Have I been miserly with our cleaner?

[romanfriendsandcountrywomen]

We have a cleaner twice a week. 2 hours Monday, 3 hours Thursday. Pay her £80 a week.

She's here today (Monday ) but obviously won't be here Thursday. I've paid her £100 for the week- for her 2 hours today and the rest a Xmas bonus. DH says that's a bit tight.

Should I give here some more?

Not at all, very generous better than a cheap box of melted chocolates and an old second hand, discoloured bottle of wine I once received

A postie is a salaried role with pension and benefits. Not sure what they do to go above and beyond delivering your mail?

I’m sure she’s used to both. It’s the same with restaurant staff, they appreciate the tips but know that not everyone tips. (In the UK at least). Although service charges are becoming depressingly common here too.

I’ve just mentally dismissed my local burger joint because they tacked on a 12.5% service charge. For fast food! I would have tipped anyway but won’t be going back,

What does a cleaner do apart from clean up your shite. Of course their hourly rate should reflect all their overheads and pension contributions etc but why should they be tipped? Bit condescending isnt it?

If you think £16 per hour is enough to cover a cleaner‘s overheads and pension contributions then I think you’re living in la la land.

I’ve never had a cleaner and I’m not saying everyone should tip cleaners. I’m saying I understand why people may choose to tip them. I wouldn’t tip people in salaried roles with pensions and benefits unless they went above and beyond for me.

Tipping is hardly ‘condescending’.
Are tight people now using this as an excuse not to tip?

We do 2 weeks bonus but tbh for the hours she’s doing I think thats fine.

Nobody is making her work for herself for £16/hour. We can assume therefore that it is quite sufficient and covers costs. Salaried options are always available.

I’ve never heard of a cleaner ever thanking for a bonus.
Mind you lots of people don’t say thank you.
It’s discouraging.

Mine gets four weeks' holiday and a present at Christmas. I don't look on it as paying her extra - just that I do my own cleaning on those weeks, which is not too much to ask, I don't think.

No one is saying she is being forced.

But the idea that someone self employed on £16ph cleaner role has a viable pension is wishful thinking. Not to mention other benefits that the postie will be getting such as paid sick leave, death in service payment, private health care option perhaps .

I think I agree with your DH. I would have paid the full normal £80 for the week (with the Thursday paid as "holiday" pay) and then perhaps £50 as a bonus.

I'm sure she will be grateful for the fact you still paid more than she would have got in a normal working week though.

Are you contractually obliged to pay her holiday pay? Why on earth would you pay for a service you're not receiving just cos its a bank holiday.

I gave a weeks wages and a small gift for her daughter. But my cleaner refuses to take money if she doesn't come. I always say that I should pay for when I'm away (she doesn't have and doesn't want keys). But she refuses and says she only gets paid when she works.

This is what I do too

I'm a cleaner.
I've had a variety of tips from £20 to £50, also an Amazon voucher, some nice smellies...I've been very grateful for anything I've got and have thanked all my clients personally.
I also had one lady who, after giving her dog walker a bottle of Moet ( I was just about to leave) she turned to me and said 'oh I didn't bother to do anything for you.' (Thanks! 😂) Hey ho!
In short,I think you were very generous.

Can I be your cleaner?

The only person I give a Christmas bonus to is my window cleaner. He does my windows monthly for £10. I give him another £10 on top for Christmas.

I think the bonus you gave was fine if you weren't meant to be paying for Boxing day. If you were meant to pay your usual £80 then perhaps a bigger bonus but of course it depends if you can afford it.

I wouldn't mind giving a bonus to the refuge people and the poster but I don't really see them.

We normally pay our two cleaners (married couple) a combined £100 per week and they usually comes on a Wednesday.
With Christmas Day falling on a Wednesday this year, I wasn’t sure what to do: I ended up giving £150 plus a box of chocs and bottle of wine.

Reading through the above, I’m not sure if this was enough?

In summer, I paid them £100 one week’s holiday while they weren’t here.

Of course you did.

We bonus an extra 2 weeks worth of pay to both our nanny and housekeeper at the start of December, make sure each have an extra paid day off during the week of Christmas, and do gift with a card made by the DC.

I don’t think there’s any sort of standard for this, though, and I would hope we’re erring on the side of extra generous. I always feel like it’s worth going above and beyond with anyone who regularly works inside my home around my kids.

From experience thank you is a term that chokes many people. Sad.

Think I'd be lost for words if someone gave me 500 quid!

Chill. This is not America- nobody expects tips or a Christmas bonus. It’s nice and unexpected if you get one but it’s not an expectation & thank god for that.