Which services can you ask your household help to do?

Cleaning

This is a pretty straightforward one. Of course, your cleaner is here to clean. But cleaning is limited to the regular maintenance of your home, such as dusting, mopping the floor, etc. You cannot ask to clean your house following a renovation. You can also ask to clean the windows but only if it forms part of general maintenance. So you cannot hire a household help just for the one task of cleaning windows. Also, as a general rule, when washing windows, your helper is not to stand more than three steps up a stepladder.

Common areas such as the stairwell of an apartment building or professionally used areas such as a doctors' office, corporate offices, etc. may not be cleaned within the service voucher system als there exist specific forms that specialise in this. Car washing is also not allowed with service vouchers.

Your home help may not execute any dangerous or unhealthy tasks such as cleaning very high windows, washing the ceiling or moving furniture to the basement or attic. The use of ammonia and other corrosive or toxic products is prohibited. And if it is very hot or cold outside, do not ask your cleaning helper to clean windows outside or scrub the patio.

Your household help may water plants, cannot maintain your garden, so cutting grass, trimming hedges and planting flowers is forbidden.

Ironing

Do you have a big basket of laundry to iron? If your home help comes to clean, they can also do the ironing in your home. They cannot take ironing laundry home to iron it there, and the same applies for washing clothes. Your cleaning helper may run your laundry in your own washing machine but are not allowed to take it home and wash it there.

Preparing small meals

If you want, your household help can help prepare a meal for you. This is possibly for a regular, daily lunch or evening meal but not for catering a birthday or other party.

Running small errands

Are you struggling to get out and about, or simply don't have the time to shop? Then your home help can run some daily errands for you. Feel free to ask them to fetch bread at the local bakery or do some shopping in the local supermarket. However, you should arrange to collect ‘big’ purchases like a washing machine or a television set yourself. And you household help is not allowed to take glass to the glass container or paper to your local recycling park.

Small clothing adjustments and repairs

Your cleaning helper can help with small mending jobs to bring clothes back to their original state, such as sewing on a button or darning socks. But you may not ask to help with jobs around the house, such as changing lamps, hanging a frame, etc.