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Maid questions


Crazydog

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We initially hired a cleaning lady through a rental company and we would pay her per hour and she would come and clean frequently for a few hours (twice a week)

After we bought a house we asked her to come along as she seemed better than most of the others we tried before. We paid her hourly rate and increased the frequency to 3 times a week for longer hours as well.

I was under the impression that we hired her as a contractor and paid her the rate she asked us to pay her. No paperwork was ever signed. 

After a few months she asked for transportation money for each visit and when I asked her once to not come during one day we were vacationing (there was no need for cleaning), she said she still expects us to pay her three times a week the same rate and hours as she was cleaning.

I am quite confused with these "rules" as we had nothing in writing. I like this cleaner and I want to keep her but not sure what to do in this case. I come from a mentality that "if you don't work you don't get paid" so this is quite new to me. 

Anyone have any advice regarding this situation? 

 

 

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You need an employment contract as should anyone with paid help. I have prepared them for clients in your area.

saludos

Sonia

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I believe you'll get various answers according to personal ideas of how this is handled. I doubt very much that our maid would demand to be paid if we were away for a day.

Nevertheless, we, my husband and I,  would make some arrangement for payment to her if we planned to be away for a time or a day. For just a day that we weren't there, we'd pay her something. Or most likely we'd have her work that day in exchange for pay. She's been with us a long time and we trust her. (I can hear some people screaming about a maid in the house in our absence, but that's us.)

If you value her, sit down and make up a written agreement regarding payment, or lack of it, when you are away.

Of course, you are liable for Christmas bonus, vacation pay, and certain payment when a Mexican national holiday falls on one of her work days.

Lexy

 

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She is not an employee; she is part-time. Very part time, and there are regulations for that that are not the same at all as for full-time employers. I suggest you immediately get a lawyer who is familiar with this stuff. This has been covered many times on this board, and links to the appropriate documentation can be found if you do the right search.

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We have a written contract (via attorney) with our gardener, renewed every year.  They are a contract labor and not an employee.  We also had a contract with a former maid that got sticky fingers and we had to fire her.  Due to us having a contract, it saved us from termination fee, as she was not an employee, however she did come when she was working for us when we were away on vacation and we did pay her.

Having been through a few maids, we changed to Spring Clean.  They come when we are here, the day we want and the hours we want and when we are away they do not come.  No vacation pay, no Christmas bonus. They provide all of the cleaning supplies including mop, broom and bucket.  It is wonderful for us. If any problem with the maid, Leticia takes care of it.

Using them has saved us a lot of pesos.

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Last week my maid asked for an advance because her husband, a gardener, hadn´t been getting to do his regular work because of rain.  They have three kids to feed and don´t live an extravagant lifestyle.  I was happy to advance her and give her a little extra for school supplies.  I don´t like that I´m subsidizing gringos that think their gardeners should just suck it up when the weather is bad. 

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LOL get a lawyer instead of giving you maid a day pay!

How low can you get, the Lawyer will probably cost you 10 times what you give your maid, we too leave her alone if we need to go somewhere, and she has the keys, when we go away for a short or extended period she comes in and cleans as necessary and she gets her REGULAR pay . (2 times a week) whether she cleans or not.

Let be fair the maid here cost me one tenth or less of what I had to pay in the US!

 

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I don't understand when people get upset at paying their staff.  I paid my gardener and dog walkers for the days they could not work because of the rain.  They budget based on their expected pay just like you and I did when we were working.  I was paid for days that the city closed down for winter weather conditions. as i am sure many on this board were.

I agree that if they want extra time off at their request you should not be expected to pay them but surely when you decide to take a vacation they should not be expected to cut back on their grocery bill. 

It is because people in the past took advantage of their workers that Mexico has such strict employment rules.

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1 hour ago, Bontekoe said:

LOL get a lawyer instead of giving you maid a day pay!

What a load of hogwash, Bontekoe. Nobody said anything remotely like what you are suggesting. I pay my maid well, I pay her when there are holidays, and I pay her extra, and several times a year I give her extra money for school for her kids needs, at Christmas on top of the normal bonus, and so on.

TIP: if you have ever been burned by a part-time worker, who sicced the union on you, causing you months of grief and guilt, not to mention the legal costs, you would know better.

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Must remember that all is not as it seems in Mexico, and it is much better to be prepared for all situations. Many people can tell you terrible stories about hired help and how much "trusting" cost them. Then, there are the lucky ones, who, as yet, have not experienced any of that.

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7 minutes ago, ComputerGuy said:

What a load of hogwash, Bontekoe. Nobody said anything remotely like what you are suggesting. I pay my maid well, I pay her when there are holidays, and I pay her extra, and several times a year I give her extra money for school for her kids needs, at Christmas on top of the normal bonus, and so on.

TIP: if you have ever been burned by a part-time worker, who sicced the union on you, causing you months of grief and guilt, not to mention the legal costs, you would know better.

Just pay that day you cheap.....

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When I'm gone for a week or a month, my housekeeper comes as usual.  The dogs mess up the floors so that has to be done.  And she cleans things for which there is usually no time like washing walls, cleaning out kitchen and bathroom cabinets, outside windows, washing ALL the bedding including the mattress pads.  She can usually keep herself busy when I'm gone.  I wouldn't think of not paying her the wage she depends upon just because I'm out of town.  

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We had the same maid, and the same gardener, for 10 years. They both had keys and were trusted to look after our home.  We came to know them well and also got to know their families.  When we vacationed, they came and worked as usual; the maid often stayed at our home to look after the pets and plants. She considered it a vacation from her adult children and the usual routine at her home. When medical emergencies arose, ours or theirs, we were always there for each other.  I will never, ever, forget my hospital room being filled with such people when I was recovering.  We, on the other hand, jumped in when members of their families were in hospital and things were tight.  We have no horror stories to tell..........

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