Mary Killen Mary Killen

Dear Mary: How much should I pay my cleaner during the lockdown?

Q. Mary, what percentage of cleaners’ normal wages should we pay them when they can’t come in for the foreseeable future? My cleaner has worked for me for 30 years but she has never had a bank account and so I’ve always paid her in cash. Since she has never legitimised her position, it means she would not be able to benefit from Rishi Sunak’s scheme to help the self-employed. If I pay her 50 per cent, it will not be enough, as she needs every penny of what she earns. However, if I pay her as much for not working as she would normally get then I feel it is giving the wrong message. Also she has benefited all these years by not paying tax on her earnings. Can you help me solve this?
— T.S., Norwich

A. Painful though this is, you should pay 100 per cent. First, you too have been benefiting from the method of pay because, had you employed your cleaner properly, you would have been obliged to pay Employers’ National Insurance. By paying her 100 per cent for not working, the message you will be giving is not the wrong one about rewarding laziness, but the right one about rewarding loyalty. Soon you will both be able to be tested and at some point can resume your normal relationship. This is a time for generosity, not fine calculations.

Q. I am self-isolating at home in Kensington. My grandson has just had to come back from Kenya where he was working with the Samburu. Now he is self-isolating in Notting Hill, but every night we have a lovely drink together. I put a chair on the doorstep for him and I leave his own screw-top bottle of wine and his own glass, all properly sprayed and hygienic, dangling in a plastic bag on the railings outside.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in