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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

Should I give the cleaner a Xmas bonus??

23 replies

zebedeethezebra · 28/10/2010 18:29

Following on from the thread about giving nannies one, I'm not sure what to do about the cleaner. She's very expensive (£15 per hour) so I'm not sure if we should give her a bonus as well. Whaddyathink?

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littleomar · 28/10/2010 18:32

i gave mine £50 but she was cheaper.

madrush · 28/10/2010 18:34

I normally pay double week before xmas as bonus, but she's cheaper too

iwantavuvezela · 28/10/2010 18:44

I give a bonus (usually a weeks extra pay = £40) and a gift card for a high street shop - i think it was gap last year for £25. Our cleaner is lovely, and not from UK and i would like her to know that i appreciate her, so extra money, and as i dont know what she likes/might want a gift card.

nanny7 · 28/10/2010 21:20

Hi I am a nanny and a cleaner to a family of 6, I also take home their ironing. Whilst I understand that I get paid to do this, I do believe that I have worked without too much of my own time off for the last year. I can never depend on the money each week(holidays, people to stay, building work etc) To be honest If I were in the postion to employ a person to do this for me, inc coming in on bank hols 52 weeks all round(where poss) I would be embarassed not to give them a gift or money to show how much you appreciate them!!! On the flip, if you were the cleaner how would you feel?? if you got nothing!!!

unfitmother · 28/10/2010 21:26

I do but I don't pay half that!

cinpin · 28/10/2010 21:33

I agree with you nanny 7. I think you deserve a bonus. If you can afford a cleaner, you can afford a bonus.

thebody · 28/10/2010 22:29

God i wish i was a cleaner.. £15 an hour.. jesus.... i get £3.50 an hour as a cm work full time... so with 3 kids thats the princly sum of £10.50.,. and have all the fooking paperwork and Ofsted crap to deal with.. and still clean my own house and do all the ironing...

so yes you meanie.... give her a bonus(only joking) if you have so much spare cash then will send you my email address and bank details and send one to me instead...ha ha ..

StillSquiffy · 29/10/2010 08:07

A week's wages has always been normal for cleaners/gardeners etc.

Original poster

zebedeethezebra · 31/10/2010 11:26

Nanny 7 - I don't get a bonus from my employer. Why do you think you should?????!

OP posts:

nannyl · 31/10/2010 12:17

I'll be giving mine a nice bottle of wine

LynetteScavo · 31/10/2010 12:29

Nannies (and "domestic staff") traditionally get bonus' at Christmas. Usually one weeks wages.

If I had a cleaner for a couple of hours @ £15ph, I would give her a box of chocs, but I would give a full time nanny (if I had one) a weeks wages. Tis the done thing.

nanny7, you don't get paid for 52 weeks of the year?

nanny7 · 31/10/2010 20:12

I never said that I get paid for 52 weeks a year, I am available where poss all year round!! Also never said I should get a bonus, just think when you work for someone then its nice to receive a gift or a bonus, for all the hard work you do, that applies to whatever job you may do. I think employers who employ cleaners fail to forget that the person cleaning is doing it to earn money, which most do need on a weekly basis!!
I had an employer who was veryrude to me when I had a back problem, where I was unable to work, who thought I should get myself to her house to clean for her party!!! Didn't occur to her that just
Perhaps I might need the £48 for the 4 hours
cleaning. However, people that I clean for
now, always say a good reliable cleaner is
hard to find and they want you to stay!!
Just do what you feel is right!!! gift or
money.

cinpin · 31/10/2010 21:16

I work as a nanny and my employers find it hard to find a good cleaner. Last year they gave their cleaner a small bonus and she was grateful it is a sighn that the employer appreciates the cleaner.

nanny7 · 31/10/2010 21:21

thanks cinpin. glad to hear your bosses appreciate their cleaner.

stickylittlefingers · 31/10/2010 21:38

depends on how good the cleaner is and how long you've been with them, I think. I did have a wonderful cleaner, and I got her £50 M&S vouchers and a bottle of bubbly. Then she had to move away (I still hate her dp!) and the next one was pretty shite, tbh, but such a faff to find a new cleaner... anyway, she got a tin of biscuits. Probably very mean of me, but I didn't feel moved to spend more when she clearly didn't give a flying f about us!

nanny7 · 31/10/2010 22:15

true stickyfingers, if your cleaner isn't good then clearly doesn't give a monkeys!! I know however that I do care about the job I do!!:) Have been with all mine for a long time.

sunshinenanny · 06/11/2010 21:12

\allthough a nanny, I did have a cleaning job once in the past and was usually given a cash bonus at Christmas of around £60.

I of course said thankyou and would have considered it rude not to do so.

Preggersplayspop · 06/11/2010 21:16

I think I gave an extra twenty last yr, but they had not been cleaning for us that long. Fifteen quid an hour is very expensive tho, is there a reason it's so expensive?

EmmaCate · 21/12/2010 10:31

My instinct was one weeks wages, which I have followed given seconding from others here.

Thanks for help!

SydneyB · 21/12/2010 10:34

One week's wages, plus the week between xmas and new year off (paid obviously).

WilfShelf · 21/12/2010 10:43

Of course you should. I give a week's wages plus bottle of wine/box of chocolates too.

I'm also amazed at the employers of the person down the thread who cancel but don't pay - unbelievable! If I cancel my cleaner, for whatever reason, including if my kids are home ill, then I pay for that week. If she cancels then of course I don't pay.

This maybe why she never cancels, is incredibly reliable, does a good job for us, including putting on about 3-4 loads of laundry, ironing, taking in parcels, cleaning cupboards, sorting out the futility room and all manner of things beyond the call of duty. I love her and simply could not manage to work and have three kids without her.

Like the people who look after your kids, the people who are brave and kind enough to clean up your filth with dignity and good humour should be treated incredibly well. IMHO.

Pancakeflipper · 21/12/2010 10:49

My cleaner got a bonus this year of money. I pay her £24 a fortnight and I left £40 saying keep the change, and 2 bottles of wine. And a card saying how they help to make my house keep ticking over nicely and make us a happy family.

She was thrilled to be appreciated and I felt all squidgy inside at her delight so I gave her a hug as well.

jendot · 21/12/2010 13:06

Ohhh dear now I feel mean...I just gave mine a nice toilettries set and her kids some selection packs have always given a present rather than a bonus!

If she doesn't come for ANY reason I don't pay her either...I do give her the option of coming on a different day. Im self employed like she is so if Im cleaning instead of her then I don't get paid for those hours... Kind of seems fair...maybe Im a miser!

Ps...as a nanny and a cm previously I was always happier with a well thought out present than a cash bonus.

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