Hiring a nanny, housekeeper, companion, or another type of employee takes time.
Even when you think you have found the perfect match, there may end up being reasons that their employment doesn’t work out in the long run. Or, perhaps your situation changes and you need to reduce your staff, asking one person to absorb additional duties.
Making the decision to terminate domestic staff members can be difficult.
Navigating Termination
Unfortunately, termination of a staff member is part of being a household employer.
Whether it is resignation, or you are terminating the person’s employment with you, it is for the separation to be clear and straightforward.
Include a Termination Clause in Your Work Agreement
A termination of agreement clause details the circumstances or instances when you can end your working relationship with your domestic employee and discontinue their work in your home.
In other words, it should spell out any reasons that you can put an end to the employee’s working contract. You may also want to consider talking to your legal advisor about this portion of the contract and if you should put an ‘at will’ clause that gives you the right to terminate the employee for any reason.
Act Quickly
If you have a gut feeling that something is amiss, don’t ignore it. Or, if you simply realize that your employee is not a good fit for your family – either with their quality of work, lack of experience, or something else – don’t delay in letting them go.
The longer you wait, the more difficult it can be.
Meet One-on-One
First and foremost, be professional. Schedule a time to talk in person, one-on-one.
Don’t text them or call them to let them know they are losing their job. Be clear, respectful, and concisely explain your reasons for this difficult decision. If there are specific concerns, address them clearly and in a non-accusatory fashion.
Remember that you cannot discriminate against an employee and terminate them because of race, religion, age, or sexual orientation. Employees can sue employers if they think they’ve been discriminated against.
Severance Considerations
Once you have given your household employee their notice, you will need to talk about details.
For example, let them know when they can expect their last paycheck, and make sure you get back keys, credit cards, or other things that they were given access to during their employment with you.
Many employers choose to offer severance pay to help ease the blow of termination. As a general rule, severance is one to two weeks of pay for every year of employment.
Once everything is squared away, change locks, passwords, or codes that they had access to. Ensure all sensitive information is kept secure after they leave.
Succession Planning
If one of your employees leaves unexpectedly, or if you have to make the difficult decision to terminate their role in your home, you’ll need to plan on how this will impact your home’s day-to-day operations.
For Your Other Employees
In the event your household finances change and you need to terminate one of your household employees, you may want to consider having another person on your staff absorb the duties that the other person was doing.
If this happens, you’ll need to have a clear discussion with your current staff and discuss changes to their work agreement. Both you and your employee will need to be on the same page regarding their new duties, their change in pay or hours, and any other details that relate to filling the shoes of the person that was terminated.
For Your Family
If your household employee was working directly with someone or multiple people in your family as a nanny, family assistant or caregiver, be sure you talk through the employee’s termination with them.
Transitions like this can be especially difficult for kids or seniors to process. Answer questions, acknowledge the feelings they have, and keep things as positive as possible.
