# Caretaker for Property Management Co



## Paper Clip (1 Jun 2012)

Hi all,
I'm a member of a property management company and it was suggested to us to employ a caretaker to cut lawns, cleaning etc instead of a contract cleaner/gardener.  My question is would you think this would be a good idea or what addtional cost would we have as his employer? His cost is less than a contract cleaner/gardener and I have priced adding him to the insurance of the building and it's not too bad. Just wondering your thoughts..
Thanks in advance.


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## purpeller (1 Jun 2012)

We have a caretaker part time in our place - but he is a contractor.  We looked into the options and all sorts of things apply if we employee a person directly.  It would be much more expensive.  A non-complete list would be: employer's PRSI, having to provide a toilet, break area, access to a PRSA, employer's liability insurance and we'd have to supply machinery like lawnmower, tools, etc.


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## djh (1 Jun 2012)

I would advise not to directly employ a caretaker. It adds so much extra in terms of costs, employer responsibilities, tax issues, pension rights, sick pay, etc. A lot more hassle than it is worth, and you have the problem of who is going to manage them! 

You could look at a couple of facilities management companies who would agree a contract with you to supply a person for what you want. That way they have to deal with the personnel and supervisor issues etc, and you can have them change the person if they are not working well.


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## Paper Clip (1 Jun 2012)

Thanks to you both for taking the time to reply.  I will speak to the other members but you are both right its best to go with a contractor. Again thanks for your help.


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## Vanessa (4 Jun 2012)

It is a pity that employing a person, even part time, is so costly as there plenty of early retired people who would be interested in taking on this type of work and would be very concientous in doing it. A lot of this work is not heavy labour.
It is also a great securityto have somone around the complex during the day to keep an eye on strangers


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## shesells (4 Jun 2012)

Vanessa said:


> It is a pity that employing a person, even part time, is so costly as there plenty of early retired people who would be interested in taking on this type of work and would be very concientous in doing it. A lot of this work is not heavy labour.
> It is also a great securityto have somone around the complex during the day to keep an eye on strangers



Nothing to stop a retired person taking the position as a contractor. Like the others, our caretaker is a contractor. Our caretaker is on site 10 hours a week. He looks after common area maintenance, repairs, cleans the bin sheds, collects litter and inspects the development for problems.

We hire separate cleaners and having had a groundkeeper for years, have switched to a formally trained gardener. The difference is phenomenal. While keeping costs down is important to all of us, skimping on groundcare proved more costly in the longer term.


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## Vanessa (5 Jun 2012)

Of course if you had a person in mind they could become a Sole Trader. There are benefits such as getting tax relief for travel costs, cost of equipment etc and the Management Company would not have the responsibilities that go with being an employer.


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## Paper Clip (25 Jun 2012)

Hi again,
If the caretaker was not an employee and issued us with a invoice every month would the property management company be anyways liable if this person did not have a C2/registered for tax etc? We intend to add this person to our insurance policy.


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## djh (25 Jun 2012)

I don't know about the C2/VAT thing. Might be best to send a quick question to the company accountant. 

Also, there may be instances where a if a contractor is engaged for long periods they can end up being able to claim rights as if they were an employee, and maybe even claim that they should be hired directly on permanent basis. This is what we were told when looking into it. 
Might be worth talking to an acountant/solicitor with experience in the area. 

What you could do is have 11 month contracts I suppose, so there is a break of a month every year. 
Don't kow if your place could go a month without anyone looking after things.


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## Paper Clip (25 Jun 2012)

Hi,
Thanks for taking the time to reply.  I will contact the accountant and pass it by them first.
Thanks again for your help


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