Family Members As Employees

[Mike S]

Hey Jack anyway to tie a dog near the blocks at least he would bark and wake up the sleeping guards ..... damn they must have been sound sleepers or they were to far away from the blocks ....... 2000 blocks are a lot of block to walk away with ....... I sure hope it wasn't an inside job ..... sorry to hear about your loss Jack ..... one thing I can't stand is a thief and the other is a liar but 99.99% of the time they are one and the same ..... IMHO ....

[Jack Peterson]

:angry: Well! we thought we had security sorted, there are dogs there now, i am more annoyed at losing 3 days work on the House than anything. the Blocks will not have gone far,( 4 builds in the Area at this time.) My foreman will be able to tell where they are when he has a look around the builds. each Block maker has a tell tale mark whether it be colour or mix, we will see what happens. none of the others have used this maker as they were a little bit more expensive. Come on you Canadians, lend me a Mountie we know, they always get their man. :thumbsup: if it was an inside job I will make them pay dearly

[Old55]

:angry: Well! we thought we had security sorted, there are dogs there now, i am more annoyed at losing 3 days work on the House than anything. the Blocks will not have gone far,( 4 builds in the Area at this time.) My foreman will be able to tell where they are when he has a look around the builds. each Block maker has a tell tale mark whether it be colour or mix, we will see what happens. none of the others have used this maker as they were a little bit more expensive. Come on you Canadians, lend me a Mountie we know, they always get their man. :thumbsup: if it was an inside job I will make them pay dearly

This is a perfect example why family should never be an employee.

Jack, If you were to find the nephews were involved..... "make them pay dearly" could be very dangerous. You know your family dynamics much better than I do but IMO please think very carefully before taking strong action.

[Jack Peterson]

:angry: Well! we thought we had security sorted, there are dogs there now, i am more annoyed at losing 3 days work on the House than anything. the Blocks will not have gone far,( 4 builds in the Area at this time.) My foreman will be able to tell where they are when he has a look around the builds. each Block maker has a tell tale mark whether it be colour or mix, we will see what happens. none of the others have used this maker as they were a little bit more expensive. Come on you Canadians, lend me a Mountie we know, they always get their man. :thumbsup: if it was an inside job I will make them pay dearly

This is a perfect example why family should never be an employee.

Jack, If you were to find the nephews were involved..... "make them pay dearly" could be very dangerous. You know your family dynamics much better than I do but IMO please think very carefully before taking strong action.

:unsure: Thank you for the thought Old, as you know this country is so very Matriarchal, When the extent is known of any family involvement it is their Lola that will dish out the sentence. Azon and I have saved these two on various occasions and it is not the first time they have failed in their Duties, in fact only 2 weeks ago they were up to no good, double dealing on paid time from us. This time if we Find it is theft rather than just malingering then it is their own Family that they will have to answer to. We feel we have done enough for them over the last 5 years. This situation has been brought about by themselves.it could take me a week or more to get to the bottom of it all, we will wait and see what happens. :tiphat:

[i am bob]

Hiring family and family friends is something I would never do again! Ever!

I ended up divorced, lost my business, my kids, my house and hobby farm as well as my pension for almost 10 years. Went from being mildly "rich" to penniless all because a) I found a family member skimming money from the business and b) false criminal accusations against me that were finally admitted to in court to be a lie in order to get back at me over a).

It just ain't worth it!

[lighthouse]

Just my .02 cents, do not do it. At least not just yet. Your best excuse being that you do not know of the in-laws work ethic just yet, and that you will be fine driving by yourself. Yes a week or two of adjustment and help with navigation may be useful but you are no lesser an able bodied man there than you are here. What everyone says is just about accurate, it is unwise to hire family for help. You will expect a driver but now you cannot treat the man as an employee, you have to treat him also as a faimly member. This is possible but only as an organic development that you eventually end up going to (treat an employee as a part of the family after getting to know them and respecting each other).

And for the house help, you have to establish the cleaning standards. That is your right and if they cannot perform up to it after some training then you can get a new one...unless of course you hired another member of the family. Treat the help with professional courtesy and tell them that you expect them to act the same way. My wife would give the helper a routine for the day, a schedule to work in. It would include cleaning the indoors, outdoors, what days to go to market, when to wash the car, when is laundry day and stuff. Some are more hardworking than others, if they are lazy it is better to get a new one. If they work hard it would be wise to give them a kind of bonus on special ocassions.

