Tips for Selecting the Right Domestic Staff to Meet Your Needs

Several factors contribute to a high level of satisfaction with your domestic employee. Based on experience, my key recommendations are as follows:

• Conduct a thorough and genuine interview with each candidate.
• Provide as detailed instructions as possible during the first few days regarding your household routines, family customs and meal times (see Topic 2), and correct any issues as early as possible.
• Reward good work with a fair salary, respect their days off and public holidays, observe their rest hours, and honour all rights set out under the current domestic service collective agreement (detailed in this section).

It is also worth reflecting on the level of responsibility you genuinely intend to require. These are support workers in the home; you will naturally expect responsibility, initiative and cooperation — but in some cases, I believe expectations are set too high from the very first day.

Tips for Making the Right Selection to Suit Your Needs, and Important Points to Bear in Mind During Interviews

My experience over the years in staffing for this sector has shown me that we often make mistakes from the outset — from the moment we form a preconceived idea of the right person. For example: ruling out certain nationalities (because of a previous bad experience), or certain ages (too young or too old), or candidates who are not mothers (assuming mothers will look after children better), or only candidates with extensive experience (who are sometimes the least adaptable to your household customs), and so on.

Before interviewing prospective candidates, make sure through an initial telephone conversation that they are genuinely interested in working in the arrangement you require: live-out (externa) or live-in (interna).

Workers in this sector fall into these two categories. Live-out workers tend to be more experienced (the majority having worked as live-in staff for years), are familiar with their duties, and will carry out their work more systematically.

Most workers interested in live-in positions are typically those who have been in Spain for a relatively short time and tend to have less experience and fewer references. They prefer live-in work for security and convenience — to save as much as possible without the expense of rented accommodation, food and transport. They will generally stay for as long as they need to pay off debts incurred to come to Spain and save enough, in most cases, to bring their family to Spain or return home. Accordingly, it is important to accept that the average length of stay for a live-in worker is around 2 years, and this tends to be longer when they feel valued and well treated by their employer.

Before the Personal Interview, Confirm the Following Points

If You Require a Live-in Worker

• Describe the number of family members, whether there are young children or babies in their care, and the work location.
• If days off are not Saturday afternoon and Sunday, ask whether the candidate would accept rest days on separate days of the week.

If You Require a Live-out or Hourly Worker

• Specify the days of the week and hours you require, and if you occasionally need the worker to stay overnight, ask whether they would be willing to sleep at your home from time to time (one overnight per month can be incorporated into the salary, provided it is reasonably well paid).
• The worker’s place of residence should be no more than 30 to 45 minutes from your home.

In Both Cases, It Is Worth Discussing:

• Whether you have pets (dogs, cats) at home, in case of incompatibility due to fear or allergies.
• The approximate salary you are prepared to offer. This should be confirmed during the personal interview once the candidate has demonstrated their level of experience through references.
• Ask about their current immigration status in Spain — work permit, residency, etc. Be aware of the obligation to register any worker with Social Security if they work more than 80 hours per month at your address. For workers with a work permit, Social Security registration is essential, as failure to register could result in them losing the right to renew their residency and work permit.
• Ask them to bring written employment references from previous positions held in Spain with Spanish families (few workers have written references; it is standard practice to request the name and phone number of, above all, their most recent employers).