Internal agreement between maid/ nanny and the sponsor

Any contract that two parties enter into freely is legally binding. I am having this debate myself however and have decided rather than a contract I am going to go with an 'Employee Handbook'. Yes you can tell her what to do but simply writing it all down, especially laws regarding adultery, sleepovers leave etc. it is helpful to be written down. Telling her is all well and good but she can't possibly remember anything. Can anyone here tell me the contents of the employee handbook at their company. Also I am putting in something about grievance. I want to be sure if she is unhappy she will tell us about it rather than running away without us knowing what was bothering her. I am probably going to get accused of all sorts of things here, but to me, a maid is an employee, no different to any other employee at any other company. I want an employee handbook that covers everything it can not only for her, but for me, so that if a question comes along that I haven't previously covered I don't have to make it all up as I go along. There is nothing worse than working for someone who changes their tune from one week to the next. Therefore I am trying to make this booklet as full and informative as possible, something not only she can reference to but I can as well. I am working on this right now. Here are the things I have noted I think need to be included for some ideas. It is by no means a final draft, some items are just pointers, I am checking with others to see what they do before finalising and fleshing out. The lady we are hoping to employ can read and write English very well, this may not be suitable for someone who cannot. Employee Handbook for Domestic Staff No sleepovers Female visitors permitted/ not permitted with agreement ??? No advances Paid Salary(monthly/weekly/four weekly) - into bank account Cash Allowance (weekly) Christmas? Friday off Public holiday off? Working week/hours state? End of year bonus - discretionary Contract hours state Overtime rate p/h 30 days annual leave a year (5 weeks) Notice for annual leave For a days leave one day notice For a weeks leave two weeks notice For two weeks leave four weeks notice For more than two weeks leave eight weeks notice Internet Usage - illegal websites etc. Mobile phone usage Looking after dogs No pork permitted in house Travel with Employer - lump sum payment, extra working hours Confidentiality Health Insurance Termination Extenuating circumstances Grievance Death or bereavement leave Medical leave - More than 3 days will require doctors certificate Items in room owned by Employer not to be removed from premises Laws in UAE adultery, alcohol etc. [b'>Appendices[/b'> - Confidentiality Agreement - Job Description - Inventory of maids room owned by Employer - items not to be removed from the house 1 No. Mac Mini, keyboard, mouse and power supply 1 No. 26" television wall mounted 1 No. Du box 1 No. bed 1 No. bedside stand 1 No. rug 1 No. bathroom mat 3 No. duvet covers 6 No. pillow cases 3 No. bedsheets 2 No. pillows 1 No. duvet Bicycle? 1 No. safety deposit box for personal items - Timetable for week <em>edited by RuthM on 04/02/2013</em>

"The only contract that is worth the bit of paper that its written on is the employment contract that you and the housemaid sign at immigration and they keep a copy. any other ' agreement' that is between you and the maid written or verbal is useless'' Ive just quoted our PRO here ... The key to having a sucessful working relationship with a housemaid is to keep is simple and factual. she has a legal contract so she knows what her rights are as a domestic employee. You write out a list of what she needs to do with a timetable. ( mine is on a white board and its hanging behind her door and gets changed every saturday night depending on whats on, Birthdays, parties guests etc etc ) and we both go through this and she is clear I am clear. I do a mid week check and she tells me if she is happy, unhappy etc etc.. its working well !

Hey TruBlu - did you get my message below too? Would love to get your list. [email protected] Thanks! Moms with maids/nannies, we would like to make an internal agreement between the maid/nanny that we are about to sponsor (besides the unified employment agreement for domestic workers and sponsor ) listing duties, dooes and donts etc, does any of you have a sample that you do not mind to share, or know good sample to download? It would be a time saver..thank you I don't have an internal agreement as such, but I do have a thorough list of rules and expectations that my MIL drew up for me (she has 30 years experience with Maid) It covers everything from working for another family (not allowed) to not smacking the children to personal hygiene and even when and where to wash their clothes. Obviously it is not legally binding and I would never bet my life that my Maid sticks to it, but at least it is very clear to her what I expect and what is important to me. Let me know if you want a copy

