Staff tips

Once you have the right staff in place, your house will soon be running like a well-oiled machine. Here are a few tips on how to get there.

• When hiring someone, keep looking until you find the right person.
• If you thought you had the right person and you hired them and they turned out to be the wrong person, get them out of your house immediately. Don't let a bad situation linger because you feel guilty. There are many honest, hard-working, Kenyan house staff that are unemployed and trying to pay school fees.
• Treat your staff kindly and fairly, even generously, but don't cross the boundary to being friends- keep the relationship professional.
• Be clear and concise about your expectations for employment (working hours, breaks, pay, benefits, hygiene, dress, etc)
• Address any problems quickly and directly.
• Don't leave money and valuables around; even the strongest person is tempted by easy money.
• Keep a paper trail of all your transactions including pay, loans and warning letters.

How to find staff

The best way to find domestic staff is by personal referral, preferably from someone you know. You can also find notices on bulletin boards around Kenya or check our BuzzClassifies section.

Interviewing and trying out staff

When you have seen some ads for staff that look appealing, call them and ask them to meet you in a neutral place- like a coffee shop. Don't interview potential staff in your house. Ask to see reference letters. Read between the lines. Once you have chosen your top candidate through interviews, check the references by phone if possible. But don't take references as foolproof. Although the candidate may have been great in their last position, they might not be the right fit for your household. Try them out for a day or a week. It can save you the heart-ache of having someone move into your staff quarters then firing them after a week (or worse, keeping them on despite the bad fit). When trying out staff, you must pay them as a casual laborer at the end of each day- you should also pay their transport. At the end of each day, have them sign that they have received their money. Careful what you pay daily as this will set the expectation for the monthly salary if you hire them.

Hiring staff

Once you are ready to hire someone, write out a small contract to ensure that you both understand the pay and benefits. The contract should include the following information: list of duties, working hours, remuneration and allowances.

Remuneration should include:

• Basic pay (required)
• Transport allowance (optional)
• Uniform or uniform allowance (optional)
• Food allowance (or you may buy them food)
• Etc.

You should take a photocopy of the Kenya identification card of your employee and keep it in your records. Other things you might request of your staff are as follows:

• A certificate of good conduct- this shows that they haven't been arrested for any crimes in Kenya. If you request it, you should pay for the staff's time and transport and any fees involved in getting this certificate.
• Contact info for relatives or next of kin.
• TB tests- If you are hiring an ayah or a cook, you may want to check their TB status as TB can be highly infectious. You should pay for the staff's time and transport and any fees involved in getting the tests. Keep in mind that TB is a treatable disease.

Salary

Minimum wage

For Nairobi, Mombasa or Kisumu, minimum wage is as follows:
Monthly rate: 5195.00
Daily rate: 249.90
Hourly rate: 46.40

All other municipalities and Mvoko, Ruiru and Limuru town councils:
Monthly rate: 4792.00
Daily rate: 229.70
Hourly rate: 42.45

What you should pay

Although the above are minimum wages, it's very hard to live on those salaries in Kenya. A very small, unscientific survey undertaken by KenyaBuzz, found the range of salaries paid in Nairobi to be as follows:

• Ayahs (nannies)
• Base salary range: 7000-12,000
• Average base salary: 8500
• Maids
• Salary range: 7000-12,000
• Average salary: 8500
• Cooks
• Salary range: 7000-12,000
• Average salary: 8500
• Drivers
• Salary range: 8000-15,000
• Average salary: 12,000
• Gardeners
• Salary range: 6000-10,000
• Average salary: 7500
• Askaris (guards)
• Salary range: 6000-8000
• Average salary: 7000

Other benefits

From our survey, for all staff the average benefits (if you are paying them) are as follows:

Monthly extras:

• Transport: 1000-2000 per month (depending on commute)
• Housing allowance: 2000-6000 per month (if not living in)

NOTE: If the employer does not provide free housing, the employee is entitled to a housing allowance of 15% of his basic minimum wage in addition to his basic wage.

• Food: 0-1500 per month

Annual extras:

• Xmas bonus: ½ to one months' salary
• Annual leave transport: 800-2000 (depending where they are from)
• School fees: 15,000 to 42,000 per year per child (request invoice and pay the school directly)

Besides the housing allowance, these are GUIDELINES only. Many people pay their staff above these levels and that is perfectly acceptable as well.

Please note that all the respondents were based in Nairobi and the standard level of pay in other parts of Kenya is very different. If you are outside Nairobi, get guidance from others in your area.

How to pay

You should pay your staff on the last day of each month. You can buy Salary Voucher booklets at Uchumi for 29 shillings to keep track of wages but they are very simplistic. Or you can use of modify this form . Have your staff count their money and sign their sheet in your presence. File the sheets away where they can be retrieved to help you figure out pay and leave for the following month. Keep all paperwork related to your staff for at least 3 years after they have moved on; it's not unheard of for staff to come back with a dispute many years after leaving your household.

Working Hours

The normal work week is to consist of not more than 52 hours spread over six days of the week.

Overtime

Overtime is payable at the following rates:

• 1 ½ times the normal hourly rate for the time worked in excess of the normal number of hours per week.
• Twice the normal hourly rate for time worked on the employees normal rest day or public holiday.

Leave

Weekly rest

The employee is entitled to one whole rest day in each week. If such rest days accumulate, subject to a maximum accumulation of 14 such rest days at any one time, the employee is entitled to take a leave with full pay in addition to his annual leave.

Annual Leave

Every employee is entitled to:

• Not less than 21 working days leave with full pay after every twelve consecutive months of service.
• Where employment is terminated after the completion of two or more consecutive months during any 12 month leave earning period, to not less than 1 ¾ days of leave with full pay in respect of each completed month of service in such period to be taken consecutively.

Staff generally like to get their vacation all at once so they can go back to the shamba but you can break it up. It's common to pay transport for them to the area they come from. So, if you are going to break up their vacation, you should be prepared to pay transport twice.

Compassionate leave

Any days taken on such leave shall be set off against the employee's annual leave days.
Hs is also entitled to a maximum of 5 days' compassionate leave without pay in one year.

Sick leave

After two months consecutive service, an employee is entitled to a maximum of 30 days sick leave with full pay and thereafter to a maximum of 15 days with half pay in each period of 12 consecutive months of service.

Maternity leave

A woman employee is entitled to two months maternity leave with full pay upon which she forfeits her annual leave.

Other issues

Staff quarters

If you have staff quarters, make sure you are clear with your staff about the rules for staying in the quarters in terms of hygiene, visitors policy, open flame cooking, etc. Note that most Kenyans have large extended families and if you aren't clear, you could end up with 20 people living in one bedroom in your back yard! It's best not to allow visitors for the night or even during the day for security reasons -or have a restricted list. If you have someone working for you that has a child, you will have to decide whether the child can live on your property. If you decide they can stay, note that they will then also need an additional person to live-in and look after their child while they are working. Be sure you are clear about your rules and policies before hiring your staff.

Reporting staff to the police

If your staff has committed a very serious offence, then you should report it to the police, otherwise, it's better to sort it out internally whenever possible. Reporting to the police could put them at serious risk of harm.

Termination of employment

Employment shall be terminable by not less than one month's notice in writing given by any party or one month's wages in lieu of notice. The employee is also eligible for two weeks of pay for every completed year of service.