In October we hired a lady to clean our place once per week. She used to clean the place for the previous owners, who rented the unit as an AirBnB. We carried on the AirBnb for a few months when we bought our place, during which she kept coming, although through the rental manager's company. He mentioned that she has monotributo and issues invoices, and that it was quite rare to find a mucama who was willing to work like that.
In October, I called her because my husband was traveling for a month and I needed help in the house.
After my husband came back, I told her I'd loved to have her coming regularly and that I would discuss it with my husband.
She now comes once per week, whenever she wants as she does lots of tourism rental cleanings, so her schedule varies.
At the end of December (i.e. after coming for two months), she demanded to be paid the "bono de fin de año", proportionally to the hours she works here (half a day, once per week) - $2000. I was taken aback as it didn't occur to me that I would have an employee, I thought the bono was for employees. I was also never issued an invoice, so I am not sure if she is working in black or in white, or why she demands the bono if she doesn't issue an invoice.
I don't fancy the idea of having an employee since she basically comes when she wants to. She has also cancelled three times last second (in two months), sometimes she texts me at 11 PM that she will be coming at 8 AM on the next day, or to cancel. This week I didn't hear from her until Friday at noon, when she said she had planned to come on Friday afternoon, but she was feeling unwell so she was heading home. I had already cleaned the house myself since I hadn't heard from her all week.
It is not what I would call a dependable work relationship, and I would rather avoid surprises in the long run. What are the proper steps to take?
