can't afford to keep cleaner on but I feel really bad about letting her go....

[headfairy]

She's worked for us for about 8 months. She's never been that brilliant, but with dh working full time including working from home most evenings, and me working shifts 3 nights a week what she has done is bridge the gap between what I can't do on my days off. Recently things have been getting tighter financially and we've decided that we can't afford her. I just found out today that she's been really unwell and is away for the next three weeks as she's going back home (to Romania) to see a doctor. I now feel utterly crap about telling her we can't afford her. Dh says we're not a charity, and he's right, but I still can't get over what a shitty thing it is to do to her. She's had to give up other cleaning jobs because she's feeling so rough.

What would be the best way to approach it? How can I soften the blow? Or should I just tell it like it is?

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Harsh as it sounds, your DH is right. You're not obliged to carry on employing your cleaner (I take it you've not got a contract with her?) and if you're having to tighten your belts you definitely shouldn't make things even tighter for yourselves by keeping her on when you can't afford to.

As for telling her, just sit her down and tell her you're very sorry but you can't afford her any more. Offer to give a reference for any future jobs. Have a think about if you can afford to give her a few weeks notice to soften the blow?

And if she's never been that brilliant, you should probably have been thinking about replacing her anyway!