8 useful tips to note when employing househelps

1. Use a reliable agent or  agency

Agents or agencies should be able to guarantee each house help that they provide. Usually when a serious incident occurs some agents feign ignorance. There have even been cases of agents conniving with house helps to rob or steal from their employers. A proper agent or agency will usually ensure that both clients and employees are vetted.

2. Insist on reference

Almost all house helps will feign ignorance about their previous places of employment. They. usually do this to protect their reputations and to prevent employers from knowing too much about them. The sad part about this is that employers know very little about their domestic staff while domestic staff know everything about their employers.Where you can, insist on references. Usually this discussion should happen with the agent or agency that has brought the house help.

3. Take pictures

We live in a new age. Most people if not everyone in this country has a phone with a camera. You should ALWAYS have a picture of any domestic staff that works for you. You can take a picture when they are unaware e.g. simply pretend that you are taking a picture of the kids.When you have taken this picture send it to yourself by email or save it on your computer.This way you will always have a picture even if your phone gets stolen. You will find that pictures are useful to have in cases where children are kidnapped or valuable property is stolen.

4. Keep record of important facts.

No matter how long or short they serve you, you should be able to pick up their relatives names or places they have lived etc. It is important to record all these little details. While invasion of privacy should not be encouraged, you can also learn a lot about your new hire by going through their phones or personal belongings.

5. Medical test.

Many Nigerian home-makers have had numerous cases of househelps testing positive for HIV, Hepatitis and other STD's. A lot of female helps even come with pregnancies of various stages.

Most medical experts will advice that comprehensive medical tests be performed every 6 months to guarantee the safety of your entire family.

6. Pay a decent wage

Keep in mind that these people are humanbeings who offer a service, so pay a fair wage and offer good working conditions, the same way you expect good working conditions from your boss. Also no one can perform optimally doing the same work 24/7. House helps need a break, so offer them regular breaks and take over from them, once in a while.

7. Be alert.

DON'T ever believe that a house help is dumb or stupid. A lot of times house helps pretend like they don't understand the language you speak in the home. Some even act slow deliberately to trick their employers, so they can later catch them unawares. Watch and observe, don't talk too much around your domestic staff or discuss personal or private details in front of them.

For women with female house helps, try as much as possible to prevent your maid from being alone with your husband.Numerous stories abound of house girls getting pregnant for their madam's oga or even 'snatching' the oga to become the 'madam at the top'. There are even countless stories of house helps with witchcraft, bringing fetish things into their employers homes and doing 'juju' against them. Some house helps have also been accused of introducing the kids they look after to witchcraft.

Do what you have to do, search their belongings when they are away, catch them unawares by coming home when they are not expecting it, always safeguard the keys of your house or cars

and never leave any valuables exposed, pray etc.Whatever you do, just make sure you 'shine your eye'.

8. Be fair, don't maltreat them, love them as if they were your kids.

Tags: D super woman, mamalette, house help, Nigeria, phones, wage, HIV, Hepatitis, STDs

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