Problems with domestic worker

We had a lot of workers and sometime it easier to give them the necessary pay to F-off. Even if its a years salary. Remember that the money will not last a month and she will do it to her next employee too!

A worker that gets help and extra money from me and lies I want nothing to do with. Give them a pinky and they take the whole hand. When you lie you can steal. The last 5 workers I had either resigned by themselves or just walked out one day. They were caught stealing and then work life becomes a living hell for them by me!

Ps. They were all 5 years + and got a good wage and lots of help and extras.
 
Whatever you do just be careful because a retrenchment can be deemed unfair if the correct procedure is not followed. Make sure you know what you are doing I have said it before but I will say it again call the CCMA's call centre tell them you need to retrench and want to follow a fair process. Get the advice and then do exactly as they recommend and keep a record of who you spoke to and the time of the call.
 
sonialinden said:
Should I confront her about it beforehand? Or should I keep paying her and pretending like nothing happened until I clear things out with CCMA?
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You should not have gotten into this situation in the first place. Some cultures have no sense of gratitude and will stab you in the back for your generosity.

Now it's too late but I suggest you rather give the money to the tenants to pay her when she comes in once per week till you sort out the retrenchment.
 
gfmalan said:
Why not make it super simple, tell her her services wouldn't be needed in 3 months time. So she must be on the lookout for a new job.

Get something in writing that both parties agree to this working arrangement that would stop.

Then because she goes on M Leave, pay her the 3 months salary in advance.

How long did she work for you? Just pay extra month as bonus, so 4 months salary.

After that she can go fly a kite!
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Back in 2015 she worked for me 6 months until I left SA for overseas. And now she's been with my tenants since August 2016, almost 10 months.
 
tRoN said:
You should not have gotten into this situation in the first place. Some cultures have no sense of gratitude and will stab you in the back for your generosity.

Now it's too late but I suggest you rather give the money to the tenants to pay her when she comes in once per week till you sort out the retrenchment.
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She gets paid every week via money transfer, regardless if she shows up or not. I always thought she was coming to work every week as promised.

Now, my plan is to talk to her tomorrow and openly ask her why she wasn't coming in to work, and why she didn't tell me about it. We WhatsApp-ed every two weeks or so, mostly with just "how are you" and "how is your family" and "when are you coming back". It is quite weird that she never told me about missing work.

At the same time, while I try to get answers from maid, I will contact CCMA and inquire about fair retrenchment process. I don't have any proxies that could go to disciplinary hearings for me, but at least I will find out about my options.

My tenants don't want the maid around anymore, they don't trust her. Like I said before, they confronted her about missing work days, and they openly told her off for lying to me. She got very defensive and their relationship declined since then. I don't want to force her service on them anymore.

I will keep paying her until I get CCMA advice. Call it early maternity leave.

Thanks everyone for pitching in! x
 
sonialinden said:
She gets paid every week via money transfer, regardless if she shows up or not. I always thought she was coming to work every week as promised.

Now, my plan is to talk to her tomorrow and openly ask her why she wasn't coming in to work, and why she didn't tell me about it. We WhatsApp-ed every two weeks or so, mostly with just "how are you" and "how is your family" and "when are you coming back". It is quite weird that she never told me about missing work.

At the same time, while I try to get answers from maid, I will contact CCMA and inquire about fair retrenchment process. I don't have any proxies that could go to disciplinary hearings for me, but at least I will find out about my options.

My tenants don't want the maid around anymore, they don't trust her. Like I said before, they confronted her about missing work days, and they openly told her off for lying to me. She got very defensive and their relationship declined since then. I don't want to force her service on them anymore.

I will keep paying her until I get CCMA advice. Call it early maternity leave.

Thanks everyone for pitching in! x
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Don't tell the CCMA about the disciplinary issues because it's not fair procedure to retrench her for misconduct you have to retrench her for operational reasons which is understandable considering the circumstances. I would not even bother asking her about the absenteeism she is not going to give you a honest answer and she could use what you say against you rather play it safe and only tell her what is absolutely necessary.
 
purpleheart said:
Don't tell the CCMA about the disciplinary issues because it's not fair procedure to retrench her for misconduct you have to retrench her for operational reasons which is understandable considering the circumstances. I would not even bother asking her about the absenteeism she is not going to give you a honest answer and she could use what you say against you rather play it safe and only tell her what is absolutely necessary.
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Purpleheart has made a very valid point here!! The moment you try to pull disciplinary issues into the mix, it will become a whole new ballgame. Rather go with a straight retrenchment.
Notice + 1 weeks pay for every years service + leave pay + 1 months pay. If you can prove these numbers are correct you should have no problem with the CCMA.

It's problems like this that have convinced me to do my own house/gardening work, which is a shame as previously two people relied on us for their income, but after a whole CCMA issue with the previous once a week who worked for us for 7 yrs and the husband/wife team that used to come in once week after that, the drunkenness and absence plus poor work, enough was enough!!
 
Hi, my domestic has screwed me over and would like to keep paying her, pay her during pregnancy, pay for a labour lawyer, maybe buy every other domestic worker in Africa a house, lick their boots, pay to clean their houses...

I mean this in the nicest way possible but are you a retard? Fire her and threaten legal action through CCMA for receiving pay and never pitching to work.
 
^^vampire^^ said:
Hi, my domestic has screwed me over and would like to keep paying her, pay her during pregnancy, pay for a labour lawyer, maybe buy every other domestic worker in Africa a house, lick their boots, pay to clean their houses...

