Employee Problems and Solutions

[DC_20833]

I have lived in Peru for 12 years and have employed up to 4 people me and my mom’s home. Three to take care of my mom and one as a housekeeper in my apartment. Over the time I have been here I have had to terminate a few. In recent years I have found the Peruvians more difficult to deal with and always wanting to use the labor ministry to blackmail me. The treat is if I do not terminate them on their conditions (i.e. overpay them with the severance) they will go to the Labor Ministry. I simply refuse to do that and tell them take this or you can go to the Labor Ministry. I have won every time but I have grown tired of the Peruvian laziness and attitude. To give you an example I asked the maid to clean the windows in the apartment and she told me that was not part of her job description and to hire her sister to do it. I terminated her on the spot. Employees do as their told with me or they are fired on the spot. However, why should I have told her to clean the windows in the first place?

In another case, my mom had fallen the employee neglected to tell me and I only found out when the doctor showed me the bruises. When confronted she admitted that she had not told me but said that it was too much trouble to call me anyway. I immediately went and filed a complaint with the Police for neglect. She resigned and then after the Police left, she called the Labor Ministry said she had been fired and I was refusing to pay her. I had told her I would pay her once she had packed her items and left the apartment, she told me “I have rights” and demanded I pay her three times what she was owed and I had to drop the charges or she would stay. I told her fine and about three hours later when she needed to use the bathroom and I refuse to let her use one she left.

It was at this point a friend of mine had told me about how happy he was having Venezuelan employees, so I hired one and he was right. I have had no problems since I have used them and I have replaced all of my Peruvian employees with Venezuelans. My building had nothing but problems with the cleaning and maintenance staff and they started using Venezuelans and have had the same luck I have had. With this said you should use all precautions in hiring employees. I have found that the Venezuelans want to work. My friends all say the same thing. All the Peruvians want to do is complain, file complaints with the labor ministry, and steal. Peruvians have done this to themselves and while they might have some rights, I have the right to hire only Venezuelans.

[Alan]

Wow.. looks like you have lived through some pretty stressful situations, particularly with the care of your mother. That's got to be tough. But still, come on, even if you are angry, it's not fair to generalize and judge an entire country's workforce based on your experience.

It's not that your workers "may" have rights. They do have rights, just as you do, so regarding their attempts to "blackmail" you, just be sure to follow all the rules of employment (pay stubs, health care, vacations, signed memos when they have done something wrong), and you shouldn't have a problem.

Sounds like there are some perception issues at play, too. You might think that you have hired "general household help", but someone who was hired as a maid, might have a different point of view. To avoid problems, why not present them with a clear written job description which includes things like washing windows when you hire them? I get your point about "if I say it, they should do it", but for some reason in Lima, windows (at least the outside of windows) is usually seen as being another person's" job in Lima, in the same way as washing your car, or scrubbing the carpets, might be. That''s been my experience anyway.

Good luck with your new employees. Keep us posted.

[Formidable 1]

"Peruvians have done this to themselves and while they might have some rights, I have the right to hire only Venezuelans."

But do the Venezuelans have the legal right to work?

[windsportinperu]

Bringing your mom to Peru says good things about you as a good son.

Let me explain how is my relationship with my “empleada domestica”. I have a great Peruvian hard worker woman who lives in the “cono norte”. She get up very early in the morning to be at my home at 6:45am. She is very trusty and we have an excellent employer-worker relationship. We are just friends. I respect her a lot and consider her to be a great person as part of the family. She was born in Huanuco, La Sierra

She work fast and is extremely reliable. I just pay her S/. 80 the day, every 10 days or so and this includes lunch. The secret of this great work environment is the respect I gave her. If she miss something at work, I just mention it kindly, and later she work hard on it. Remember that Peruvians are humble people, but the day you treat them badly, you will lose their will to work hard for you

I am the owner of a big house with several bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, etc. She also cleans the outside of the house. These Christmas Days we talked on the phone greeting each others

In sum, if we want to have great people around us, the first thing we have to do is giving them a genuine respect.

[DC_20833]

"Peruvians have done this to themselves and while they might have some rights, I have the right to hire only Venezuelans."

But do the Venezuelans have the legal right to work?

Of course, I check their papers out and I only hire individuals who have the legal right to work. I have always treated my employees with respect; however, that respect has not been two ways with the Peruvians. Alan is right I do need to be more specific in the employee contracts as far as work duties. I use a spreadsheet that outlines the required tasks with my apartment which I expect to be completed. My Peruvian friends tell me I am too kind to my employees so I have distanced myself. However, my Peruvian friends are just as fed up with Peruvian employees and are hiring Venezuelans. I know that a lot of employers use people from the provinces and have had good luck with them the Venezuelans just came my way and solved a problem I had. I just heard on the news that after December 31, 2018, Immigration will not issue work permits to Venezuelans so it will be interesting how things unfold from what I hear on the news Venezuela is going to have an even rougher 2019 than they had this year.

[TonyLeslie]

Slightly off track, but I walk past Migraciones 4 days a week as part of my exercise routine and I have never seen so many Venezuelanos waiting to get in as I have today. I reckon a thousand at least were lined up against normally 3-400. I think it would be impossible for staff to service every person. With only 4 working days left till the 31st end date, I reckon a lot of Venezuelanos will be cursing that they have left it till the last minute to get working permits.

[Formidable 1]

"Peruvians have done this to themselves and while they might have some rights, I have the right to hire only Venezuelans."

