Middle class Klaxon... Should we cancel our cleaner?

[Lifesatoot]

We aren't paranoid about catching CV however we do want to minimise risks where we can. Our cleaner is paid cash and no doubt incredibly dependent on her hours. We are worried that she, like many others who are effectively on zero hours contracts like takeaway delivery riders, Uber drivers etc will not be able to afford to self isolate so would possibly risk going to work while sick or at risk of being infected... We are considering paying her some advance wages by way of a pay off if that makes sense. She doesn't speak English so having a rational conversation is tricky - her boss translates for us but communication isn't always clear at the best of times. I don't feel we are over reacting but maybe I'm wrong. Is anyone in a similar position and if so how much would be a reasonable amount to pay - 2 weeks? 4? Feel very bad about taking this action so would be good to get some opinions before we do anything. Thanks!

Advance wages aren’t much help as she will lose out later and she probably doesn’t have it to spare, you still need to pay her if you’re cancelling now.

We can barely afford ours (will be cancelling in Sept when ds starts school) but as long as she is happy to come over this period I will have her.

This is literally their only income.

I wouldn't because I imagine her income is precarious enough.

Unless your family has symptoms and is purposely self isolating re government guidelines you can't avoid all human contact for months.

I think we have to find a balance between taking precautions and somewhat living normally. So cancelling travel or large events, yes but laying off the cleaner, no.

I’ve been thinking the same. Possibly going to cancel but pay for a few weeks.

I was literally just talking to my husband about this. We aren't sure what we're going to do yet.

We have new cleaners starting this week! I will ask them to wear gloves but other than that I don't plan to have close contact with them!

Thanks for the responses. We do have a massive guilt trip over this but can't help worrying that our cleaner will have been in dozens of homes and offices before coming to us and will have been way more exposed to CV than anyone else we come into close contact with. They are then touching everything from bedding to toothbrushes and wearing gloves won't make a huge difference if they are carrying the virus. Of course we could pick it up from anywhere but at a time when we're being advised to start taking precautions to limit catching and spreading the virus this does seem like a legitimate concern...