[Mike S]

My wife would give the helper a routine for the day, a schedule to work in. It would include cleaning the indoors, outdoors, what days to go to market, when to wash the car, when is laundry day and stuff.

BINGO ..... lighthouse has just made the best post ever on what to do when hiring a maid (or any other employee) here in the Phils ..... I don't mean to be critical but if you don't explain (in detail) what you expect of them they will do what they want or nothing at all ..... and you must keep doing it daily until they get the hang of it (if ever) ..... there are many posts on the board about how the Filipinos are not taught to think or act for themselves in school but more or less except what is told to them ..... tell them nothing ... you get nothing ..... not their fault ... really .... it is just the way things are here ..... those that can take the initiative are those that will get ahead ......

But on a happier note the same goes for many people in other countries so it is not just here ..... I used to have employees that worked under me in the US that I had to tell the same thing almost everyday ...... "did you make your rounds today .... did you fill out your engineering log book ...... did you pass on to the next shift all viable information ..... etc." .... you get the picture .... blow their little noses and wipe their little a*ses ...... :hystery: :hystery: :hystery: ..... sometimes I thought I was running a kinder-garden ..... :mocking:

[Robin Hood]

You can not compare Houston driving to any driving in the Philippines no matter how good a driver you are when you drive on Philippine roads there are no rules. Driving in the Philippines is a matter of survival and 100% concentration. If you have an accident or God forbid hit a pedestrian no matter who is at fault, the foreigner will always be at fault (unless you have lots of money to let a judge decide). Driving in the Philippines is a nightmare at best. I have been driving in the Philippines for 4 years, had one accident that wasnt my fault but I never got compensated. If you get a driver you going to feel like you lost your freedom. It sounds good in theory but not good in reality. If your driver has accident you still going to cough up the money even if he is not in the wrong because the driver is a foreigner driver. You cant win.

As far as any family conections or relatives are concerned my advice is NEVER EVER GET TANGLED UP WITH RELATIVES in any way.

If you choose to have a maid then you will have to go through many until you find a half decent one. They are mostly lazy. I am on my 4 th maid in 5 months and still not happy with the latest one who sleeps for 5 hours during the day and she is only 17. Unless you get a maid that has worked overseas you wont get that bathroom and kitchen clean the way you want. Filipinas are by nature bad house keepers if we compare them to western standards.

You should also ask yourself why am I going to live in Philippines. You have lot more power over your wife in the USA, in Philippines you got no legal rights and an army of relatives and spies to deal with. If you play up you will get caught and then you've had it. Pinoys get away with everything but not foreigners. There are two different set of rules here. Pinoys can leave a woman pregnant but a foreigner will have to support her or face a false criminal charge or deportation.

Please reconsider your move from the USA, I know your economy and freedom is almost gone in the USA but its still your home. If we as foreigners had the same rights as Philippinos it would be ok. If your wife is pushing you to go to Philippines then the alarm bells should be ringing as well. Good luck.

[nor cal mike]

Please reconsider your move from the USA, I know your economy and freedom is almost gone in the USA but its still your home. If we as foreigners had the same rights as Philippinos it would be ok. If your wife is pushing you to go to Philippines then the alarm bells should be ringing as well. Good luck.

I have spent a great deal of time in the Philippines over the past 12 yrs. and am planning to move there permanantly within the year. your post has certainly sruck a cord with me. I would like to hear more specifically what you are refering to and I think other potential expats would as well. Of course the obvious question for me is why have you continued to stay? Are there any redeeming factors,

and is there anything that could change your mind? Please share with us all you can as the move to the Philippines is certainly the biggest change ever in my life.

[MikeB]

You should also ask yourself why am I going to live in Philippines.

That's a valid question that anyone moving to another country should ask. Although there is some truth in your post it's overwhelmingly negative.

Driving anywhere requires "100% concentration", not just the RP. I've driven in worse places, Central America comes to mind. Can you cite one instance where a hired driver was in an accident and the foreign passenger was held legally responsible? My lawyer says otherwise.

Apparently you've had some bad experiences with family and maids. I have had helpers and have not found them to be "mostly lazy" but I relied on the recommendations of people I trusted and not my own "instincts". Their standards are different because they have grown up in a 3rd world country without all the modern conveniences most of us are accustomed to and take for granted. Does that surprise you? So far I have had no bad experiences with my wife's family but I made it clear from the start that I am not a bank dispensing free money for the asking. Living 14 hours (2 by car/12 by boat) away also helps.

Perhaps you could share with the forum why you choose to stay in a place you dislike so much that you counsel others to stay home?