Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
domestic employees can make adapting to life in your new home much
easier. Conversely, if you get the wrong one, you are opening yourself to
the risk of becoming the victim of property crimes or even crimes of vio-
lence. These people will have virtually unrestricted access to your home.
They must be screened with exceptional care. The best way to hire a
domestic household employee is through recommendations of a friend or
other trusted person who has utilized his or her services in the past. Even
an individual recommended by someone you know should be required to
produce other references, preferably from Western families that they have
worked for in the past. References should be checked. Often the local
embassy has a list of household workers who have been employed by
embassy employees and have been found to provide satisfactory services.
In any event, interview all applicants carefully and evaluate their suitabil-
ity to fit your needs. Just because someone else had a positive experience
with a particular employee does not mean that person will be acceptable
to your individual situation. A veteran DEA agent of our acquaintance is
married to a Thai woman who is an unmatched expert in finding and
hiring the perfect person to work in their home. She is a direct person
and clearly communicates her needs and expectations to applicants
during the interview. If the person is hired, there are never any surprises.
If you know anyone with that type of ability, by all means bring him or her
in to give you advice and perhaps even handle the interview for you. By
the way, if people don't work out and you need to terminate their serv-
ices, do the smart thing. Tell them their services are no longer required
as of that moment. Do not allow them even to finish out the day. Once
you fire them, they are gone. You should, however, send them on their way
with a nice severance package, depending on how long they stayed with
your family. At least two weeks' salary is generous or a full month if they
were with you for longer than a few months. Even if they have hard feel-
ings about being fired, a fair separation agreement tends to smooth things
over. Avoiding the animosity of a domestic is worth the few extra dollars
it may cost you. Under no circumstances should you allow people to work
in your home after you have fired them.
Pay particular attention to the use of the telephone in your new home.
It is always preferable to have your home phone number unlisted and
unpublished. Just as in the United States, no one who answers the phone
should give his or her name or his or her family's name. Children should
be discouraged from answering the phone; if they do, they must be
