Short answer: build the file before the first shift
The practical risk is not only whether a household finds someone kind and capable. The risk is starting work before immigration status, written duties, hours, pay, leave, health-insurance handling, pension questions, references, home access, child authority, and emergency rules have been documented. Official WORC, DLP, HIC, and RCIPS sources are the starting point; household-specific employment, immigration, pension, and insurance decisions still need current professional or regulator confirmation.
- Confirm whether the worker can lawfully work for your household before any paid trial, regular schedule, or live-in arrangement begins.
- Write the role, hours, pay, duties, accommodation, transport, privacy, leave, overtime, and termination basics in plain language.
- Keep wage records, deductions, health-insurance evidence, pension decisions, leave logs, receipts, and agreed changes in one folder.
- Treat children, keys, driving, pets, guests, photos, school pickup, and emergency consent as operational permissions that must be written down.
Separate the role from the person
A good helper can still be the wrong fit if the family has never defined the job. Childcare, housekeeping, cooking, elder support, school driving, overnight care, laundry, pet care, errands, and live-in availability should not be bundled into a vague helper role.
| File section | Question to settle | Evidence to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Role scope | Is this childcare, housekeeping, caregiving, cooking, driving, errands, pet care, or a mixed role? | Written duty list, weekly schedule, exclusions, and review date. |
| Hours and location | Which days, start and finish times, school runs, evenings, weekends, travel, and live-in expectations apply? | Schedule, time records, overtime or extra-babysitting rules, and location notes. |
| Home access | What keys, gate codes, alarm codes, rooms, storage areas, cameras, visitors, and delivery rules apply? | Access log, signed home rules, key receipt, alarm instructions, and private-area boundaries. |
| Children and vulnerable people | Who can approve pickup, medical decisions, swimming, driving, discipline, screen time, food, and emergency action? | School authority forms, contact list, medical notes, allergy plan, and emergency consent route. |
| Live-in terms | What accommodation, utilities, meals, privacy, guests, time off, curfew expectation if any, and household boundaries apply? | Room/accommodation terms, utilities note, wage-credit treatment, and time-off record. |
Verify work eligibility or permit route
A domestic worker's immigration position should be checked before the family relies on them. WORC is the official route for work-permit questions, and current government immigration material treats domestic helpers as a special category in some contexts. Do not assume a person can work for a new household because they are already on island or previously worked for another family.
- Record whether the worker is Caymanian, has permanent residence with the relevant right to work, already holds permission tied to another employer, or needs a new work-permit route.
- If the household is sponsoring or changing employment, keep the current form/version, submission owner, fee and document questions, medical or police-record requirements, and expected decision point together.
- If a temporary, part-time, replacement, shared, or transfer arrangement is suggested, get current WORC or immigration-adviser confirmation before treating it as available.
- Do not let a friendly referral or urgent childcare gap override status checks, written authority, and start-date controls.
Minimum wage and pay records
DLP says the National Minimum Basic Wage is CI$8.75 per hour from 1 January 2026 before applicable pension and health-insurance deductions. DLP also publishes a special live-in household domestic calculation: employers may apply up to 25% of that wage, no more than CI$2.19 per hour, as an accommodation-and-utilities credit, with the cash wage floor still stated at CI$6.56 per hour. Keep the official page in the file because wage rules and exceptions are compliance questions, not memory questions.
| Pay item | What to write down | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly or salary basis | Gross rate, expected hours, pay cycle, overtime or extra-hours handling, and whether pay is hourly, weekly, monthly, or otherwise. | Prevents both sides using different mental math. |
| Live-in credit | Whether accommodation/utilities credit is being applied, how it was calculated, and where the current DLP source was checked. | Live-in terms can blur cash pay, housing, and utilities if not documented. |
| Deductions | Health-insurance share, pension deduction if applicable, advances, uniforms, meals, transport, phone, or other deductions. | Deductions should be clear before payroll starts. |
| Payment evidence | Receipts, bank-transfer records, payslips or simple pay statements, leave records, and time records. | A household employer still needs an audit trail. |
| Change control | Any change in duties, hours, live-in status, pay, or household needs. | Small informal changes can become big disputes later. |
Health insurance and pension questions
HIC guidance says employers are responsible for providing health insurance for employees and sets out written-statement timing and premium-responsibility guidance. DLP pension guidance and FAQs should be checked separately because pension eligibility, contribution timing, status, age, and employment history can change the answer. The household file should show who checked what, when, and with which adviser or regulator source.
- Keep approved-insurer details, effective date, policy or insurance number, premium responsibility, deduction records, and any refusal or alternate-coverage evidence with the employment file.