But do the Venezuelans have the legal right to work?

Of course, I check their papers out and I only hire individuals who have the legal right to work. I have always treated my employees with respect; however, that respect has not been two ways with the Peruvians. Alan is right I do need to be more specific in the employee contracts as far as work duties. I use a spreadsheet that outlines the required tasks with my apartment which I expect to be c
ompleted. My Peruvian friends tell me I am too kind to my employees so I have distanced myself. However, my Peruvian friends are just as fed up with Peruvian employees and are hiring Venezuelans. I know that a lot of employers use people from the provinces and have had good luck with them the Venezuelans just came my way and solved a problem I had. I just heard on the news that after December 31, 2018, Immigration will not issue work permits to Venezuelans so it will be interesting how things unfold from what I hear on the news Venezuela is going to have an even rougher 2019 than they had this year.

You need to check out these vids and see how upstanding these Venezuelans can be...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-T5vFrOEmM

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M7pmdZ-52w4

[DC_20833]

"Peruvians have done this to themselves and while they might have some rights, I have the right to hire only Venezuelans."

But do the Venezuelans have the legal right to work?

Of course, I check their papers out and I only hire individuals who have the legal right to work. I have always treated my employees with respect; however, that respect has not been two ways with the Peruvians. Alan is right I do need to be more specific in the employee contracts as far as work duties. I use a spreadsheet that outlines the required tasks with my apartment which I expect to be c
ompleted. My Peruvian friends tell me I am too kind to my employees so I have distanced myself. However, my Peruvian friends are just as fed up with Peruvian employees and are hiring Venezuelans. I know that a lot of employers use people from the provinces and have had good luck with them the Venezuelans just came my way and solved a problem I had. I just heard on the news that after December 31, 2018, Immigration will not issue work permits to Venezuelans so it will be interesting how things unfold from what I hear on the news Venezuela is going to have an even rougher 2019 than they had this year.

You need to check out these vids and see how upstanding these Venezuelans can be...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-T5vFrOEmM

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M7pmdZ-52w4

I think Alan hit it right we cannot generalize by country. There are good and bad in every country.

[Formidable 1]

Well, you do have a track record of ripping off Peruvians.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=21119&p=109316&hilit=new+york+rate

Better that you keep hiring Venezuelans then.

[DC_20833]

Well, you do have a track record of ripping off Peruvians.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=21119&p=109316&hilit=new+york+rate

Better that you keep hiring Venezuelans then.

I will follow the Forum Rules and be as civil as possible here. The Peruvian was trying to rip me off I offered what was owed they made the decision to drive off. Since then I have done some research, any taxi ride over 5 soles is supposed to have a receipt written. I cannot deduct my taxi rides unless I have a VALID receipt. He or she made the decision not to do the right thing and pay taxes. I cannot deduct my fare off taxes in the states if the ride is over $2.00 so why should bad behavior be encouraged? You say I have a reputation for ripping off Peruvians and quote a post by me. I suggest you read carefully from the post:

"He drove off and I didn't even have to pay 5 soles I was willing to pay."

I was willing to pay what was owed that was honest. He made the decision to ATTEMPT to rip me off and the decision to drive off. There was no ripping off on my part, of course, the driver did ATTEMPT to rip me off. I have a few suggestions for you. NUMBER ONE - Read the whole thing before making incorrect posts. NUMBER TWO - Read the suggestion in red type here on the top of the Forum " No name calling, no insults – be civil to each other!"

You stated that I ripped off Peruvians. That simply did not happen (i.e. name calling). There was no rip off here except an attempt by a greedy Peruvian Taxi Driver who was a coward and drove off. Once again look at my post that you quoted:

He drove off and I didn't even have to pay 5 soles I was willing to pay.

As I stated before I was willing to pay him what was owed (5 soles) he made the decision to drive off. I hardly call that a ripoff. You might try reading posts through before insulting people.

[Slippin' Jimmy]

Getting into a cab and dictating without negotiating first is a recipe for trouble.
You're lucky you got away with it.

[DC_20833]

Getting into a cab and dictating without negotiating first is a recipe for trouble.
You're lucky you got away with it.

You are probably right. After this post, I finally got brave, got a drivers license, and bought a car. Driving in Lima is crazy but it is doable and I enjoy the fact that I don't have to deal with Lima taxi drivers anymore. When I decide to use a taxi I use Uber the fares are dictated upfront so there no haggling or rip-offs.

[Formidable 1]

Just calling it like I see it.
Your threads have this common theme of putting one over on the working class Peruvians.

[DC_20833]

Just calling it like I see it.
Your threads have this common theme of putting one over on the working class Peruvians.

Your opinions could put in jail read the liable and slander laws here.

[windsportinperu]

Just calling it like I see it.
Your threads have this common theme of putting one over on the working class Peruvians.

Your opinions could put in jail read the liable and slander laws here.

DC_ This is how you manage a microscopic problem in an online forum ? Threatening someone you do not know going to jail ?

[DC_20833]

Just calling it like I see it.
Your threads have this common theme of putting one over on the working class Peruvians.

Your opinions could put in jail read the liable and slander laws here.

DC_ This is how you manage a microscopic problem in an online forum ? Threatening someone you do not know going to jail ?

So you think you are above the law. It would be very easy to find and identify you and have you facing some serious legal problems. However, you are not worth the time.

[Slippin' Jimmy]

Don't feed the trools.