Case no 3456 for Breach of Agreement referring to Alex's shoes; Negligence Parties Ma'am v Maidd Summary: On Sunday 14/2, Maid was asked by Ma'am, 'where are my towels?' Maid casually retorted 'Ive not ironed them, yet'. This led to heated words. Ma'am has now brought case against Maid for neglecting to complete her duties. She seeks compensation of 100 Sterling pounds per un ironed towel. The case has been referred to an expert, court adjourned until **** freezes over. :D looooooooooooooooooool

sure elk. just let me know your email address, I will post when I have sent the mail so you can take your email address down

could I get a copy of your list please :) Moms with maids/nannies, we would like to make an internal agreement between the maid/nanny that we are about to sponsor (besides the unified employment agreement for domestic workers and sponsor ) listing duties, dooes and donts etc, does any of you have a sample that you do not mind to share, or know good sample to download? It would be a time saver..thank you I don't have an internal agreement as such, but I do have a thorough list of rules and expectations that my MIL drew up for me (she has 30 years experience with Maid) It covers everything from working for another family (not allowed) to not smacking the children to personal hygiene and even when and where to wash their clothes. Obviously it is not legally binding and I would never bet my life that my Maid sticks to it, but at least it is very clear to her what I expect and what is important to me. Let me know if you want a copy

could I get a copy of your list please :) Moms with maids/nannies, we would like to make an internal agreement between the maid/nanny that we are about to sponsor (besides the unified employment agreement for domestic workers and sponsor ) listing duties, dooes and donts etc, does any of you have a sample that you do not mind to share, or know good sample to download? It would be a time saver..thank you I don't have an internal agreement as such, but I do have a thorough list of rules and expectations that my MIL drew up for me (she has 30 years experience with Maid) It covers everything from working for another family (not allowed) to not smacking the children to personal hygiene and even when and where to wash their clothes. Obviously it is not legally binding and I would never bet my life that my Maid sticks to it, but at least it is very clear to her what I expect and what is important to me. Let me know if you want a copy

We are in the same situation and I was wondering the same thing. Tru Blu - would you mind sending me your list? Thank you! anjalikrish2000 at yahoo dot co dot uk

I would also rather a maid drew my attention to out of date (or imminently out of date) items in the cupboards (fridge is a bit different) rather than throwing them, as so many things are 'best before', not 'poisonous after' and if you eat them a couple of days after their 1 year or so lifespan will still be fine. edited by sandfly on 03/02/2013 Funny you bring that up, I keep 'best before' items for ages past their date and our maid regularly points out things that have gone past their date and always looks vaguely horrified when I say to leave it, it will be fine. Mine keeps a draw especially for out of date items and so I can just take a quick look and know what to bin and what to give a good sniff to.

I would also rather a maid drew my attention to out of date (or imminently out of date) items in the cupboards (fridge is a bit different) rather than throwing them, as so many things are 'best before', not 'poisonous after' and if you eat them a couple of days after their 1 year or so lifespan will still be fine. edited by sandfly on 03/02/2013 Funny you bring that up, I keep 'best before' items for ages past their date and our maid regularly points out things that have gone past their date and always looks vaguely horrified when I say to leave it, it will be fine.

Contracts may be unenforceable here or elsewhere for numerous different reasons (and what applies to one does not necessarily apply to another - apart from anything else contracts relating to land in any way are often treated differently to others), but their primary purpose is for the parties themselves to know what they have agreed, not for taking to court. And that is a very useful purpose. to the Alex shoes list I would have to add cleaning bannisters. I don't know if I have children with unusually sticky fingers (we do make them clean them!) or what, but my bannisters seem to be constantly not-quite-clean and my (generally very good) housemaid has a blind spot where they are concerned. I would also rather a maid drew my attention to out of date (or imminently out of date) items in the cupboards (fridge is a bit different) rather than throwing them, as so many things are 'best before', not 'poisonous after' and if you eat them a couple of days after their 1 year or so lifespan will still be fine. And if you have those horizontal a/c vents, and they are reachable, I would add dusting them; they seem to be utter dust magnets. It might count as 'general dusting' but as they are a bit out of the line of sight, I think I would add it. <em>edited by sandfly on 03/02/2013</em>

No I wouldn't take our maid to court if she didn't comply but I like the fact that we have something down in writing which she has signed. If she doesn't 'remember' us agreeing upon something we have this document to refer back to and she has been made aware that if she goes against it she will be fired and can be taken to court.

