Posted by
Shahirakk
18 yrs ago
My helper has asked if she can have a telephone connected to our landline in her room to receive late night calls from the Phillipines. I am not so keen as I dont want my landline being used late at night especially if there is an emergency. Has anyone installed a separate line for their DH/ have any ideas on this?
Thanks
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Mag05
18 yrs ago
I did this once, but my DH was talking on the phone half of the night and the next day was very tired, sleepy and moody.
Keep this in mind if you have kids to take care of during the day. You don't want your helper to fall asleep and your kids will be left unattended.
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thanks everyone for your replies. I am going to think this one through - useful to have the costs laid out. I hadnt thought about how taking late night calls would effect my helper during the day when she is taking care of my 16 month old. thanks again!
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crj
18 yrs ago
Our last helper paid for her own phone line in her room, with her own phone number. She offered.
She also had her own mobile.
Our new helper has her own mobile.
If she wants a landline connected, we would be happy to pay for the connection fees, but she would have to be responsible for the monthly cost.
I would not want our helper using our house phone as I think it could invite more problems than it solves.
Good luck.
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suze
18 yrs ago
My helper has her own land line which she paid to be installed and pays the bills. Sometimes she is on it when she shouldnt be but no real problem.
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thanks again - I guess it is partly about the character of your helper. Ours doesnt answer her mobile/ gets off the phone very quickly unless it's me checking up on her, when looking after our son and has been trustworthy. She wants a landline because the calls to her mobile cost a huge amount for her family back int he phillipines. The reason she wants the phone is partly because she knows 2 other helpers who were given landlines by their employers. She's been with us 4 months. I might give it a bit more time and work out the best way of doing this. Everyone's responses have been really helpful
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I would say NO.
Calling cards to the philippines are so cheap now.
What will happen is that when you've been asleep, your maid will be on the phone at night.
Also, during the day if both you and husband are at work, she will be on the phone non-stop. You will never know because when you phone home, your home line is NOT engaged....
Do you really want your child to be sitting in your maid's room while she talks all day.
And what if its in her name, and she runs up thousands of dollars of IDD calls and leaves town. It is your address and you are responsible.
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My helper has now asked if she can install internet access in her room - broadband which doesnt include a phone line? What do people think? She is happy to pay for all aspects herself. She has been with us 6 months and is generally very responsible. I have installed general tv line in her room and am buying her a tv. I have refused phone line.
IF I say yes, what would your thoughts be on making sure it doesnt impact her work - My worry is she'll be up late at night emailing/whatever.
My second worry is do I become responsible if she cant pay her bill?
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Our helper has a landline phone which we paid to install, but she pays the bill. She also has a mobile. Someone mentioned above its down to the character of the helper and I agree. She uses the phone a lot (common theme I think), but we made sure she has a mobile handset so at least the kids are not in her room if she is on the phone. Also her mobile reception is not brilliant where we live so it's easy for me to contact her. She's mature and sensible and I have no problem with this. After all I have a landline and mobile. Why shouldn't she. She also has broadband tv in her room too which we pay half the fees for. Ulimately its what you're comfortable with.
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ness
18 yrs ago
Our helper has always had a seperate landline in her room at our expense. In this house the actual phone line is in the kitchen but as she has portable type of phone she takes it into her bedroom at night and turns the ringer low. Doesn't bother me if I occassionally hear the phone ringing - can't compare to the pile driving, drilling and general noise level we endure here!! We have no IDD option on that line to avoid large bills getting rung up (with her agreement) as it is too tempting and then big bill suprises are nasty. She uses calling cards as they are the cheapest option. I rationalised that I would rather she use a landline to make local calls an receive calls than have big bills on her mobile and I didn't want our home line tied up. They don't have much else to do for fun that is as cheap as a good natter.
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I think I will trial a phone line / broadband - say for a couple of months and see how it goes. I think I will set some groundrules and make it clear that she must be responsible. Thank you so much for all yoru answers. really helps
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I think you are far too generous...or have too much money to spend
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annieh
Or a decent person
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Are you allowed to receive telephone calls at night? i often speak with friends or loved ones overseas late at night. On occasion, I am a bit tired as a result. As a grown woman, I often will make a decision to speak for only a short while. A helper is NOT a child. She can make these decisions.
Do not impose these absurd restrictions upon your helpers. It is a form of control and abuse. These are not stupid women. Treat them with dignity and respect and tell them you expect the same. Put yourself in her shoes and thank the stars that you were born lucky- because that is all you were.
I would die if I had to leave my beautiful children and toil 16 hours a day for someone else and not even have the freedom to call my family each night. What if my children could not reach me at night? How sad and cruel!
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Do you think I am not a decent employer? I pay above award wages, give bonus, gifts at Christmas & birthday.
My point is that there is a line or balance between being a decent employer and over the top.
We certainly get the priviledge of a private telephone at work and so on.
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xox
17 yrs ago
We're in the same situation right now. Our helper looks after our active 8 1/2 month old baby at the moment while we're both at work. She has her own bedroom and now wants her private landline. She already has two mobile phones, but says it will be cheaper to have one mobile and a land line. What should I do? I initially told her that should be fine, but I've been thinking about it and I don't want her spending all her time on the phone when she should be looking after our baby. She lacks motivation and initiative and often has to be told to do other household chores.
Any advice would be appreciated!
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mrsl
17 yrs ago
We installed a landline for our helper and have had absolutely no problems. It is apparently much cheaper for her/her family to make and receive calls on it. We do not pay for her international calls - she used phone cards for those.
Her room is a long way from ours and the children's, so we never hear the phone ring at night. She's fairly sensible though, so we're pretty confident that she is not up all night chatting. The other difference in our case is that she very rarely looks after the children, so being distracted by the phone is not a major issue for us.
I just know that I could not afford to call our families and friends overseas on a mobile for any meaningful length of time, and we have a lot more disposable income than our helper.
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xox
17 yrs ago
I think she means it will be free to chat to her friend in HKG and doesn't take up call time when others ring her.
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