To not want to pay cleaner in cash?

[brokenteddychair]

We have had a cleaner for about the last six months. She generally does a solid job and is reliable. I like her very much, she works hard and is trustworthy. She is currently the sole earner in her household as her husband doesn’t work (manual job). This is allegedly due to an injury but he is currently in his home country helping a family member with a renovation project so I’m a bit skeptical.

She has asked if we can start paying in cash “because the costs are burdening me and I need to ask clients to start paying in cash.”. This indicates to me that she is planning to under declare her income and therefore either not pay tax, claim benefits she isn’t actually entitled to, or both.

This is really conflicting me. I feel strongly that everyone should be paying their fair share of tax. I also don’t want the inconvenience of having to remember to get cash out every week. I have enough to do, that’s why I need to outsource help!

Would you suck it up or let her go?
YABU = cleaners are worth their weight in gold, just pay tax
YANBU = don’t be complicit in her fraud, find someone who will take bank transfer

Having some cash available for emergency use is not the same as having to have the right amount of cash available to pay the cleaner or dog walker or whatever on a weekly basis, especially given you’ve probably outsourced the task due to being time poor. No way have I got time to make sure I’ve got cash for the cleaner when it takes less than a minute to transfer the money.

Tax evasion is a crime and is everyone's business. There is no other reason to ask to be paid in cash.

Honestly, the potential fraud wouldn’t bother me, but I would find it a pain in the arse getting cash out every week as I virtually never use it now and it’d just become another job to do.

My child’s music teacher suddenly decided she wanted to be paid in cash, and when I asked why she was surprisingly open about that fact that it was to avoid paying tax. I refused, because I work for the NHS and my children go to state schools and I am very anti tax-evasion. And also the massive faff factor. She accepted my position and I continue to pay by bank transfer.

I find the results of your poll a bit dispiriting ie that more than half of people are comfortable with a bit of cheating.

They do.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cewp2wl7lg5o

I'm also amazed at the number of people on the thread who don't seem to realise that if other people don't pay their taxes then they will be paying more to make up the difference.

A million "little people" who cheat the system of £20 tax a week is another £billion the rest of us have to pay.

Politicians and the elite don't pay their fair share of tax. Why should anyone? I hope she sees through you before you decide to ruin her life.

That's not true. The person is clearly prejudiced against this person because they think of them as lowly and her husband is foreign.

Would the same amount of scrutiny be given to a male white British plumber or handyman?

The police? I don’t think they’ll give a shit, and have far more pressing matters to attend to. I
imagine she’d be laughed out of the station, and quite rightly!!

I'll repeat what I wrote above.

Tax avoidance is legal and enabled by laws passed or not created by an elected goverment.

Tax evasion is a criminal offence.

If she’s great I’d just pay her cash. Our cleaner did the same and for ease I pay her once in cash at the beginning of the month for the whole month. Makes it easier to remember

V being concerned about enabling tax evasion - you forgot about that bit.

Yes I would absolutely think the same about a white British (same as me) plumber. In fact, that’s exactly the sort of person who comes to mind when I think of people who want cash in hand.

Tricky one - I avoid paying big bills ( builders, plumbers etc) in cash for exactly that reason ( and it usually works out more expensive!) and if you always do that as well then I understand your reservations. However I’ve always paid cleaners ( when and if I have one ) in cash because it’s a smaller amount and I suspect they don’t want to wait until ( and if!) money hits their account. It also adds another level of hassle for someone who may be great at cleaning but not necessarily at accounting. She may be overdrawn ( esp as the one breadworker in the family) or simply have cash flow issues. If you like the cleaner, how much effort is it really to just go to a cash point and keep some money in ? This means she’s paid instantly for a service - if you feel she’s a good cleaner you are shooting yourself in the foot if you refuse.

I think you’ve answered your own Q within the thread and replies that it’s not something you’re comfortable doing. You’ve got a few options.

1. reach out to her, say you’ve thought about it but feel uncomfortable paying cash, then leave the ball in her court
2. if you really are happy with her service then you could, as a compromise, offer to pay a little extra so she nets more (or could “tip” £20 a month outside of her pay via cash or giftcard)
3. find a new cleaner

You don’t have to go to a cash point every week. Can you manage once a month? Then pay her each week
just pay the poor woman. You have no idea what her life is like. Have some compassion.

It's a paltry sum to what they "earn" & designed to pay lip service to those on minimum wage.

And nobody has any bloody proof the cleaner isn't paying any tax she's liable to. Well maybe if she had been paid

I am stunned by the patronising level of madness this suggestion is
why don’t you just pay her in gruel

Exactly this! It’s the same as not paying her at all, which considering she has worked, is called slavery

The tax thing wouldn’t worry me - it’s down to her whether she pays her dues or not. But I don’t have lots of cash and I don’t pay for anything in cash. I’d say I wanted to continue to pay via transfer, but I would understand if she didn’t want to keep me as a client. I would explain I just don’t want the flaff of getting cash just for her.

She's self employed it's up to her how she wants to be paid.

Regarding the tax/benefits. That's her business. You're being a busybody and it's a bit cringe.

Yeah, quite. What a preposterous thing to do to waste the police's time just because you're prejudiced against your own cleaner who's done nothing wrong.

It is way beyond cringe. She's talking about the person's partner and their job and their country of origin. Why could that be? Other than classism/xenophobia?

Like if her partner was a white British Oxbridge educated Kings Counsel it would mean she was more or less trustworthy?! Why does anyone need to know any information about their cleaner's (or anyone they are paying's) personal life?

The virtuous members of the thread; do you have a problem with tipping waiting staff/hairdressers etc in cash? Do you believe they should be declaring their tips?