We gave our helper the min. wage but a month's salary as bonus on eid (she's muslim and it's her equivalent to christmas), and after the summer holidays (she accompanies us back home and we feel she deserves it for being displaced for a month). But her contract will be renewed next month and we are def. bumping up her salary now - she's been so good with us. Other than the min. wage, you have to go with your own situation and what you feel comfortable with.
How much do you pay your helper?
- Thread starter kahling
- Start date
You might also like to consider paying for her mobile telephone line (not the bill for any calls - just the line). It's essential to me that she has a way to contact me and vice versa when she's out and about with my child so I consider it a tool of the job. It doesn't cost much ($100 max) and as a perk she'll get free minutes to use. If she doesn't have a handset you'll need to get her one too - but most families have an old one hanging around that could be used.
We pay ours $4200 because our house is a bit bigger than average. We give her an extra month's salary once a year (this year it was Christmas, although I was planning it for CNY but she needed the money then). We'll give her a small lai see at CNY (tossing between $500 and $1000), and give her token gifts (Body Shop gift sets etc.) and some cash for birthday and Christmas too. We pay her bonuses when we have house guests (usually $500 each time) or when we have big parties, because she does have to work harder. We pay for all of her food - either she eats what we do, or she adds her own requirements to the shopping list. She has taken to adding her own toiletries, which I had not planned but it's hardly worth an argument. We pay for her landline, but not her mobile. We bought her a tv/dvd and pay for her Now Broadband. I did not stretch to putting in cable tv (with Tagalog channels) for her because it would have been a whole new contract and a lot more expensive. We fly her home twice a year at times that suit us (she has young children), but am reconsidering this as it seems to lead to requests for loans.
We are considering whether to give her a raise once she's been with us for a year, but I am inclined to stick with bonuses as they have a more measureable work-reward transparency.
We are considering whether to give her a raise once she's been with us for a year, but I am inclined to stick with bonuses as they have a more measureable work-reward transparency.
carang, like I said, our house is bigger than the average and her job is primarily housework, so she has to cover about twice as much ground every day as some of our friends' helpers (but they have to do a lot of childcare). In fact, many of our friends pay more, so I often wonder if I am short changing her.
I won't say that she is perfect, she can be very moody and has asked for loans - but I can assure you that I have seen worse! I have been ill recently, and my husband is always away and she has been a lifesaver. I have been asking her to do a lot more shopping, cooking etc. than usual, and frankly I don't know how I'd have managed without her. Until now I was not convinced that life was any easier with FT help than having a cleaner and occassional babysitter, but I've been bought around to the value of live-in help.
I won't say that she is perfect, she can be very moody and has asked for loans - but I can assure you that I have seen worse! I have been ill recently, and my husband is always away and she has been a lifesaver. I have been asking her to do a lot more shopping, cooking etc. than usual, and frankly I don't know how I'd have managed without her. Until now I was not convinced that life was any easier with FT help than having a cleaner and occassional babysitter, but I've been bought around to the value of live-in help.
payment
I don't know anyone that pays below $4.25K. Personally I think $4.25K is a bargain. For anyone complaining about being 'duped' or naive when negotiating, just imagine what you're entrusting an employee with.
You can always get help cheaper but as an employer I think it's really advisable to be self-aware: don't base your salary on how much of a bargain other women get, negotiate what feels right for you. If the house or family is larger, then there's more work involved. You really need to be fair not bargain oriented.
Good luck.
I don't know anyone that pays below $4.25K. Personally I think $4.25K is a bargain. For anyone complaining about being 'duped' or naive when negotiating, just imagine what you're entrusting an employee with.
You can always get help cheaper but as an employer I think it's really advisable to be self-aware: don't base your salary on how much of a bargain other women get, negotiate what feels right for you. If the house or family is larger, then there's more work involved. You really need to be fair not bargain oriented.
Good luck.
carang
Registered User
just to clarify, i NEVER said that she was overpaying. i said that i hope she's happy with her helper for the price that she is paying.
i don't know many people that pay MORE than $4k. we just re-signed our helper and upped her salary to $3.75k she was ecstatic with that as we didn't even offer her a raise. she was willing to re-sign for the minimum. she was shocked when i showed her the contract.
we also give her bonuses when we see fit.
if we could afford to pay her more, we would. but we can't , so we don't.
i don't know many people that pay MORE than $4k. we just re-signed our helper and upped her salary to $3.75k she was ecstatic with that as we didn't even offer her a raise. she was willing to re-sign for the minimum. she was shocked when i showed her the contract.
we also give her bonuses when we see fit.
if we could afford to pay her more, we would. but we can't , so we don't.