Anonymous
02/21/2022 19:03
Subject: Housekeeper wants to pick and choose when she works, but also wants paid vacation and holidays
Anonymous wrote:This past summer, I hired a woman to do a full cleaning of our house 1x/week 9:00-5:00. It seemed to work out. Around November, I asked her if she had any afternoons free to help with extra housekeeping and driving my teenage kids. She said she had two additional afternoons free from 3:00-6:00 but that there were times she'd need off for commitments to her kids, etc. She started coming those two afternoons as well.
Turns out she takes a lot of afternoons off... I'd say every other week, she only works one out of the two extra afternoons. This wouldn't be that big of a deal, except she doesn't tell me until a few days before (she told me last Thursday that she wouldn't be coming today). This happens often and her reasons are not last minute - today she wanted off for Valentine's Day, last time it was her daughters birthday, before that it was the winter concert at her kids' school. All things I'm totally fine if she wants to take off for, but all things she obviously knew about well in advance and could've told me about.
I've asked her to give me advanced notice before, but she ignores that, so this last time I asked if she could give me a calendar for the next 6 weeks or so of days that she knew now that she wanted off. I told her it was understandable that things would come up last minute, but to tell me about things she knew. She got angry, and said that since I didn't pay her vacation days and holidays, she didn't have to show up if she couldn't make it and didn't have to tell me in advance.
I was stunned. I do pay her for the housekeeping days that fall on holidays, so we're talking about 2x a week for 3 hours each day, where she only is available every three out of the four days. When I've had full time nannies, I have given them paid vacation and holidays, but I haven't necessarily done that when we've had part time help (mostly college students who are also constantly changing around their schedules, so they appreciate that I am flexible to let them work when they're available, and just let me know in advance when not). I feel it's unfair of her to ask to be treated like a "real" employee but also let her pick and choose when she works. The benefit of getting paid vacation and holidays comes when you are reliably able to work all times besides when you're taking vacation and holidays. Is it unfair that I think this way?
What should I do? Start paying her holidays and give her like one vacation day off per month paid, the rest unpaid? Or tell her that the arrangement of paid holidays/vacation can only hold if she stops taking so many days off, period, whether they're paid or unpaid? Let her go because she's disgruntled now and/or because I'd be worried that in the future she'd be unhappy and not tell me? What do you guys think?
She works 14 hours a week IF she shows up when scheduled. She does not qualify fir vacation or holidays. Let her go.
Anonymous
02/20/2022 11:52
Subject: Re:Housekeeper wants to pick and choose when she works, but also wants paid vacation and holidays
As someone who used to babysit I agree with you. If I had an agreement that I worked 3-6 every Tues and Thurs and I k is ahead of time I could honor that commitment the right thing to do is tell you. I would offer a different day personally to try and be helpful. I think you should keep who you have for the full day of housekeeping and hire someone else for the teen driving/babysitting stuff.
Anonymous
02/19/2022 19:40
Subject: Housekeeper wants to pick and choose when she works, but also wants paid vacation and holidays
I would find someone else.
Anonymous
02/18/2022 13:56
Subject: Housekeeper wants to pick and choose when she works, but also wants paid vacation and holidays
Just go back to having her clean once a week and make other arrangements for your children’s care. You tried it and it didn’t work. In my experience, weekly housekeepers need the flexibility due to their other commitments.
Anonymous
02/17/2022 20:20
Subject: Housekeeper wants to pick and choose when she works, but also wants paid vacation and holidays
[quote=Anonymous]Ok, so she's right. You hired her for cleaning which is a 1099 job. She gets to set her own hours. Then you asked for extra help. Do you provide a W2 for that work? If you want to have someone commit to a schedule and not back out of it last minute, you need to provide guaranteed hours and sick/vacation time.
This is what happens when you hire someone for a job that they didn't originally do and is not their normal gig. House cleaners are not nannies and generally don't do housekeeping work weekly for a specific family either. So if you want her to commit to the position as an employee and not as an independent contractor (whose classification is defined by being able to create their own schedule), then you need to treat her fully as an employee with all typical benefits.
Benefits for domestic employees are based on hours worked, so the typical 2 weeks vacation is 2 weeks of their weekly hours. If sick time is 1 week, then a 40 hr work week is 40 hours sick leave. 12 hours work schedule means 12 hours sick leave and 24 hours paid vacation, etc.[/quote]
For so few hours a week I don't think employer or employee are looking for hassle of officialdom here, so it's probably not that helpful to get all self-righteous about whether there's a W2 involved. Of course there's no W2 for three hours of work.
Also, the definition of IC might be fuzzier here. At least on terms of setting hours..... A tutor or a music teacher is an IC, sets their own hours with their clients, but will still have a set schedule of teaching with a given client and could still be expected to give notice if cancelling. Any independent service provider might still commit to doing regular service calls and shouldn't blow off existing commitments.
Maybe I'm wrong.
This is what happens when you hire someone for a job that they didn't originally do and is not their normal gig. House cleaners are not nannies and generally don't do housekeeping work weekly for a specific family either. So if you want her to commit to the position as an employee and not as an independent contractor (whose classification is defined by being able to create their own schedule), then you need to treat her fully as an employee with all typical benefits.
