New years gift for cleaning lady

Amarante

Fri, Jan 01 2021, 10:12 am

Genius wrote:

What FICA? Most cleaning ladies I know work for cash and send a big portion of it back to their country of origin.

I was discussing when full time household employees are legally employed. I do have friends who have full time help and they are legal employees which includes paying the employee share of FICA.

I was differentiating those types of employees from the more standard arrangement and holiday bonuses might be treated differently.

Although the people I know who have long term full time employees tend to be pretty generous with bonuses as well.

Genius

Fri, Jan 01 2021, 10:20 am

Amarante wrote:

Naturally.
(I doubt that’s a very large percentage of the imamother community but I can’t know fsure)

amother

Mistyrose

Fri, Jan 01 2021, 10:24 am

amother [ Seagreen ] wrote:

And I wonder if it’s the same ppl who complain about how unreliable their cleaning lady is who can’t swing a holiday bonus or just an extremely cheap one.

Which one came first, the chicken or the egg?

In my area cleaning ladies are notoriously unreliable and preform well below average with their cleaning skills. Most are illegal immigrants and working for cash, sometimes at a greater take home pay than an office worker that's paying tax.
Sorry, not gifting a weeks pay for that kind of performance.

Obviously it's very different if we're talking about a housekeeper that's legally employed and getting vacation benefits.

Amarante

Fri, Jan 01 2021, 10:38 am

amother [ Mistyrose ] wrote:

You sound very resentful of your cleaning lady - just the use of the derogatory term "illegal aliens' manifests your attitude of their being second class.

If someone is working at an office job that provides no benefits; minimum wage and no advancement possibilities their employer is exploiting them and they should look for a more typical office job which does provide benefits.

In terms of chicken and egg analogy - in my experience - and it appears for many other imamothers - if you treat your cleaning lady respectfully and pay her a generous salary, it is likely that you will be rewarded with loyalty and a good job. Good employers tend to have good employees and if you get the occasional bad apple you replace them with someone who is a good employee and appreciates being treated fairly just as you (the employer) appreciate having a reliable employee.

amother

Mistyrose

Fri, Jan 01 2021, 10:42 am

Amarante wrote:

Why would you use the word "alien" which sounds far more derogatory than the factual word "immigrant" that I used?

amother

Sapphire

Fri, Jan 01 2021, 10:45 am

Amarante wrote:

This is unfortunately not true if you only need cleaning help for a few hours a week. I have a cleaning lady once a week for 3-4 hours, I can't afford more. I pay her well, offer food even though it's not a meal time, show her how to help herself to drinks, my kids make her thank you cards, I always show my appreciation profusely and I haven't managed to hold onto anyone for more than 3 months. They just don't have that level of commitment for someone who isn't giving them a huge job, just a nice amount of appreciation. Maybe if I were employing full time help then I would be able to get someone to stay longer but I have yet to see a correlation between the way I treat my cleaning help and the commitment they show

mizle10

Fri, Jan 01 2021, 10:46 am

Amarante wrote:

So actually where I live if you have little kids and either you or your spouse work you’re entitled to a good chunk of your domestic help expense back. I believe up to 60%. I wouldn’t say most, but many many many people here have full time help. $650 a week comes out closer to $350.

amother

Khaki

Fri, Jan 01 2021, 10:53 am

mizle10 wrote:

where do you live?? I'm coming!!!

Amarante

Fri, Jan 01 2021, 11:02 am

amother [ Sapphire ] wrote:

For sure there are exceptions in terms of cleaning ladies just as there are exceptions with all kinds of people and relationships where goodness and respect isn't always reciprocated. I guess that I have been lucky in terms of my cleaning ladies and I commiserate in terms of having to constantly deal with new ladies and your good treatment not being reciprocated.

I wish you the luck of getting someone good because what a difference it makes when there is someone who you know will show up and who knows where things are and how you like things to be done.

Although not reciprocated, you do have the personal satisfaction of knowing that you are behaving decently and providing that example to your children and hopefully down the line, you will be rewarded with the tangible - e.g a great cleaning lady. You have probably pursued all avenues but I found that asking friends is generally the most reliable - especially now with Covid since many people have "ghosted" their help. I have been asked by a few people whether I need someone because their long term great ladies have lost some hours because they were let go by other people.

amother

Seagreen

Fri, Jan 01 2021, 11:18 am

Genius wrote:

If my cleaning lady would be unreliable I’d be tempted to give a cheap gift. Basic. I would give an employee who fails to show up a pink slip, not a gift.
I don’t think people “have” to give based on a certain standard. You give how much you can or want to. I give because I want her to be happy with me and I want her to choose to keep me as her employer. Full disclosure

Of course, that’s the reason any employer gives a bonus.

amother

Plum

Fri, Jan 01 2021, 2:05 pm

amother [ Pearl ] wrote:

My. Dd nannies twice a week
When the mom lost her job in march,she let my dd go without pay
A tip was a scarf no cash
Now the family she works for was quarantined for 2-3 weeks and they are not paying her
Interesting to see people’s pov on tips and payment for cleaning help

I don't know anyone who pays their nanny when they let them go.

Amarante

Fri, Jan 01 2021, 2:20 pm

amother [ Plum ] wrote:

I don't know anyone who pays their nanny when they let them go.

Many people continued to pay their household help during the pandemic when they didn’t want to have people in their house. I paid my cleaning lady for several months. I had budgeted for her services and it was my choice not to use her.

Under these circumstances, I would have paid the nanny for the weeks she wasn’t coming because of the quarantine.

I also paid my father’s caretaker when my father died the equivalent of several month’s wages as a gift to him for his dedicated and loving services as well as a form of severance pay.

If you are firing a worker for cause, that is different.

Amarante

Fri, Jan 01 2021, 2:23 pm

amother [ Pearl ] wrote:

Yet people are writing that they paid their cleaning help during corona lockdowns. Or when they tell their help not to come, why the help and not a nanny?

I would imagine people who didn’t pay their nannies didn’t pay their cleaning help or other household worker.

I paid my cleaning lady and would have paid a nanny as well. The

amother

Slategray

Fri, Jan 01 2021, 3:19 pm

Amarante wrote:

I would imagine people who didn’t pay their nannies didn’t pay their cleaning help or other household worker.

I paid my cleaning lady and would have paid a nanny as well. The

I paid my nanny until it was clear this was going to be a long term issue and the government was stepping in to help people in her exact situation.

It's with tremendous gratitude that I had the need for a nanny in the first place, and the means to pay her, and the parents and grandparents who taught me what it means to be an employer.