- If the worker has dependants, another job, existing coverage, or changing hours, ask HIC or the insurer how the household should document the position.
- For pensions, record the worker's status, age band, start date, prior Cayman employment if relevant, plan/adviser answer, contribution start date if applicable, and payroll evidence.
- Do not pay pension or insurance amounts informally to the worker instead of using the proper plan or insurer route unless a qualified source confirms the arrangement is lawful.
References, police clearance, and safeguarding
References are not a formality when the role includes children, older relatives, keys, vehicles, pets, private documents, or live-in access. RCIPS publishes police-clearance resources, but families should also use direct reference calls, trial shifts, written boundaries, and school or emergency authority forms.
| Safety check | What to ask | Record to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Direct references | Dates worked, duties, reliability, child interaction, privacy, driving, reason role ended, and whether the employer would rehire. | Reference notes, contact details, dates, and any caveats. |
| Police clearance question | Whether a police clearance certificate is needed for the role, permit route, school pickup, agency process, or family risk standard. | RCIPS route checked, certificate request status where relevant, and recipient instructions. |
| Trial shift | How the person handles children, cleaning standards, pets, communication, timekeeping, and household routines. | Trial date, hours, tasks, feedback, and next decision. |
| School pickup | Who is authorised, what ID is needed, and how changes are communicated. | School forms, ID copies if requested by the school, and approved pickup list. |
| Privacy and conduct | Phone use, photos, social media, guests, confidentiality, cameras, documents, and valuables. | Signed house rules and review notes. |
First unsupervised shift controls
The first unsupervised shift is the operational handoff. Before it happens, every adult should know who can be contacted, what the worker may do, what they may not do, what the emergency route is, and where evidence is stored if a decision is questioned later.
- Write the child, elder, pet, house, vehicle, alarm, key, school, medical, and emergency instructions in one accessible note.
- Give emergency contacts, 911, HSA or preferred urgent-care route, insurer card location, allergies, medications, and parent backup sequence.
- If driving is involved, confirm licence status, insurance position, authorised routes, car-seat rules, fuel/payment handling, parking, and accident-report steps.
- Confirm food, medication, swimming, playdates, visitors, photos, discipline, screen time, homework, and leaving-the-home rules.
Weekly record routine
A simple weekly rhythm prevents most household-employer files from turning into a mess. The goal is not bureaucracy for its own sake; it is protecting the family, the worker, and any adviser who later needs to understand what actually happened.
| Weekly check | What to record | When to escalate |
|---|---|---|
| Hours and pay | Days worked, extra hours, late finishes, overnight care, paid leave, unpaid leave, and payment confirmation. | Hours regularly exceed the agreement or pay records do not match expectations. |
| Duties | New tasks, dropped tasks, childcare changes, travel, cooking, pet care, school pickups, or elder support. | The role has changed enough that immigration, insurance, pay, or safety terms may need review. |
| Insurance and pension | Premium/deduction evidence, policy changes, enrollment updates, contribution reminders, and provider correspondence. | Coverage, eligibility, deductions, or remittance dates are unclear. |
| Safety | Keys, codes, incidents, guest rules, car use, school authority, medical issues, or privacy questions. | Any safety incident, boundary breach, or child/elder discomfort arises. |
| Relationship health | What is working, what is frustrating, and what needs a calm written reset. | Repeated misunderstandings show the written agreement is too vague. |
When to get professional help
A household should ask for professional review when the helper file touches immigration status, termination, live-in terms, deductions, pension eligibility, health-insurance responsibility, child safety, police-clearance requirements, or a dispute. A short review before the first shift is cheaper than trying to reconstruct a broken file later.
- Ask WORC or an immigration adviser before changing employer, start date, occupation, work location, shared arrangement, or permit route.
- Ask DLP, payroll, pension administrator, or employment counsel before relying on deductions, exemptions, leave treatment, termination steps, or pension assumptions.
- Ask HIC or the approved insurer before assuming another policy, spouse policy, second employer, or overseas cover satisfies the household's responsibility.
- Ask a lawyer or family-safeguarding professional if a role includes live-in access, children, elder care, driving, pool supervision, travel, or sensitive family information.
Trust note
Last updated July 2026. This guide is written for relocation planning and should be verified with licensed Cayman professionals for legal, tax, immigration, medical, insurance, or financial decisions.
Reference points: WORC, Department of Labour and Pensions minimum wage, Department of Labour and Pensions FAQs, DLP Pensions Investigation Unit, Health Insurance Commission, RCIPS forms and police-clearance resources, Cayman Parent helper and nanny logistics.