19 Oct House-help Hiring During Covid 19 Pandemic – Due Diligence
The year is 2020, the country is Kenya and the ‘new normal’ is slowly slipping back to ‘former normal.’ The nightly curfew has been moved, schools have been re-opened for candidate classes and soon it will be ‘back to school’ season for all students. The laxity of shorter working hours is slowly coming to an end as people are now working a full day. Life as you have known it is gradually streaming back to pre-covid normalcy. You are probably feeling overwhelmed by how things are happening so fast and you tend to think that it is now time to get a nanny to help you keep your sanity.
Many times people tend to underestimate the role that nannies and housekeepers play in their homes. However, after the deadly pandemic hit the nation and everyone got to stay at home with all the chores staring right at them, the appreciation levels for nannies and house-helps have gone up. As you set out on the journey to find yourself and your household a suitable nanny, there are nitty-gritty guidelines that you have to refresh your minds on, which will help in your quest.
Most employers tend to expect a lot from their nannies and house-helps as they are in charge of entire households. Granted. Consequently, one of the things you wouldn’t compromise on is honesty. For you to entrust someone else with your home, you have to be able to trust them, and trust is built on honesty. Therefore, like any other employer-employee relationship, honesty is the top-most policy.
However, one thing that employers never give much thought to is that the same honesty you require from your nannies is the same honesty they require from you. Remember that the same way you are bestowing your home on a stranger is the same way they are entrusting you with their lives. As such, it would be imprudent to give false information at any point in the working relationship, be it from the interview, the onset of and during, or even after the employment period.
Before assigning a suitable nanny to you, most agencies require some information to ensure that they are handing over the nannies to safe hands, lest they deal with cases of human trafficking and the sort. Therefore, as an employer, it is frugal to answer, in all honesty, the questions asked by the agencies and provide the right information with regards to your residence and place of work among other things. Doing this will not only build trust between you and the nanny but also the agency as you might require their services in the future.
Despite the loosening of restrictions set up by the Ministry of Health concerning the deadly coronavirus, one thing that stands out is that the pandemic is far from over. Everyone is still required to exercise caution to help flatten the curve and such responsibility begins with you as an individual. Thinking about the deadliness of coronavirus and your family’s health can cause such a headache, which is why most people require that their potential nannies have COVID-19 certificates that declare them free from the virus.
On the flip side of this concern lies the responsibility that an employer has to the nanny in terms of protecting them from contracting the virus. Most people work in jobs that require them to travel regularly, whereas the nanny’s job is to stay at and work from home. As such, you as an employer could be at an even higher risk of contracting the virus than the nanny. Therefore, what measures are you taking to ensure that your nanny and the rest of your family are out of harm’s way? Do you also follow the regulations you have set in your home to curb the spread of the virus? If so, thank you for doing your due diligence, but if not, please lead by example. This way, your nanny will know how seriously you take the safety of everyone under your roof.
Additionally, you have a duty to your nanny to provide a safe working environment. This means that apart from teaching them the safety protocols to observe within your household, you should provide added protection like gloves and sanitizers. You should also adjust your schedule to include working from home as much as possible, which will reduce your exposure.
A healthy relationship between you and your nanny will always be sustained by a trust which is built on honesty and respect. The same way you expect certain things from them is the same way they expect certain things from you. Moreover, during this pandemic, honesty will pave way for adhering to safety protocols to reduce the spread of the virus. Everyone has a role to play in upholding the safety of life and promoting good health. Therefore, both you and your nanny should do your due diligence to establish a healthy and mutually beneficial relationship.
No Comments