Do you supervise or rather prepare a list of tasks/chores for your domestic worker to complete in a given day?

Question

I now have a domestic worker who comes in twice a week, I have caught her leaving at lunch time on two separate occassions now even though we had verbally agreed that her wages were for an entire days work and futher to that I remunerate her more than the accepted market rate, is it acceptable to then prepare a list of standard chores that she must complete in her standard work day and do you do such personally?

IE:

1) Clean the shower tiles

2) Sweep the verandha

3) Clean out the linen cupboard

4) Clean certain windows on certain days

4) etc etc

I have noticed that if I don't specifically tell her to perform certain tasks she will never do them and only do the basics such as floors, baths and the kitchen as well as damaging my household appliances.....

Answer 1

Bull when you sign a contract with her you can download a standard contract from the Dept of Labour. One of the pages of this contract lists all the chores she is suppose to do. Tick the ones you want her to do. What I do we both sign the contract and then I basically tell her what to do on certain days, eg. Fridays are window days, Mondays are ironing days etc. Speak to her and tell her you are not happy, best is to write a verbal letter to her listing the days you "caught" her out. She is breaking the contract. Do not take any nonsense from her. If it was you you will get a disciplinary action against you at work. Just because she is a domestic worker does not mean she is exempt from your basic Labour Law. The golden rule is: Written warnings...............trust me, and make her sign them. Here is a sample document http://www.labour.gov.za/forms/form_disp...

Answer 2

I wish I had one.  And if I had, she would know exactly where to start first - everywhere!!

In Gordon´s Bay, a woman had a little training and employment agency for ongoing chars. She taught them everything and prepared a very useful list of how and where and what to do when working.  Unfortunately, she had to stop her very helpful training when 4 big sisis from Khayelitsha stood at her door and with knives wanted to "force" her to give them jobs!!  She had to move, change her phone number - and was in fear of her life!

It definitely should be part of the job description in her contract what is all expected of her.  And if there is an extra job that is only done once in a blue moon, then it should be written on a paper to be done alongside her daily duties.

Answer 3

Yes, i usually give mine something extra to do, because even if i do she would still finish earlier, and i also find that unless i tell her to clean something in particular,  she just clean on the surface without even moving the furniture

Answer 4

making a list would be a good idea and maybe tell her that if certain things are not done as specified , you will deduct money from her salary , sounds harsh but at work we would get fired if we dont perform our tasks efficiently...

I am however lucky , also got a lady that comes twice a week , but we have never told her what needs to be done, she does everything perfectly and is very trustworthy , she has her own set of keys to our house, we hardly ever see her and i dont know what time she comes or leaves, but that doesnt bother me , as everything is always in order.

Answer 5

We have a lady that cleans twice a month and when she first started, I realised that unless I asked her to move the table and dust behind / underneath, she would clean around things. I have given her a list of specific things to do and now the house is super clean when she is finished.

Answer 6

I don't have a domestic worker.

I do my own stuff.

And should'nt your wife be managing the relations between the family and the domestic worker?

I am tempeted to say something bad about her?

First she needs a domestic and now she can't manage the domestic.

What good is she really?

Answer 7

We have a rather big house which requires our char to come in every day. My wife has drawn up an excel spread sheet of her daily tasks and puts it on a clipboard. Florence then has to tick off what she has done and not done. Flo has been working for my family for more than 10 years and we love her to bits, however, she is still required to use the clipboard tick method to ensure that everything is done and that we know what has been done. we too pay her more than the market amount.

Running a household is like running a business, you have to have processes and you must be able to see what your staff has done for the day.