Should I give my cleaner a Christmas bonus when she is having a long holiday ?

LKRDN_Morgan

My work has this crazy scheme where Christmas bonus' are given based on your work done throughout the entire year. We drop the 'Christmas' part and just call it a bonus to save any confusion.

She sounds very deserving of a bonus regardless of whether she's taking time off or not

oystercatcher

duchy wrote: »

Just a thought but was last Christmas and you insisting on feeding the five thousand an awful lot of extra work and stress for her for her usual fee? Maybe she doesn't want to be taken advantage of again this year as this is clearly an annual event and none of the five thousand want to rotate and invite everyone to theirs alternate years. Sounds very selfish if you are disabled enough to need a cleaner and they are not.

Surely she employed to help you , not facilitate a huge catered event. Perhaps you inadvertently over stepped last year and this is her way of dealing with it without having to tell you something you'd take as criticism or take offence at ?

I find your comments rather offensive, I am not taking advantage and my family are not selfish. Christmas or not she cleans the house, there is no extra work, she is not facilitating a huge event. I merely appreciate having a clean house for the inevitable visitors who arrive over the Christmas period and it's nicer for them if they aren't having to help with the cleaning.

oystercatcher

AnnieO1234 wrote: »

Does she work for anyone else? Does she have anyone work with her? What do her invoices say?

On the face of it, the fact she isn't supplying cover makes it more likely she is an employee.

Do you pay her in line with the minimum wage or is it more? Does the amount you pay over cover the unpaid holidays? (Not actual figures for the sake of clarity. Say she does 1 hour a week for 48 weeks and minimum wage is £5 do you actually pay £5.41 to cover the 4 weeks zero pay).

How did you find her is also a big clue.

In answer to your question, I wouldn't pay a bonus at Christmas. I would give a gift. I would maybe consider a bonus at another time of year, perhaps the anniversary of her start date or to run with tax years etc.

If she isn't your employee I would expect her to find cover at her expense for the holidays, and think you're being too lenient with her otherwise. Xxx

Yes, she cleans for loads of other people. She charges almost double the minimum wage so is well covered for times when she isn't working, it's the same amount that most cleaners charge in this area. She is a one person business so I don't see why she shuld be finding me a replacement while she is away, that was never in the agreement. Where would she find someone to cover for herself? She isn't running an agency.

There are no written invoices , she told me she keeps accounts and pays tax and I believe her. Many people do this. My husband is a tax inspector so we wouldn't be condoning any type of avoidance.

I don't see the relevance of how I found her but for the record I asked a neighbour if her cleaner would be able to clean for me as well but this lady was too busy, some months later a message came that original cleaner had a friend who was setting up a buisness and needed new customers and was I still needing help , so contact was made and she started coming here. We agree an appointment she comes, works and gets paid and agree the next date. How is this different from say a hairdresser or a gardener or a plumber who come as agreed , work and get paid whatever they charge per hour.

oystercatcher

LKRDN_Morgan wrote: »

My work has this crazy scheme where Christmas bonus' are given based on your work done throughout the entire year. We drop the 'Christmas' part and just call it a bonus to save any confusion.

She sounds very deserving of a bonus regardless of whether she's taking time off or not

I think you are right, she deserves a bonus for her work over the year. Christmas is just a nice time to give a little extra. I think it's just 'thrown my chain of thought' because she is away for so long over the period.

oystercatcher

LadyDee wrote: »

Well, if you gave her a present last year, then don't give her one this year you might find she'll be rather hurt and not come back. If you value her help, trust her, get on well, want her to come back after Christmas, then give her a bonus this year. Simple. Where's the dilemna?

Very true, I definitely want her back.

honeypop

AnnieO1234 wrote: »

Does she work for anyone else? Does she have anyone work with her? What do her invoices say?

On the face of it, the fact she isn't supplying cover makes it more likely she is an employee.

(SNIPPED)

If she isn't your employee I would expect her to find cover at her expense for the holidays, and think you're being too lenient with her otherwise. Xxx

I'm self employed and I also use the services of self employed people. For an agreement such as this with the OP, I wouldn't provide cover at my expense, nor would I expect others to. I could recommend people to cover for me, but I certainly wouldn't supply it or expect to pay for it.

The fact she's not doing this has no bearing at all on the likelihood of her being classed as an employee.

duchy

oystercatcher wrote: »

I find your comments rather offensive, I am not taking advantage and my family are not selfish. Christmas or not she cleans the house, there is no extra work, she is not facilitating a huge event. I merely appreciate having a clean house for the inevitable visitors who arrive over the Christmas period and it's nicer for them if they aren't having to help with the cleaning.

How dirty can a house get in a couple of weeks. If there are specific extra jobs why not ask her to do extra hours before she goes away to get these "one off" jobs done, things like changing usually unoccupied beds etc could be done ahead of time for example.

As for offended I'd be mortified if my disabled Mum employed a cleaner rather than asked family for help. Family visitors and other visitors are not the same in my family.

missbiggles1

oystercatcher wrote: »

I find your comments rather offensive, I am not taking advantage and my family are not selfish. Christmas or not she cleans the house, there is no extra work, she is not facilitating a huge event. I merely appreciate having a clean house for the inevitable visitors who arrive over the Christmas period and it's nicer for them if they aren't having to help with the cleaning.

Surely she'll leave the place clean after her last visit and it'll just be a case of your keeping it so for a few days? (I'm assuming that you live alone without children, obviously.)

Brighton_belle

AnnieO1234 wrote: »

If she isn't your employee I would expect her to find cover at her expense for the holidays, and think you're being too lenient with her otherwise. Xxx

She's a cleaner not a Victorian scullery maid.

oystercatcher

duchy wrote: »

How dirty can a house get in a couple of weeks. If there are specific extra jobs why not ask her to do extra hours before she goes away to get these "one off" jobs done, things like changing usually unoccupied beds etc could be done ahead of time for example.

As for offended I'd be mortified if my disabled Mum employed a cleaner rather than asked family for help. Family visitors and other visitors are not the same in my family.

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Surely she'll leave the place clean after her last visit and it'll just be a case of your keeping it so for a few days? (I'm assuming that you live alone without children, obviously.)

She is away for four weeks, three of them before Christmas, we have three dogs so the house needs regular vacuuming and dusting which I struggle to do.

I prefer to employ a cleaner than ask my family to do my regular housework, they all lead very busy lives. When they visit I don't want them to spend time cleaning.

Edit, she is too busy to do extra hours.