I mean this in the nicest way possible but are you a retard? Fire her and threaten legal action through CCMA for receiving pay and never pitching to work.
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WaxLyrical said:
Fire her and tell her that the inevitable CCMA meetings will have to be done through WhatsApp video.
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Aah the "good" old days when you could even klap the bad worker and still fire them...
 
purpleheart said:
Don't tell the CCMA about the disciplinary issues because it's not fair procedure to retrench her for misconduct you have to retrench her for operational reasons which is understandable considering the circumstances. I would not even bother asking her about the absenteeism she is not going to give you a honest answer and she could use what you say against you rather play it safe and only tell her what is absolutely necessary.
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Hey, I thought that I can retrench her for misconduct. What operational reasons should I bring up? My tenants' lease is up in July, can I use this as the reason for retrenchment? I can say that they won't need my maid's help anymore... I am almost certain that the tenants will extend the lease another year though.

Thanks a lot for all your suggestions.
 
sonialinden said:
Hello. I live overseas, and I'm not from SA, so these things are more difficult to navigate for me.

I lived in Cape Town for about two years total, and I had a maid for about six months, she'd come in once a week. When I was leaving the country she was devastated, because she was losing her only job. We kept in touch over WhatsApp, and she would regularly beg me to ask friends to hire her. I also lent her small amounts of money (probably a mistake because it sets a precedent).

To cut to the chase. Here is what happened.

Last year I purchased a house in Cape Town, and so I made a deal with the tenants that my maid would come in once a week to clean the house, and her pay would be covered by me. They already had their own domestic help, but they agreed to my have my maid come in once a week, because for them it was free help. For me, it was basically a charity, and I pay her above the average rates (I pay her R250 a day).

Yesterday I get on the call with the tenant, and they tell me that my maid only showed up to work 4 times this year, and it's already mid April! Apparently her excuse was that there was taxi violence around Khayelitscha and she is pregnant so she was afraid to come in. I knew that she missed work once - she did text me once back in March saying that she missed work because of taxi violence. I thought it happened just one day, and I asked her to come in another day to make up for it.

So you can imagine how used and foolish I felt when the tenant told me yesterday that my maid only showed up to work 4 times this year, while getting paid every week. I wish I would know about these problems earlier, I paid her every week via money transfer, unaware of her missing so many work days.

Anyways, I want to terminate the relationship immediately, because I don't tolerate being lied to, but the maid is pregnant and due in June. Before knowing about the spotty attendance I offered her three months paid maternity leave and 2 weeks sick leave before she goes into labor. I would normally fire her immediately, but what do I do with the fact that she's pregnant? What would you guys do?
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You are an ATM.

Just drop her man, tell the tenant that they must not let her in any more. You have already paid her enough.
 
sonialinden said:
Hey, I thought that I can retrench her for misconduct. What operational reasons should I bring up? My tenants' lease is up in July, can I use this as the reason for retrenchment? I can say that they won't need my maid's help anymore... I am almost certain that the tenants will extend the lease another year though.

Thanks a lot for all your suggestions.
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You are not even in country though ?
 
sonialinden said:
Hello. I live overseas, and I'm not from SA, so these things are more difficult to navigate for me.

I lived in Cape Town for about two years total, and I had a maid for about six months, she'd come in once a week. When I was leaving the country she was devastated, because she was losing her only job. We kept in touch over WhatsApp, and she would regularly beg me to ask friends to hire her. I also lent her small amounts of money (probably a mistake because it sets a precedent).

To cut to the chase. Here is what happened.

Last year I purchased a house in Cape Town, and so I made a deal with the tenants that my maid would come in once a week to clean the house, and her pay would be covered by me. They already had their own domestic help, but they agreed to my have my maid come in once a week, because for them it was free help. For me, it was basically a charity, and I pay her above the average rates (I pay her R250 a day).

Yesterday I get on the call with the tenant, and they tell me that my maid only showed up to work 4 times this year, and it's already mid April! Apparently her excuse was that there was taxi violence around Khayelitscha and she is pregnant so she was afraid to come in. I knew that she missed work once - she did text me once back in March saying that she missed work because of taxi violence. I thought it happened just one day, and I asked her to come in another day to make up for it.

So you can imagine how used and foolish I felt when the tenant told me yesterday that my maid only showed up to work 4 times this year, while getting paid every week. I wish I would know about these problems earlier, I paid her every week via money transfer, unaware of her missing so many work days.

Anyways, I want to terminate the relationship immediately, because I don't tolerate being lied to, but the maid is pregnant and due in June. Before knowing about the spotty attendance I offered her three months paid maternity leave and 2 weeks sick leave before she goes into labor. I would normally fire her immediately, but what do I do with the fact that she's pregnant? What would you guys do?
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Do not screw the maid and come here with running away tendencies.
 
*Update* I called the CCMA. They said if she was working less than one year and less than 24 hours a month there's no need for retrenchment process. They also told me that I am not obligated to pay her any severance.

I just texted her to go on maternity leave early, starting this week, and I said that there will be no need for her coming back to work, as the tenants' lease is up. I offered to pay her 3 months maternity leave in one money transfer. I really just want to be done with her and solve this situation peacefully.

I chose not to confront her about missing work days, because that will most likely sparkle some CCMA action that I cannot deal with from the overseas.

This has been a nightmare, and I am not anticipating on hiring any domestic help / maids / nannies ever again.
 
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