Benefits for domestic employees are based on hours worked, so the typical 2 weeks vacation is 2 weeks of their weekly hours. If sick time is 1 week, then a 40 hr work week is 40 hours sick leave. 12 hours work schedule means 12 hours sick leave and 24 hours paid vacation, etc.[/quote]
For so few hours a week I don't think employer or employee are looking for hassle of officialdom here, so it's probably not that helpful to get all self-righteous about whether there's a W2 involved. Of course there's no W2 for three hours of work.
Also, the definition of IC might be fuzzier here. At least on terms of setting hours..... A tutor or a music teacher is an IC, sets their own hours with their clients, but will still have a set schedule of teaching with a given client and could still be expected to give notice if cancelling. Any independent service provider might still commit to doing regular service calls and shouldn't blow off existing commitments.
Maybe I'm wrong.
Anonymous
02/15/2022 22:50
Subject: Housekeeper wants to pick and choose when she works, but also wants paid vacation and holidays
Ok, so she's right. You hired her for cleaning which is a 1099 job. She gets to set her own hours. Then you asked for extra help. Do you provide a W2 for that work? If you want to have someone commit to a schedule and not back out of it last minute, you need to provide guaranteed hours and sick/vacation time.
This is what happens when you hire someone for a job that they didn't originally do and is not their normal gig. House cleaners are not nannies and generally don't do housekeeping work weekly for a specific family either. So if you want her to commit to the position as an employee and not as an independent contractor (whose classification is defined by being able to create their own schedule), then you need to treat her fully as an employee with all typical benefits.
Benefits for domestic employees are based on hours worked, so the typical 2 weeks vacation is 2 weeks of their weekly hours. If sick time is 1 week, then a 40 hr work week is 40 hours sick leave. 12 hours work schedule means 12 hours sick leave and 24 hours paid vacation, etc.
This is what happens when you hire someone for a job that they didn't originally do and is not their normal gig. House cleaners are not nannies and generally don't do housekeeping work weekly for a specific family either. So if you want her to commit to the position as an employee and not as an independent contractor (whose classification is defined by being able to create their own schedule), then you need to treat her fully as an employee with all typical benefits.
Benefits for domestic employees are based on hours worked, so the typical 2 weeks vacation is 2 weeks of their weekly hours. If sick time is 1 week, then a 40 hr work week is 40 hours sick leave. 12 hours work schedule means 12 hours sick leave and 24 hours paid vacation, etc.
Anonymous
02/15/2022 19:58
Subject: Housekeeper wants to pick and choose when she works, but also wants paid vacation and holidays
I’d find someone new. No vacation for not even 20hrs a week.
Anonymous
02/15/2022 01:15
Subject: Re:Housekeeper wants to pick and choose when she works, but also wants paid vacation and holidays
I wonder if you think of this more as "if you are available"
So, you text here - this week I need you Tues and Thurs - are you available. She can pick up extra hours or not based on how she is feeling that week.
Might be less stressful than thinking you have reliable care and not having it.
Part time things like this are so hard - the money is never enough to make people super reliable. It is always there second or third job, so they prioritize it as such.
So, you text here - this week I need you Tues and Thurs - are you available. She can pick up extra hours or not based on how she is feeling that week.
Might be less stressful than thinking you have reliable care and not having it.
Part time things like this are so hard - the money is never enough to make people super reliable. It is always there second or third job, so they prioritize it as such.
Anonymous
02/14/2022 21:29
Subject: Housekeeper wants to pick and choose when she works, but also wants paid vacation and holidays
Just find someone else.
Anonymous
02/14/2022 20:35
Subject: Housekeeper wants to pick and choose when she works, but also wants paid vacation and holidays
No holidays and no vacations. Stop being flexible.
Anonymous
02/14/2022 14:46
Subject: Housekeeper wants to pick and choose when she works, but also wants paid vacation and holidays
Anonymous wrote:This past summer, I hired a woman to do a full cleaning of our house 1x/week 9:00-5:00. It seemed to work out. Around November, I asked her if she had any afternoons free to help with extra housekeeping and driving my teenage kids. She said she had two additional afternoons free from 3:00-6:00 but that there were times she'd need off for commitments to her kids, etc. She started coming those two afternoons as well.
Turns out she takes a lot of afternoons off... I'd say every other week, she only works one out of the two extra afternoons. This wouldn't be that big of a deal, except she doesn't tell me until a few days before (she told me last Thursday that she wouldn't be coming today). This happens often and her reasons are not last minute - today she wanted off for Valentine's Day, last time it was her daughters birthday, before that it was the winter concert at her kids' school. All things I'm totally fine if she wants to take off for, but all things she obviously knew about well in advance and could've told me about.
I've asked her to give me advanced notice before, but she ignores that, so this last time I asked if she could give me a calendar for the next 6 weeks or so of days that she knew now that she wanted off. I told her it was understandable that things would come up last minute, but to tell me about things she knew. She got angry, and said that since I didn't pay her vacation days and holidays, she didn't have to show up if she couldn't make it and didn't have to tell me in advance.
