Paid my cleaner during lockdown

[Anantara]

Just interested on views. I paid my cleaner in full during lockdown, I was the only one of my friends that did, apart from another friend who uses the same cleaner, it was £50 per week. A couple of weeks ago I text asking if she was okay and if she'd been able to access the SE funding. The day I texted was the day I was due to pay her. She replied she had and was expecting a payment the next day and she said for the sake of honesty I should stop paying her. So my understanding is she has been paid by me, and now 80% by the government - is this correct? And if it is, is anyone else in my position, and how do you feel?

The Self Employed grant is only 80% of profits and for some self employed that means very little. I’m a childminder who has been self employed for around 18 months. I got the grand sum of £301 to see me through three months (None of my parents have offered to pay me during lockdown).

You have no idea how much she would have got from the grant and you definitely appear to begrudge the money she received from you because you think she got a load of money from the grant.

Why thank you biwi, I was due a good one.,😀

We’re in exactly the same place as @Hibbetyhob and I’m utterly confident that given that both DH and I have been financially unaffected this was the right thing to do. Childminder has swung back into action (only has my DSs at the moment and I’m officially a key worker so that’s all good) and offered to repay what she’s recouped from the government and we’ve said no, frankly it’s a lot more to her than it is us and we value her more than I can say, let alone pay. Cleaner is also back (as DSs are safely off the premises and we can social distance). All is much much better as a result.

Interesting responses. We paid our cleaner throughout and asked her not to come until she said she was bored and wanted to come. She had 8 clients all around this area, and only two of us paid.l her. I totally get that people may have lost income and had to stop but surely not 6 in this, fairly well off, area? She had to give up her flat and move to her sisters kitchen floor before giving up and going back to her home country. I paid her airfare and wished her well and had a little cry with her when she dropped off the keys. Obviously she would have been fine had she done her taxes properly, but I’ve never felt it my responsibility to ensure someone pays tax.

Just because she can claim the grant and take my money doesn't make it the right thing to do.

So basically you are saying you don't agree with the Self employed scheme and you begrudge every since person taking the grant? Or is it just the person you've paid 🤷‍♂️.

Totally agree with Bluntness. I have paid my cleaner the total amount without her working for us since lockdown with no conditions attached implied or otherwise. It's not my place to question her financial arrangements whatsoever. If our financial situation changed then we may have needed to negotiate the amount based on that alone. Working as a cleaner is hard and they can be in a precarious position as they're so reliant on their individuals' clients situations. I think it was presumptive and rude of you to consider it was ok to question her in the way you did.

I've paid my cleaner 50% throughout (not full pay because she's fairly flakey and has some health issues that mean that in normal times she only comes probably three weeks in five). I've not asked her if she's getting any other help because a) it's none of my business and b) she's paid cash in hand and she charges very little. So I think it's unlikely that she'd be in a position to apply for anything.

Having said that, my income hasn't changed at all, nor will it in the future, which is one of the reasons I felt it was my social responsibility to help her out. But your income has fallen by 50% I'd say you're well within your rights to stop paying, OP.

@Anantara we did exactly the same as you with our cleaner (£200 every four weeks), paid in full as they started their own SE cleaning business last year.
I think the difference was that ours messaged us each month to say thank you for continuing to pay her. That meant everything.
She’s now been back with us for the past couple of weeks, working on her husband’s day off from work, while he does childcare.

It’s a huge relief to have her back as it took me about 3 days to do what she did in four straight hours (we have small children).
I don’t begrudge paying her, but I would have been p’d off not to have received a thank you.

Our view is that this has been such an extraordinary situation we want to help others where we can. Everyone has to muddle through.
We have also donated more to local charities and causes in this time - because we can afford to, but it felt like the right thing to do.

I wouldn’t begrudge the money you paid her, but I would have kept in contact with her during lockdown and made sure that I was at the top of the list for her return.

My friends husband owns a small second hand car garage. Got £10,000 from the government but still sold cars from his house instead.
His son, who lives with them, did the same.

@whiteblue Every business with premises that are in receipt of small businesses rates relief will have received the grant. It has absolutely nothing to do with trading whatsoever.

If he's self employed he probably also received the Seiss grant which is also allowed whilst trading.