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#Post#: 29548--------------------------------------------------
Should I pay my house cleaner for sick days?
By: CrazyDaffodilLady Date: April 19, 2019, 1:15 am
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“Carl” has been cleaning my house and doing a little yardwork
for about a year. He gets paid $150 for coming once a week and
working three hours. Sometimes one of us has a conflict, but so
far we’ve always been able to re-schedule for another day the
same week.
This week, for the first time, Carl was unable to come due to
illness – I think a nasty cold. I truly appreciate Carl not
exposing me to anything contagious since I am handicapped and
live alone, with little support. Getting sick is a huge deal
for me.
I also realize that Carl probably depends on the regular income
from cleaning my house (and probably others).
I’ve read at various etiquette-oriented message boards that one
should give holiday bonuses to domestic employees and pay them
for any time missed by employer choice, such as employer illness
or vacation. I’m wondering if I should offer Carl paid time off
for sick leave -- say two weeks annually.
I’m not wealthy. Having a house cleaner is a big expense for
me, but I’m unable to do the work myself. I like Carl and am
happy with his work, and I really want to be fair.
Looking for opinions and advice. Thanks.
#Post#: 29552--------------------------------------------------
Re: Should I pay my house cleaner for sick days?
By: iolaus Date: April 19, 2019, 5:16 am
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Is Carl your employee (in which case then consider paying sick
leave) or is he self contracted (in which case don't)? - I
suspect it's the second
#Post#: 29553--------------------------------------------------
Re: Should I pay my house cleaner for sick days?
By: Sycorax Date: April 19, 2019, 5:59 am
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No. You're paying Carl for a service, he did not perform that
service.
#Post#: 29554--------------------------------------------------
Re: Should I pay my house cleaner for sick days?
By: Aleko Date: April 19, 2019, 6:22 am
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Disclaimer: I have no idea what is the norm in the USA (I'm
assuming the USA from your language), or what your legal
obligations there would be if he were in fact your employee.
But if he is a self-employed contractor, and what you are paying
him is simply a fee for his professional services, it's still
worth considering whether you should pay him for weeks when he
can't come because he's sick. You obviously rely on his
services, or you wouldn't be shelling out from a limited income
to pay him. You find him trustworthy and likeable. Apart from
being nice, it might be a smart move on purely selfish grounds
to do so. No doubt he also likes you, but as you say he needs
his income; and if another householder offers him more money to
come and work for them instead, it's not reasonable to expect
him to turn that down out of liking. Knowing you will still pay
him on days he's too sick to work might make the difference. And
while I appreciate your restricted income, as it's money you
have already budgeted for (since presumably you wouldn't pay
someone else on those days, but let the cleaning wait a week),
it's not too painful a hit.
#Post#: 29556--------------------------------------------------
Re: Should I pay my house cleaner for sick days?
By: CrazyDaffodilLady Date: April 19, 2019, 7:14 am
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O.P. here. To clarify, Carl is not my employee. He works for
me three hours a week.
Truthfully, my main issue is that I don't want him in my house
if he is contagious, so I want to remove the motivation for him
to come in sick. In the past, he has insisted on working in
some difficult conditions, so I assume he needs the money.
#Post#: 29559--------------------------------------------------
Re: Should I pay my house cleaner for sick days?
By: Jem Date: April 19, 2019, 9:41 am
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Carl is not your employee. You certainly can offer to pay him
for work he did not do if you want to, and you certainly can
give him a bonus if you want to, but I don't think you have any
obligation whatsoever to do so.
#Post#: 29562--------------------------------------------------
Re: Should I pay my house cleaner for sick days?
By: Rose Red Date: April 19, 2019, 11:02 am
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You don't have to pay him for days he doesn't come. Since he
comes in less than ideal conditions, it doesn't sound like he
expects it either. But if you want to be nice, do you have extra
work he can do next week to make up for it?
#Post#: 29563--------------------------------------------------
Re: Should I pay my house cleaner for sick days?
By: DaDancingPsych Date: April 19, 2019, 11:08 am
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I would not make this decision based on etiquette. I would think
that business etiquette of the situation is that you only pay
Carl for the services that he performs. If he doesn't work, you
owe him nothing.
I would weight the pros with the cons. If I could afford to pay
him, I might do so because he's good and you want to keep him
and it does prevent him from exposing you to illness. However,
if one of these factors changed, I might not.
Maybe there is middle ground here? I would ensure that Carl is
aware of how important it is for you to avoid germs and let him
know that if he is ill that you appreciate that he stays home.
However, you would be willing to reschedule for a later day or
even "double up" the next week. Maybe he does a more deep
cleaning in exchange for the previous week's pay, too. No matter
what, I would figure out what is acceptable from your end.
#Post#: 29564--------------------------------------------------
Re: Should I pay my house cleaner for sick days?
By: DaDancingPsych Date: April 19, 2019, 11:08 am
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[quote author=Rose Red link=topic=1094.msg29562#msg29562
date=1555689722]
You don't have to pay him for days he doesn't come. Since he
comes in less than ideal conditions, it doesn't sound like he
expects it either. But if you want to be nice, do you have extra
work he can do next week to make up for it?
[/quote]
This is what I was thinking! ;D
#Post#: 29566--------------------------------------------------
Re: Should I pay my house cleaner for sick days?
By: Igoreete Date: April 19, 2019, 4:25 pm
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My Father doesn't have a formal sick-leave policy with his
housekeeper. If she misses time due to illness (or whatever) he
will try to reschedule the time but if that isn't doable, he
will give her extra money the next time, based on how much he
feels he can afford that week.
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