Hi,

I'm struggling a bit to find a housekeeper and was wondering what the best way, website, search terms might be to find these folks.

Our family's needs are :

- dog sitting
- errands
- cleaning
- groceries
- cooking
- laundry
- occasional child minding of older kids
- potentially drive kids to activities

All-in-all, probably 10-20 hours of work per week.

I've so far found websites made by this company called Lemonfrog, but they seem to split these jobs into several categories like homeservice24, petsitting24, babysitting24, etc. I would ideally not like to pay separately to list my ad on each one of these sites. I'm also struggling a bit to find the right french term to describe such workers - is it "aide à domicile" is it an "employé de maison", is it a "domestique". Any tips would be appreciated.

You are asking for an awful lot in 10-20 hours per week........

Les Parents

The hours are flexible, I am just listing the types of activities we are looking for help with.

I’m sure you are already aware of all the legal employment responsibilities you have towards anyone you employ?

There are plenty of sites of find

employé/e de maison Vaud, on Google.

And also the legal minimum salary and legal contracts. As the employee will be employed ba you for over 8 hours a week- you need a contract, insurance and pay for social and pension fund.

If you are struggling to find help, you likely may have to bite the bullet and list your ad separately for the various functions.

This is because few people are willing to do all the jobs you list. Heck the number of people willing to do just one of those functions is limited.

For instance, very few dog sitters are willing to also do household chores and look after children. Most pet carers got into this work because they specifically wish to work with animals only, and would be unhappy if you ask them expand on those duties.

Additionally, many child carers do not want to do household cleaning or work with animals. Again, they wish to focus on where their skills are, on the work they most enjoy - caring for children.

Many people who do cleaning and household help do not wish to work with animals or children...

Sure, you might find a generalist willing to do all you need, but be aware that you are looking for a needle in a haystack.

If you are desperate for help, you should write targeted ad for each category. Sure, when you find a few candidates to interview, you can always ask about the possibility of providing additional services. But do not be surprised if the person says no to doing more than his or her core job.

Also, are you sure you are offering a competitive salary? Browse the '24' sites and see what hourly rates are being asked for in your area. Then, if you are having trouble finding someone, consider offering more.

As you separate out the duties, perhaps also consider hiring a cleaning company for the domestic work. Yes, the hourly rate will be higher, but since the two other types of workers are mor apt hesitate to take on cleaning work, you might find that an easier solution.

If you can only offer 10-20 hours per week, do you know of another family who are also looking for half time help? Perhaps advertise together so that the employee has the possibility of full time work.

Be aware that unless you hire a company you are the employer, so will be responsible for correctly setting up taxes, insurance, and social payments.

It is difficult to find domestic help in Switzerland, because in this wealthy country there simply are fewer people who need these jobs. So leave no stone unturned in your search.

Hope you find the help you need.

Just to add that there are simplified employment bebefits forms for lower salaries but will not give you much more thab 10 hours a week.

I still prefer to do that then deal with extra paperwork.

I live near Morges and have worked as a nanny/cleaner in the region. So I know the market.

Honestly, you are asking for an absurd amount of work and commitment given the hours indicated: shopping, babysitting, pet care, taxi service, cleaning, cooking, laundry, for 10-20h... It's A LOT to ask of anyone. No surprise it's been hard for you to find someone.

How much are you willing to pay per hour, and are the hours guaranteed?

Reminds me of my time in the Middle East (Gulf) where the South East Asian househelp typically did all this and more as they were undocumented.Good luck with your search

It's definitely possible to find someone to do all of this. We have someone doing this for over 5 years (except the dog sitting and the driving). the only way we were able to get someone was through a friend. We did have to commit to a schedule (every afternoon Mon-Fri = 20 hrs/week) and of course we pay AVS, vacations, etc.

This person does cleaning services in the mornings at several other locations but she much prefers our setup because it is consistent and reliable. I guess that's why she is with us since 5 years.

the other constraint you'll find is travel time. Not sure where you live but if it out of the way and the person does not have a car it's not worth it for 10 hrs/week

Like anything in CH it is word of mouth (that's why you are asking in EF right?). I did ask our nanny/cleaner recently because a friend was also looking but she didn't know anyone who was available.