[MayaC]

Hello,

We have a live-in/out caregiver/nanny/housekeeper. She is paid $1100/mo including room and board, food and use of a vehicle during work. She get 2 days off per week and 1 week paid vacation/year to coincide with our vacations. She is also paid $100/weekend if I need her all weekend or $7/hr if I need her less. She has been working for us for 4 months.

Responsibilities include:
Caring for my 86 year old mother who needs light care mainly meal prep, administering medication and assitance getting around. The caregiver has no formal training or license. I also have a toddler who needs to be dropped off/picked up from school 3 days/week. He is in school for half days and the rest he is at home. Occasionally, say once or twice/week, if I'm not home she baths my son and puts him to bed.

She is also responsible for the housekeeping, groceries, meal prep and whatever I may need assistance with.

Problem:
I have a cleaning schedule that she followed in the beginning but lately I noticed not so much. I find myself doing a lot of cleaning and cooking in the evenings. Lately she has been leaving for the night and sometimes not preparing the evening meal and leaving on her days off. She returns in the morning around 8:30 am although her hours are suppose to begin at 7:00 am. When she is done with the chores she wants to do that day, usually by 1 pm or 2 pm she is pretty leisurely, goes to her room, surfs the internet, watches TV, lays out by the pool, etc.

I don't mind she takes time off during the day because otherwise she would have a long day, but by agreement her hours are from 7 am to after dinner. Lately I noticed that she takes quite a bit of downtime usually most afternoons. Now that she leaves almost every night she is usually gone by 6 pm as well.

Questions:
1. Am I expecting too much?
2. Is she properly compensated in case that is the problem?
3. What is the best way to approach her with these issues?

[JudyKayTee]

I assume there's a written contract and she agreed to hours and responsibilities. If she is not "performing" in accordance with the contract you can address it with her by simply telling her that you expect her to honor her agreement with you.

How to approach her? You're the employer - you tell her you are unhappy and here is why without being confrontational.

As far as her pay - my figures indicate she works 5 days a week, 4.3 weeks per month. That's 21.5 days a month. She works from 7AM until after dinner, which I assume to be 7PM. That's 12 hours a day times 21.5 days or 258 hours a month. Her monthly salary is $1,100 for those 258 hours or $4.26 an hour.

Do you think she's being compensated fairly OR in accordance with State law?

[twinkiedooter]

Her pay does include:

She is paid $1100/mo including room and board, food and use of a vehicle during work.

I think you are more than generous with your employee but you need to speak to her about her duties and have set hours for her to work/not work established. You apparently are unhappy with her. You need to give her a warning and then if she does not comply with the duties and hours you and she have agreed upon, then you need to terminate her and hire someone else and have some sort of written contract regarding duties and hours to work established from the beginning.

The room and board should be calcuated as well into the salary paid and given a set price of what compensation that would be. For instance so much per day free room and so much per day for free meals. This should be spelled out as well otherwise you will end up with the scenerio as Judy pointed out of 258 hours at $4.50 per hour. You could get in trouble for not paying the minimum wage to your employee.

[Fr_Chuck]

I would guess you may have hired an illegal alien ? Since I don't know anyone that would work for that low of wages personally.

Even with room and board, and then 50 dollars a day for a 12 hour day for over time, and I bet there is Sat or Sun work that is asked if she stays around the house ( her home also now)

Also are you paying unemployment insurance, workers comp and withholding taxes on her pay? If not guess what you are breaking the law also here. Even if you consider room and board you are breaking min wage laws also.

Again, yes for the pay you are offering you are asking way too much of anyone.

[JudyKayTee]

This rate of pay is illegal in NY - I cannot speak for any other State.

The State decides what room/board are worth and how many hours are worked. If this person is living in the house and "on call" she very well may be working 14 hours a day.

[cdad]

Depending on where you live this person is being so groosly underpaid that you could be in serious trouble.

Ref:

U.S. Department of Labor - Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - Minimum Wage Laws in the States

[Fr_Chuck]

They have not come back, I think these were not the answers they wanted.

[JudyKayTee]

They have not come back, I think these were not the answers they wanted.

You are the master of the understatement.

[Durable]

These people, including "Christian expert" have trouble with adding up. Rent where I come from, for a crummy room in a crummy area would be at least 1200 per month. Groceries are at least 200 per month. Health insurance is at least 100 per month. Utility bills are at least 100 per month. You are taking care of all of these for her, and she gets to surf the net and lounge around a pool. All she has to take care of out of her 1100 per month is clothes and toiletries, and TAX. I am a legal immigrant here, and would gladly do this job for you, properly.

[Durable]

Hey, Judy. Hey, Chuck. What IS the going rate for sitting by the pool these days? $50 an hour? $60? Of course, surfing the net should be at least $100. That's hard work - right? LOL.

[mhami]

You think she's being more than generous with her employee? Are you crazy? Do you know what it's like living 24/7 with someone and not getting a day off, like I do? You should try it lady and see how it feels to be 'trapped". A person can only do so much housekeeping and caregiving for one person a day, then what do you do? Stagnate! She has every right to do what she does in the afternoon. As long as the house is clean and she does what the employer asks, then leave her the heck alone or get someone else. Do you want a person or a robot? The robot you can un plug

[ebarthelson]

I have a nanny/ Housekeeper, she works 40 hours a week for me, I pay her over time, 3 weeks of vacation, health insurance... I pay her every two weeks $1100.00.
I think your caregiver/nanny/housekeeper is exhausted and with what you pay her she's starving.