Housekeepers kid stole medication from us-terminate or not

[Anonymous]

It’s odd that she brought her 18 year old son most days. What reason did she give? That would impact my decision.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t fire her. I would explain her son can’t come anymore which I’m sure will not be a shock to her. It sounds like she has been trustworthy. Now she has to worry about getting her son help and I personally wouldn’t want to pile on the stress and hardship.

[Anonymous]

This is a tough one. I think ultimately it would be too much for me if it’s a weekly housecleaner. If terminate but do generous severance. You really need trust in your housecleaner.

If it’s a housekeeper who’s with you part or full time, I might not go right to termination but definitely the son is no longer welcome. And I might use doorbell cameras to verify for some time.

[Anonymous]

Are you her only client? If not, then terminate.

[Anonymous]

Let her go with a month or so severance pay.

[Anonymous]

It doesent really matter why she brought her son, OP said she was fine with it.

I wouldn't fire her but I'd let her know that what her son did was a huge betrayal and he is never allowed to be at your home again.

[Anonymous]

I would want to talk to the son and let him know he is not welcome, return the pills, and I am not calling the police, etc. Do whatever you feel is restorative justice, but next time anything goes awry, the cops are getting involved.

[Anonymous]

Fire her

[Anonymous]

Are you kidding me? Terminate her immediately. Show her the video. WTF??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would want to talk to the son and let him know he is not welcome, return the pills, and I am not calling the police, etc. Do whatever you feel is restorative justice, but next time anything goes awry, the cops are getting involved.

Good point here -- get the pills back, and let him know how close he was to being charged (and convicted, given the evidence on tape) with a crime.

[Anonymous]

I would terminate but with severance. Whatever you would pay her over the course of say a month or two. Not just to be nice, but to minimize the chances of pissing off the son. I would get the locks changed before terminating her in case the son gets mad when he hears the news.

I just would worry that the son would pressure her to give him keys or somehow else leverage that connection to do something again.

It's not a good idea to leave narcotics just lying out. Try to lock them up or put them away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would terminate but with severance. Whatever you would pay her over the course of say a month or two. Not just to be nice, but to minimize the chances of pissing off the son. I would get the locks changed before terminating her in case the son gets mad when he hears the news.

I just would worry that the son would pressure her to give him keys or somehow else leverage that connection to do something again.

It's not a good idea to leave narcotics just lying out. Try to lock them up or put them away.

This except I would not pay nearly a month or two of severance.

[Anonymous]

I would terminate effective immidiatelu, pay severance, and change the locks. No way would I feel comfortable with her having ongoing access to the house—either the son may convince her to let him in or he could make a key copy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The housekeeper is here 5 days a week and as needed on weekends.

Why was she bringing her son?

Was he just sitting around watching TV while she worked? Or was he helping her? Idle hands are the devil's playground or whatever that saying is about those who have too much time on their hands may fill that time with troubling behaviors.

[Anonymous]

I'd ask to speak directly to his young MAN. Let him know that you have him on tape stealing. Say that you're tempted to report him to the cops because you don't know what his plans are for the drugs. If he's dealing the cops should know. What else did he steal when he was visiting that isn't captured on a camera. I would get my locks changed.