If your family is planning to take some time to vacation away from home to relax and recharge, remember the impact that this will have on your household staff. Whether you employ a nanny, live-in housekeeper, personal chef, or another person that helps keep your home running smoothly, you should have a good understanding of guaranteed hours and how this plays into your role as an employer.
What are guaranteed hours?
If your household employee is available to work while you are on vacation, but you don’t need to utilize their services, then you are still required to pay them for their regular hours. If they decide that they don’t want to work during that time, they can take the time unpaid, or they can use some of their accumulated paid time off (PTO). It’s not their fault that their services are not required during your time away and they shouldn’t have hours taken away from them because of that. Guaranteed hours is a standard industry benefit in the world of domestic staffing.
Can the employee travel with you?
Many families have household staff that become like family to them. For this reason, they often take their employees with them on their vacations. Whether it’s spring break, a long weekend, or an extended international trip, you can take your employee with you if you both agree to that.
Establish a written work agreement that is understood by both parties.
Paid time off, sick days, paid holidays, or other vacation clauses should all be outlined in detail in a written work agreement when you first hire your employee. This will ensure there is no confusion around vacations or ‘guaranteed hours’ situations. In addition, make sure that when you are planning a vacation or other time away from home that your employee has plenty of advance notice. This will allow you time to discuss travel details with them to determine if they will come with you, stay and work, or take time off.
When it comes to finding the right household employee for your home, our team at Household Staffing can help! We will help find and place an experienced employee in your home in as little as 10 days. We also partner with companies like GTM Payroll that specialize in household tax and payroll preparation and management. That way, you can ensure your new employee is getting paid accurately, on time, and with the right taxes withheld each time.
Call us today to get the hiring process started!
