Posted by
missdj
16 yrs ago
We have a 3 year old child and will be expecting another child in a few months. IN May 2009, our helper will have been with us for 1 year. When we hired her, we said after 1 year, we would give her a raise (500.00 HK) if we were happy, which we are. When we have a second child, do we have to increase her salary when there is another child?
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It's a tricky one with do you pay extra for a second child, my personal feelings is that the helper came to work for you with only one child so a second child is more work for her so yes i would increase her salary. Some i imagine will say that they would not and a helper is to just take on the extra duties so like many postings it's just a case of how you feel about it yourself. The fact that you've asked makes me think your aware it's extra work so i guess you have your answer really.
I agree with Cara concerning rewarding good work this goes a long way to developing a good relationship.
Good luck with your new baby
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Agreed with cara and optimistic, a raise is a good idea.
We have raised our helper's salary twice since she started a working a couple of years ago. Mostly based on her excellent performance.
As cara also says, there are plenty of little things you can do which will make your helper happier.
"the one thing about giving money is that they often send it home, which of course is their choice, but sometimes i'd rather reward my HELPER and not have her send it home."
Very true.
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We gave our helper a raise when our second child came along. She took on extra care of our older child particularly when our baby was newborn and even now helps out more in the morning rush for school if our baby is awake and feeding. She has earnt every cent of it as well.
I think if you are happy, then it's a nice gesture to give a payrise, but just because you were thinking of giving one anyway, doesn't mean you should give even more on top. It really comes down to what you can afford. Perhaps if you want to give her the $500 payrise for her past performance, then do so. Then maybe a couple of months later, if finances permit, give maybe another $200 or something which will be for taking on extra duties.
You could do the bonus thing throughout the year. Personally we don't, however, we gave her 5 weeks leave to her home with full pay at Christmas and a christmas gift, plus a one off bonus then.
After our helper had been with us for 3 months, we gave her a dvd player for her use whilst she is in our employ (although when we move home, she is happy to keep it as far as we are concerned).
Again, it's personal choice and what you feel you can afford and are comfortable with.
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cd
16 yrs ago
It depends on how much extra work you think having another child will create for your helper. We have 5 kids and have always paid just about the minimum, and the helpers have been happy with that. But my helpers have always had minimum childcare duties, plus I do the cooking and laundery, so there workload doesn't change much with the more kids we had.
I would go with Cara and prefer to award them small bonuses, or treats, things that they would not normally do, or spend their own money on, that will make their time in HK more enjoyable. Even things like an extra day off to go to the beach, a nice cross stitch kit for her to do in her spare time, a ticket for Ocean park etc.
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Yes, but CD don't you have 2 helpers? It's different if you have 2 helpers who don't have much childcare to do working for a family with 5 kids, compared with 1 helper managing all the housework, cooking, laundry + 2 kids one of whom is newborn. In the former case it may be relatively easy to find DH willing to accept minimum salary, whereas the latter I would give a pay rise.
To the OP, since the planned pay rise after 1 year, and the arrival of your new baby are fairly close together, I would give one larger pay rise all at once - makes it less confusing.
Or if you want to make sure your helper gets the reward (as opposed to her sending the extra money straight back home) you could add to her food allowance, buy her practical gifts of clothing / mobile phone / airfare home for a visit etc. I use fun courses at the YWCA as a reward as well, e.g. pay for her to do a jewellery-making or flower arranging course, or a fitness class (i.e. not sth from the DH section).
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Thanks for all the helpful replys. First of all our helper has alot of benefits already, she gets 1 or 2 hr breaks during the day to email her husband and kids, extra paid days off to go home every 6 months, shorter working days than some (7 am to 7:30 pm). Everytime we go home or on a holiday, I pick her some gift and she gets ALOT of my clothes that I don't need or want.
She wouldn't have alot of extra duties, as the new child will not be a baby (over 1 yr)(adopting), so her duties would be similar to what she is doing now.
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cd
16 yrs ago
To Snow Rose, no I don't have 2 helpers, never have done.
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will your helper be responsible for the childcare or will you be doing it? if your helper then it is allot of extra work if it is yourself then obviously not so much so you could stick to the pay rise you promised her.
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Okay sorry, CD, I must have misunderstood.
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Devon
16 yrs ago
missdj - so if you were in paid employment and your employer gave you extra duties without increasing your wages, you'd be ok with that? Me thinks not.
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