schaze

Would anyone know what level of wages I should be offering to potential domestic staff of my new home?

Sunniebgi

HI Schaze..

I'm not up on this anymore but there used to be something about a minimum of 25.00 per day.. 5.00 per hour up to 5 hours.. one assumes 5.00 each hour after that if working longer hours.

I did find this which is now showing 6.25BBD per hour.. (scroll down to find Barbados)..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_wages_by_country
You may wish to contact the department of Labor as well..

one thing to remember.. NIS (national insurance scheme , sick pay etc, should be paid in by you.. so ask that question as well..

schaze

Thank you for the reply.

sue clarke

I think 25 dollars for 5 hrs is insulting,that's less than a tenner.I think people should use discretion when dealing with Joe public.

dfjordan

Surely discretion doesnt come into it? Wage rates between countries are not comparable for a host of reasons. You pay what the normal rate is for where you are living.

Sunniebgi

Sue.. we paid that 18 years ago when my oldest daughter was born. We have had a housekeeper/baby/child sitter built in every since. We have been incredibly lucky and have only ever had 2 housekeepers in that time. the first lasted until we moved to our current location) about 2 years .. and the second has been with us for 16 years or so. and no.. we don't just pay her 5.00 an hour at this point. My husband filed her NIS Benefits every months for years and when she turned 65, he stopped that part of it, She draws retirement as well as her pay from us... she also now has gone from 5 to 4 days a week. . and I suspect sooner rather than later will either go down to 3 or possibly retire altogether. At this point, I can tell you.. I will NOT be paying someone new what I currently pay her..everyone has to start somewhere.. and if the minimum wage is 6.50BBD.. that's what it is.. .. She has never stolen from us, which is an unfortunate part of hiring a domestic in this island and as she lives just down the road.. she has the key to my house and if needed she will look after it.. I trust her (and her family) totally..

and yes.. I think that if someone does an outstanding job for you, then you need to reward them.. but not from day one. Remember your fist job.?? I do.. Fast food Restaurant.. bottom of the "food chain".. had to clean the restrooms.. made the minimum wage and no more.. and you build experiences from there..