Annual Christmastime questions

I believe if the gardener has his own equipment and is self directed he would be considered "self employed" however I would give it to him anyways. I'm not sure of the exact formula but I give my helpers 4 weeks pay along with a raise every year.

Carry Bean wrote:Oh, thank you so much, BisbeeGal. I’ll give her 1000 or more.  Now do you have a shortcut for vacation assuming she qualifies for 14 days?  I want to get this right.

Yes, your aguinaldo calculation is correct. I'm not sure what "it doesn't seem like nearly enough" means, if you say you never knew the formula and just paid whatever before. The aguinaldo works out to approximately 2 weeks pay. She works for you twice in two weeks, so gets paid 700 pesos for 2 weeks. I also don't know why you feel you need to give her 1000 pesos. I understand being generous, but when employers pay more than required for mandated payments, it can give employees the idea that they should get more from everyone. I assume she has other clients if she only works for you one day a week. If you want to give more, I would not give it as part of the aguinaldo, but as a little extra bonus. For instance, if the total of aguinaldo plus vacation pay comes to 1150 pesos, you might want to just give her 1200, but make sure she is aware of the actual mandated payment amount.

For the vacation pay, just follow the formula. There isn't any "shortcut", as far as I'm aware.

You should also write up a receipt for your workers to sign to confirm they received these payments, showing the calculation. You may totally trust your employees, but when it comes to business, it's best to keep written records.

rafterbr wrote:  He comes twice a week for about 2 hours each time.  We give him an extra months salary and a raise each year.  This seems the easiest way to handle this and we are both happy.  

Easiest and best is not the same thing, no matter whether an employee "seems happy". You really should pay what is required according to the formula and have a receipt signed by the worker. I know a few people who got burnt by not doing this.

BisbeeGal wrote:

We have him sign for both payments.  

We also give his family a large Christmas decorated cake (he has young kid).  And we give him a separate personal card of thanks with pesos that represents another 2+ weeks pay.  

That's a perfect way to do it. The worker has confirmed that they were paid what is mandated by law if there is ever any contention, and anything extra you want to give is obviously you being generous and appreciative. The two things should be kept separate.

I stand corrected. We give 5 weeks pay, not 4, as I stated above.