British American Household Staffing has ample experience advising on domestic staff and childcare management. Like a small business, any private staffing hires must be on-boarded with a specific structure. Whether you have two housekeepers or 10, one nanny or four, their schedules and structure needs to be tight and legally compliant.
Domestic staffing has an entirely different legal structure to corporate staffing involving mostly non-exempt employees. This means they clock in, clock out, are paid hourly plus overtime. This is complicated by the fact that different states have different rules.
Working with an agency can help alleviate the stress of setting up your household staff, as we can advise on payment, schedules, and contracts.
Below is a basic structure we recommend for each US coast.
US East Coast (New York/New Jersey/CT)
Non-exempt employees work 40 hours at a time. Any extra time is worked at time and a half. Non-exempt positions include:
Housekeepers
Nannies
Personal Assistants
Private Chefs (that is not working as a 1099/contractor)
House Managers
Chauffeurs
Butlers
Positions that are exempt from clocking in and out and possibly accruing overtime pay are:
Private Chef (if they are working as a 1099/contractor)
Estate Manager (they are usually considered a corporate employee or contractor)
Yacht Crew (depends on the flag. If the boat is US flagged, all employees are non-exempt. If non-US flagged, all crew are contractors)
US West Coast (Los Angeles/San Francisco)
Non-exempt employees work 40 hours at a time. Any extra time is worked at time and a half. Overtime over 60 hours is paid double time. Non-exempt positions include:
Housekeepers
Nannies
Personal Assistants
Private Chefs (that is not working as a 1099/contractor)
House Managers
Chauffeurs
Butlers
Positions that are exempt from clocking in and out and possibly accruing overtime pay are:
Private Chef (if they are working as a 1099/contractor)
Estate Manager (they are usually considered a corporate employee or contractor)
Yacht Crew (depends on the flag. If the boat is US flagged, all employees are non-exempt. If non-US flagged, all crew are contractors)
All non-exempt employees must punch in and out every day, this is recorded. Payroll must be divided into hourly pay, time and a half and double time pay.
Hire Household Staff with BAHS
Contact us today with any questions you have concerning hiring and on-boarding domestic staff and to begin your search.