I was stunned. I do pay her for the housekeeping days that fall on holidays, so we're talking about 2x a week for 3 hours each day, where she only is available every three out of the four days. When I've had full time nannies, I have given them paid vacation and holidays, but I haven't necessarily done that when we've had part time help (mostly college students who are also constantly changing around their schedules, so they appreciate that I am flexible to let them work when they're available, and just let me know in advance when not). I feel it's unfair of her to ask to be treated like a "real" employee but also let her pick and choose when she works. The benefit of getting paid vacation and holidays comes when you are reliably able to work all times besides when you're taking vacation and holidays. Is it unfair that I think this way?
What should I do? Start paying her holidays and give her like one vacation day off per month paid, the rest unpaid? Or tell her that the arrangement of paid holidays/vacation can only hold if she stops taking so many days off, period, whether they're paid or unpaid? Let her go because she's disgruntled now and/or because I'd be worried that in the future she'd be unhappy and not tell me? What do you guys think?
This isn't working, I'd let her go.
Anonymous
02/14/2022 13:30
Subject: Housekeeper wants to pick and choose when she works, but also wants paid vacation and holidays
This past summer, I hired a woman to do a full cleaning of our house 1x/week 9:00-5:00. It seemed to work out. Around November, I asked her if she had any afternoons free to help with extra housekeeping and driving my teenage kids. She said she had two additional afternoons free from 3:00-6:00 but that there were times she'd need off for commitments to her kids, etc. She started coming those two afternoons as well.
Turns out she takes a lot of afternoons off... I'd say every other week, she only works one out of the two extra afternoons. This wouldn't be that big of a deal, except she doesn't tell me until a few days before (she told me last Thursday that she wouldn't be coming today). This happens often and her reasons are not last minute - today she wanted off for Valentine's Day, last time it was her daughters birthday, before that it was the winter concert at her kids' school. All things I'm totally fine if she wants to take off for, but all things she obviously knew about well in advance and could've told me about.
I've asked her to give me advanced notice before, but she ignores that, so this last time I asked if she could give me a calendar for the next 6 weeks or so of days that she knew now that she wanted off. I told her it was understandable that things would come up last minute, but to tell me about things she knew. She got angry, and said that since I didn't pay her vacation days and holidays, she didn't have to show up if she couldn't make it and didn't have to tell me in advance.
I was stunned. I do pay her for the housekeeping days that fall on holidays, so we're talking about 2x a week for 3 hours each day, where she only is available every three out of the four days. When I've had full time nannies, I have given them paid vacation and holidays, but I haven't necessarily done that when we've had part time help (mostly college students who are also constantly changing around their schedules, so they appreciate that I am flexible to let them work when they're available, and just let me know in advance when not). I feel it's unfair of her to ask to be treated like a "real" employee but also let her pick and choose when she works. The benefit of getting paid vacation and holidays comes when you are reliably able to work all times besides when you're taking vacation and holidays. Is it unfair that I think this way?
What should I do? Start paying her holidays and give her like one vacation day off per month paid, the rest unpaid? Or tell her that the arrangement of paid holidays/vacation can only hold if she stops taking so many days off, period, whether they're paid or unpaid? Let her go because she's disgruntled now and/or because I'd be worried that in the future she'd be unhappy and not tell me? What do you guys think?
Turns out she takes a lot of afternoons off... I'd say every other week, she only works one out of the two extra afternoons. This wouldn't be that big of a deal, except she doesn't tell me until a few days before (she told me last Thursday that she wouldn't be coming today). This happens often and her reasons are not last minute - today she wanted off for Valentine's Day, last time it was her daughters birthday, before that it was the winter concert at her kids' school. All things I'm totally fine if she wants to take off for, but all things she obviously knew about well in advance and could've told me about.
I've asked her to give me advanced notice before, but she ignores that, so this last time I asked if she could give me a calendar for the next 6 weeks or so of days that she knew now that she wanted off. I told her it was understandable that things would come up last minute, but to tell me about things she knew. She got angry, and said that since I didn't pay her vacation days and holidays, she didn't have to show up if she couldn't make it and didn't have to tell me in advance.
I was stunned. I do pay her for the housekeeping days that fall on holidays, so we're talking about 2x a week for 3 hours each day, where she only is available every three out of the four days. When I've had full time nannies, I have given them paid vacation and holidays, but I haven't necessarily done that when we've had part time help (mostly college students who are also constantly changing around their schedules, so they appreciate that I am flexible to let them work when they're available, and just let me know in advance when not). I feel it's unfair of her to ask to be treated like a "real" employee but also let her pick and choose when she works. The benefit of getting paid vacation and holidays comes when you are reliably able to work all times besides when you're taking vacation and holidays. Is it unfair that I think this way?
What should I do? Start paying her holidays and give her like one vacation day off per month paid, the rest unpaid? Or tell her that the arrangement of paid holidays/vacation can only hold if she stops taking so many days off, period, whether they're paid or unpaid? Let her go because she's disgruntled now and/or because I'd be worried that in the future she'd be unhappy and not tell me? What do you guys think?