If a mortgage contract between us and our bank isn't worth the paper it's written on then I highly doubt that any private contract between you and your maid would ever make it to court. In fact, the contract you sign with the Philippino Consulate (if the maid is Filapina) isn't even legally binding. Ignoring any legalities though, you can't go past Alex Shoes for a great duties list... Everyday: Wash clothes Ironing Clean kitchen Clean bathrooms Make beds Tidy bedrooms Every Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday: Clean furniture Clean glass tables Vacuum floors Wash floors Clean cooker top Dust off room Sunday: Change sheets on beds, wash and iron them. Change towels, wash and iron them. Wash and iron table cloth / Wash table mats. Water indoor plants. Cover outside furniture. Vacumm carpets. Monday: Clean and tidy out fridge, throw anything out of date. Wash and disinfect kitchen bin. Clean cooker properly / hobb. Clean large appliances. Clean inside of microwave and oven. Tuesday: Clean inside of windows and ledges below. Dust off study / book shelves. Wednesday: Clean and polish Alex’s shoes. Water indoor plants. Thursday: Uncover, clean and arrange outdoor furniture. Clean outdoor areas and doors (entrance, patio, balconies). Once a month: Clean silver Check all wardrobes and drawers are clean and tidy. Clean top of pictures, doors, fridge, mirrors… Go through kitchen cupboards and clean interior and exterior, make sure you throw away anything out of date. Wash shower curtains in washing machine. Clean walls with sponge and water. Living Areas & Bedrooms: - All carpeting vacuumed - Vacuum, mop and dry hard floor surfaces - Stairs, mop and dry hard floor surfaces - Tidy room appearance - Dust furniture and knickknacks (damp cloth) - Make beds - General dusting Bathrooms House Cleaning: - Tile walls and bathtubs cleaned and disinfected - Shower and shower curtains cleaned and disinfected - Mirrors cleaned and shined - Sink and counters cleaned and disinfected - Floors washed and disinfected - Carpeting vacuumed - Clean and disinfect toilet - Wipe down outside cabinets, drawers and cabinet faces - General dusting Kitchen House Cleaning: - Scrub sink - Clean small countertop appliances - Clean refrigerator exterior - Outside of range hood cleaned - Top and front of range cleaned - Drip pans cleaned - Sinks cleaned and disinfected, chrome shined - Countertops cleaned and disinfected - Clean outside cabinets and cabinet faces and doors - Clean exterior of large appliances - Wipe down inside and outside of microwave - Clean table and chairs - Floors cleaned and mopped - Trash emptied - General dusting

Moms with maids/nannies, we would like to make an internal agreement between the maid/nanny that we are about to sponsor (besides the unified employment agreement for domestic workers and sponsor ) listing duties, dooes and donts etc, does any of you have a sample that you do not mind to share, or know good sample to download? It would be a time saver..thank you I don't have an internal agreement as such, but I do have a thorough list of rules and expectations that my MIL drew up for me (she has 30 years experience with Maid) It covers everything from working for another family (not allowed) to not smacking the children to personal hygiene and even when and where to wash their clothes. Obviously it is not legally binding and I would never bet my life that my Maid sticks to it, but at least it is very clear to her what I expect and what is important to me. Let me know if you want a copy

A signed private agreement still has legal value in a civil court. If you feel comfortable having something writing that you both sign do it. Nope - Labour contract with maid will take precedent. Correct. No legal value in a court here, especially without witnesses, notary public etc. Nonsense. The labour contract takes preceden[b'>ce[/b'>, yes, so you can't write anything in the private agreement which conflicts with it - but that is not what DCC is talking about. And contracts here do not need witnesses, notaries public etc to be taken into account by the courts. Who told you that? Besides which, 99.99% of all contracts never get anywhere near court; and you don't only enter into a contract because you think you might end up in court (even as a business). The fact that the parties have discussed and agreed on something, and have a written record of it, works to [b'>avoid[/b'> disputes rather than to define the terms on which they are resolved.

