A Housekeeper Fell in My House! What do I do?

What happens when a housekeeper falls in your home and has a serious injury? First of all, here is another excellent reason why you should have all your household help on payroll. If someone is on payroll, and hurt on the job, they may suffer an injury that keeps them from working up to several weeks. At this point, in this case, this housekeeper could apply for temporary disability after going to a doctor and receiving clear evidence that there is a valid injury. She could also, if needed file a worker's compensation claim. But all this can only happen when you have your employee on payroll and the employer has properly obtained Worker's compensation insurance for that employee. Many homeowner policies will automatically offer a minimum of insurance for employees working on the premises (like housekeepers, nannies, companions or gardeners). However, you will need to check on your policy and inform the insurance company of who is working for you.

If this employee is NOT on payroll, then you are faced with the need to compensate her personally for the weeks she is unable to work in addition to paying all medical bills. This could get costly when in fact you may also need to hire someone to take her place when she is out injured.

Vetting-Barring Scheme

Omitting nannies from a new Government database for all those working with children leaves a dangerous loophole that compromises children's safety, the payroll service Nannytax has warned. They have launched a campaign to include nannies in the Vetting and Barring Scheme over fears that otherwise, pedophiles would be able to exploit the system. 'Once the VBS is in place, nanny positions will be the only opportunity for an individual to come into direct contact with children without having a police check.' More and more people, due to the economic crisis, are reverting to their own resources to find nannies instead of going through traditional routes. This makes it more and more of a concern. Decisions about whether nannies should be barred from working with children and vulnerable adults will be made by the Independent Safeguarding Authority. It would be best that all nannies, whether they are found or supplied by an agency or a family directly should be included. Parents would then be able to choose an ISA-registered nanny, if they wish and able to check the ISA registration. http://www.martaperrone.com

Wrongful Dismissal???

Heather Mills, formerly married to Beatle Sir Paul McCartney is being sued by her nanny for "constructive dismissal and sex discrimination" alleging that a replacement was brought in when she returned from maternity leave and was downgraded to cleaning duties. It gets stickier in that the nanny, Sara Trumble apparently asked for money to pay for a breast enlargement that Mills declined to give her. The nanny was already given 10,000 pounds by her Sir Paul McCartney upon leaving. (Mills and McCartney are divorced.) http://www.martaperrone.com

TAX NEWS

Breedlove & Associates, the leading company for in Household Taxes has just reported that the HIRE ACT that was signed on March 18, 2010 has some distressing news as it relates to household employers. The purpose of the bill is to encourage employers to create jobs for unemployed Americans; however, the definition of "employers" according to the IRS excludes household employers. Breedlove & Associates has appealed to the original sponsor of the bill to re-consider.For more specific assistance, contact info@breedlove-online.com

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The Professional Housekeeper

Our new Training Guide and DVD is available March 1st, 2010. With it, you will learn how to clean a house from top to bottom, laundry, basic cooking, marketing, setting a formal and informal table, flower arranging, basic child care, emergency procedures and more. Go to http:///www.marta perrone.com for more information.

Attend our upcoming seminars and become certified as a Professional Housekeeper. You will receive a discount on the materials. Once you pass your Certification Exam, you will receive your Course Completion Certification.

EASY MEALS

There is a great company on line that provides "easy meal" PLANS for $1.25 per week that can be derived from using a local grocery story and can be low-carb - your choice. Great way for nannies and housekeepers to choose easy menus for the household employers. www.e-mealz.com

Classes for November

We will be giving our next Professional Domestic all day Seminar on November 21st. Check out www.martaperrone.com for more information. The book/dvd is also available now for purchase. Be empowered by the information and proper training to make you the best you can be in this competitive market. We cover everything from how to prepare yourself and resources for finding domestic work, to training to be a Nanny, Housekeeper, Cook and Laundress and more.