It was just like any other Saturday afternoon for Mr. Dike, as he
relaxed in his living room watching football with a few guests when he
suddenly remembered his driver was yet to return from an errand after
an hour. One hour soon turned into three hours with his driver nowhere
to be found. He felt a pain in his stomach when he realised his driver
went out with his six weeks old car. He had employed him about a year
ago and knew nothing of him except he came to work every morning from
somewhere in Ajah. His car now gone was never to be found again.
After months of deciding whether to get a nanny or not Mr. and Mrs.
Thomas decided it was time. They hired a nanny through an "agent"
introduced to them by a friend. Un known to them and indeed the agent,
another couple had just rejected the nanny after she tested positive
for HIV. The nanny resumed immediately and six months into her new job
is yet to undergo a medical test.
Abdul was fast asleep when suddenly a sharp pain he felt from a cold
metal object pressed against his neck woke him up. He soon got tied
up, his mouth sealed as the robbers began an operation that saw his
employers robbed of all their belongings including cash. It was an
ordeal consistent with frequent robberies in the neighborhood where
they lived. Security guards are locked up and beaten giving the
robbers full access to the main house. However, something seemed
strikingly different this time as the victims recounted. The robbers
knew their way around the four-bedroom duplex suggesting this may have
been an insider arrangement.
These are stories most of us can relate to either directly or
indirectly. Domestic staffs are a "necessary evil" (as some like to
suggest) and include a large source of employment for most in the
rural areas. Considering their relative ease of migration, caution
should be taken during employment and post-employment. Had Mr. Dike
simply decided to know where his driver lived perhaps things would
have been different. Had the Thomas family conducted a simple medical
test, they would have known the apparent danger of employing the new
nanny.
A human resource consultant once opined that before employing drivers,
it is important to get an acceptable reference from them. One of such
is from a religious leader or community leader in the neighborhood
where he or she resides. It is an important step that is often seen as
arduous by most who just want to employ quickly. "If one can take
reasonable care in employing office staffs isn't it more important to
replicate such with domestic staff" he said. Ensuring that they have a
valid drivers' license and occasionally sending them to driving school
is also one essential routine most fail to imbibe.
Nannies and house helps who work and live with their employers even
deserve more scrutiny before employment. Apart from ensuring proper
reference is obtained from them, background checks should regularly be
made. Most of them come from villages and towns hundreds of kilometers
away from their place of employment making such checks quite onerous
sometimes. With lack of proper national identification in Nigeria
verifying social security status of most domestic staff is nearly
impossible.
As such, most should endeavour to recruit nannies and helps who live
and come from neighboring towns where they reside to make background
checks easy. It is also advisable to recruit them from your village or
neighbouring towns as your relatives can easily help with background
checks. For example, if you are from Onitsha in Anambra state and
reside in Lagos, then getting a housekeeper from Onitsha or its
environs seem more logical and easier for background checks than
recruiting one from another country or a far distant state.
Apart from mandatory pre-employment medical test, domestic staff must
also be provided with proper medical care. It is important for you to
assess the medical condition of your to be domestic staff in relation
to the job you want them to perform. No points employing a house help
with a heart condition when he or she is expected to perform rigorous
chores. Most medical insurance in Nigeria cost as low as N30, 000 per
annum and with just N100, 000, three domestic staffs can be insured.
This also provides the benefit of avoiding unanticipated cost, which
may even be more expensive and burdensome than insurance.
For domestic guards who are referred to you by their kinsman, which is
typically the case, ensure that the employer of the kinsman is aware.
Read more at PUNCH:
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