Dear John,

The holiday season has arrived and, if you're like me, you're trying to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list.

If you employ someone in your home -- a nanny, house cleaner, or caregiver -- one of the best gifts is an end of the year bonus to show extra special appreciation for their dedicated work. An average year-end bonus is usually one to two weeks pay, although you can of course choose to give more!

Many nannies, house cleaners, and home attendants have suffered a severe loss of income this year due to the pandemic, so a bonus will not only show your appreciation for their essential work, but may also help your employee recover some of those lost wages.

To help answer your questions about gift giving and bonuses, our partner, Hand in Hand, has created a Holiday and End of Year Bonus Guide which includes tips about providing time off, communicating your plans, and enrolling in Alia, a program that allows you to provide benefits to your employee.

Additionally, with coronavirus cases on the rise, we continue to urge domestic employers to provide generous paid time off and follow safety guidelines, including:

• Maintaining safe practices including washing your hands, wearing masks, and social distancing.
• Continuing to provide PPE.
• Staying in communication with the worker you employ about your own exposure to others, especially as the holidays approach.
• Continuing to pay the worker you employ if you need to quarantine or temporarily ask them to stop working.
• Providing paid sick leave if the worker needs to quarantine, tests positive for COVID-19, or needs to care for a family member.

For more information that includes handy checklists for working safely with your nanny or house cleaner, visit us at employers.domesticworkers.org.

Thank you for all that you do. We wish you a caring, safe and healthy holiday season.

Kristina Mevs-Apgar, Culture Change Director
National Domestic Workers Alliance

P.S. If you are no longer working with your worker due to the pandemic, now is a great time to consider providing a holiday gift to show your appreciation.