Housekeepers kid stole medication from us-terminate or not

[Anonymous]

Honestly I would have fired her under some pretense when she asked to bring her 18 yo “child” with her. Super weird and I would think she wants to keep a close eye on him because he is somehow troubled.

[Anonymous]

I would call the cops and report it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly I would have fired her under some pretense when she asked to bring her 18 yo “child” with her. Super weird and I would think she wants to keep a close eye on him because he is somehow troubled.

Also how do you know he hasn’t made a copy of the keys yet?

[Anonymous]

I’d let her go.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t confront it directly. I’d wait for a couple cleanings and then share with your cleaner you wont need her services anymore. Give her double pay on the last session and move on.

If you say anything about the incident you become a target for someone who steals dog drugs for personal use or for sale. Why roll the dice?

[Anonymous]

what was her reason for bringing an 18 year old along? Was he helping? That is odd.

[Anonymous]

I am truly baffled by the people on this thread who would continue to employ this person or phase her out gently with a generous tip. The OP has concrete evidence that this kid stole pills.

[Anonymous]

I’d immediately let her go. I can’t employ someone I don’t trust.

[Anonymous]

End the cleaner. Get a ‘clean’ start with a new one. She might be his accomplice and they are selling pills on the side together. This may have been going on for awhile and you just noticed this pill bottle. If they steal pills, they may steal other things. Get rid of them both and immediately change all of your locks.

[Anonymous]

I had a similar situation where the cleaners adult son was helping her. She was honest about finding something valuable and stored it safely. When he returned alone to clean he took that plus other valuables. We knew it was him because of tracking devices on it. We fired him, she paid for what he stole and she continues to work for us without issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tend to be very careful when dealing with people’s livelihoods; I don’t need the karma of someone ending up evicted or in debt or suicidal because of me. So I would keep her on, but I would let her know others would probably not. And I would tell her in-home cameras are very common now. I’d also tell her about the legal and health ramifications of using/dealing painkillers.

I am very concerned for the son. But firing her will not help him in any way shape or form. We have to look out for each other. Golden rule, it takes a village, etc., etc.

This is illogical. If you are hiring an employe for one job, you have to hire one and not hire anyone else. You are not responsible for everyone you didn't hire. This argument only works if you went out and found the poorest employee you could.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An 18 year-old is not a child! Why on earth would she bring him and what would he do while she was cleaning?

I assumed OP meant to help clean, but that’s probably my misunderstanding. I have a 17yo and I feel like I hardly see her nowadays. If I could talk her into coming to hang out with me while I work, even if she weren’t helping, I’d welcome it. Or maybe the mom knows the kid is on a bad path so she’s making him come with her so she can keep an eye on him, thinking he wouldn’t steal or do anything to sully her reputation. I think that’s sweet, not bad.

I understand and sympathize with her predicament in this hypothetical scenario, but entering someone's home is a high trust environment, and not appropriate for bringing a troubled teen. She needs to do that she should be getting outdoor work, or in a less sensitive, more supervised environment. And she should be honorable enough to ask the employer for permission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t confront it directly. I’d wait for a couple cleanings and then share with your cleaner you wont need her services anymore. Give her double pay on the last session and move on.

If you say anything about the incident you become a target for someone who steals dog drugs for personal use or for sale. Why roll the dice?

yep, slow fade

[Anonymous]

Call the police he could be selling it too children

[Anonymous]

When I think of a housekeeper, I think of a full time, long term house employee. Someone who is a member of the family, in a manner of speaking. I would tolerate a certain degree of bad behavior from housekeepers' relatives.

What you described (I think) is a cleaning lady who comes in and cleans your house 1x/week? That's a very casual relationship. I wouldn't be so dramatic as to call it "firing" or "terminating" someone like this. I would just tell them you will no longer need their weekly service, and call it a day.