Wow how simple do you need things to be written out for you. Yes the labour contract is the most important. If anything conflicts between a private contract and the labour contract then the labour contract will take precedent. BUT a private contract does have legal value here and you can be taken to civil court if you do not abide by a contract you have signed. This from experience.

A signed private agreement still has legal value in a civil court. If you feel comfortable having something writing that you both sign do it. Nope - Labour contract with maid will take precedent. Correct. No legal value in a court here, especially without witnesses, notary public etc.

A signed private agreement still has legal value in a civil court. If you feel comfortable having something writing that you both sign do it. Nope - Labour contract with maid will take precedent. The whole point of a private agreement is to include what is not in the labour contract for example if you agree a certain time the maid will be home by. It has nothing to do with precedent over the labour contract actually. you say it will have value in court; it doesn't as the Contract will take precedent; actually.

A signed private agreement still has legal value in a civil court. If you feel comfortable having something writing that you both sign do it. Nope - Labour contract with maid will take precedent. The whole point of a private agreement is to include what is not in the labour contract for example if you agree a certain time the maid will be home by. It has nothing to do with precedent over the labour contract actually.

A signed private agreement still has legal value in a civil court. If you feel comfortable having something writing that you both sign do it. Nope - Labour contract with maid will take precedent.

A signed private agreement still has legal value in a civil court. If you feel comfortable having something writing that you both sign do it. It does, but be careful not to "agree" on things you might want to change yourself later, because then your good intentions may be turned against you. I would just stick to the UAE contract. Then, separately, draw up a list of chores, duties, do's and don'ts. Discuss it with her and tell her those are the things you expect from her. If she doesn't do them, remind her every time! If you find you need to change things, do so, and draw up a new list. There is a post about this on the maids thread by the way. We drew up a personal contract based on the basics already mentioned in the labour contract plus whatever else was important to us. We didnt put anything in that that we would want to change in the future and if we did we mentioned that it was subject to change. I'm not trying to start a debate. Just wondering how you know up front that or what you don't want to change? I usually change my mind several times "along the way".

A signed private agreement still has legal value in a civil court. If you feel comfortable having something writing that you both sign do it. It does, but be careful not to "agree" on things you might want to change yourself later, because then your good intentions may be turned against you. I would just stick to the UAE contract. Then, separately, draw up a list of chores, duties, do's and don'ts. Discuss it with her and tell her those are the things you expect from her. If she doesn't do them, remind her every time! If you find you need to change things, do so, and draw up a new list. There is a post about this on the maids thread by the way. We drew up a personal contract based on the basics already mentioned in the labour contract plus whatever else was important to us. We didnt put anything in that that we would want to change in the future and if we did we mentioned that it was subject to change.

A signed private agreement still has legal value in a civil court. If you feel comfortable having something writing that you both sign do it. It does, but be careful not to "agree" on things you might want to change yourself later, because then your good intentions may be turned against you. I would just stick to the UAE contract. Then, separately, draw up a list of chores, duties, do's and don'ts. Discuss it with her and tell her those are the things you expect from her. If she doesn't do them, remind her every time! If you find you need to change things, do so, and draw up a new list. There is a post about this on the maids thread by the way.

A signed private agreement still has legal value in a civil court. If you feel comfortable having something writing that you both sign do it.

Yes, I agree with Purple. And another important point to add is to never let your guard down and do random spot checks to make sure that things are getting done as they should be.

Dont do it. A pice of paper that will do what exactly...? Not legally binding anyway. Tell her the 'rules' and expectations and add at the end that you all need to be flexible and nothing is set in stone (very important part!). Let her know what you expect, clearly, ie, no visitors, breaks at bla bla times only, no phone calls while working etc, if you want to give her a cleaning schedule, go ahead, but any signed document is just a waste of time (in my opinion). <em>edited by Purple on 03/02/2013</em>