Extras for helpers

F

fianna

Registered User
Do you give extra money to your helper for babysitting in the evenings? This is the first time i asked her to stay late and i feel i should pay her extra. I mean, normally for a 9-5 job anything over is overpay. Wouldn't the same apply to helpers?

Haven't discussed it with her and she hasn't made any requests whatsoever
 
no, since she is supposed to live in, baby-sitting is part and parcel of her job. helper's don't work 9-5. they work when you need them... she hasn't made any requests because she is only fulfilling her job requirements.
 
No - some helpers are worked 24 hours a day!! They sleep with the baby and do night shift, then do all the house work and cooking during the day, as well as marketing and childcare. My helper generally is up around 7am and finishes work around 8pm, but she has plenty of down-time during the day. My husband and I have recently been swimming a few evenings a week, and we occasionally have a date night, so our helper will help with the kids until later. Generally they are asleep by 8-9pm though so it's not even that much extra work. If we went away for an entire weekend, I might think of getting her something as a thank you (plus we would be legally obligated to give her another day off if we required her to work on a Sunday) but extra money for evening work is not necessary, and in my opinion, I wouldn't want her to expect that!! It's just a part of her job, like Cara said.

(just wanted to add, I think it's inhumane if they work 24 hours a day - I personally feel as though in the VERY least, they should have 8-10 hours with absolutely no work commitments whatsoever)
 
Last edited:
of course, i disagree with working 24 hours, too (don't want you to think that i did..>LOL!)

but babysitting IS part of their job. not something extra.
 
Oh I didn't think that you thought that!! My point was that really, even working 8-8 is pretty "easy" compared to what some helpers are expected to work. I had to edit because I thought it may have sounded like I thought it was reasonable for them to work 24 hours, but I do not!!
 
yes, i know... but sometimes, i later re-read what i wrote and it doesn't read the way i meant it...

our helper now is up earlier (6am) but that is because my son needs to be on the public bus (only 1 bus every 30 minutes where i live) in order to be to school for 7:55am... but with both kids in school from 8am-4/5pm, she doesn't have much to do except housework, which she can finish quite quickly... she is usually finished once she's cleared the dinner table (around 6:30/7pm) BUT if i needed her to baby-sit at night, then i would ask her to. where we live, we almost never go out at night, i'm just too tired at work the next day if we do...
 
Nope, like those mentioned above, we never pay her for babysitting - it's part of her duties. The only time we pay her extra is if she works a Sunday.
 
I let mine start later if she babysits in the evening or pay extra if it means she will have to work overtime i.e. over 10 hours. My helper is live out tho so I suppose its a bit different. I also pay her a taxi home as I hate the idea of her going back late at night or she just stays over for the night
 
Thanks! My helper works from around 8 till 7.30-8 pm, with breaks whenever she feels she needs them( the 9 to 5 was just a saying). Babysitting at night comes after the day of work that is why i was thinking about paying overtime. I know is part of their job so i was just curious about what other people are doing. i'll just give her a bonus from time to time then.
 
My helper goes beyond the call of duty so we gave her a bonus and will probably raise her salary in the coming year. We also give her little cash gifts on special occasions like her birthday. I think that's a good way of showing our appreciation for her extra effort.
 
We do pay our helper "overtime" for working after 8pm, although it is not the norm in HK. We started doing this years ago when we hired her as it seemed more normal to us (from the US). Pretty sure we would do this again if we hired another helper. However, we don't think that our helper has come to expect it, even six years on she is very appreciative. I also think it makes her feel valued as a hard worker, although there are other ways to do this, giving her a bit extra for "extra" work is an easy way for us.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top