals and time to eat it, but it's not an official 30-minute lunch. She eats and then gets back to cleaning. She doesn't answer her phone calls or look at youtube while eating.

If my cleaning lady only came for 4 hours, I would not provide her with lunch. I would let her eat before and after and perhaps offer her drinks and a snack at the end of her shift with me. After all, if I had a part-time job starting at 10 and ending at 2, would I get a mandatory lunch break? No way.

amother

Tangerine

Thu, Jul 26 2018, 12:36 am

amother wrote:

So if you happen to have a salaried position - with an annual pay - and the freedom to take however long you want for lunch so long as you are responsible and getting your work done and keeping clients happy...

... what is the correlation to whether your cleaning lady should be paid for her lunch break?

As to 'this site' there are a wide range of opinions here.

When my mother had a cleaning lady for 6 hours a day (once a week as I recall) - she provided her with lunch. I think I asked about it once. My mother said - this is what my grandmother did... and it sounds like its what a lot of women do. You don't want to? Fine.

amother

White

Thu, Jul 26 2018, 1:04 am

My cleaning lady comes for 4 hours twice a week. I make her a sandwich and I pay her for the time it takes her to eat it. 10 min?
I also allow her to drink coffee and water as she needs it.
She does not abuse this and works hard.
Do you people seriously not let your Cleaning ladies take a break to eat or drink even if they are only working for four hours?

amother

Lawngreen

Thu, Jul 26 2018, 3:21 am

Unpaid. My work is hourly but full time. I must take a lunch break and am not paid for it. Even with a graduate school degree I have to "suffer this indignity". I cannot work through my lunch- I have to clock in and out for 30 minutes. Why should I pay someone to eat? To be honest I don't nickel and dime on the pay if she comes a drop late or doesn't stay the typical amount of time.
I believe in respect and decency but when I have worked other jobs (like when I was driving to different clients) I had to figure out lunch. I would eat between meetings outside their place. I didn't eat it during scheduled times with clients, in their place, nor did I expect a meal. A glass of water when it was 90 degrees out? Yeah that would be nice. But I always carried my room temp one with me just in case.