Hiring the right household professional can make an extraordinary difference in how smoothly a private home or estate operates. Whether you are hiring an estate manager, house manager, executive housekeeper, private chef, family assistant, personal assistant, or other private household employee, finding the right candidate is only the beginning.
The next step is creating a professional employment relationship that gives both the family and the employee clarity from day one.
Many families are highly experienced in managing businesses, investments, properties, or family offices but may be hiring household staff for the first time. Household employment comes with its own payroll, documentation, compensation, scheduling, and employment considerations.
At Lorraine Lee Estate Staffing, we believe the best placements begin with clear expectations. Taking the time to establish the employment relationship properly can help protect your household, support your employee, and create the foundation for a successful long-term placement.
What Should You Do When Hiring Household Staff?
When hiring household staff, private employers should determine the worker’s proper classification, establish payroll, complete applicable employment documentation, clearly define compensation and responsibilities, understand wage and overtime requirements, and maintain appropriate employment records.
Requirements can vary depending on where you live and where your employee works, so families should consult qualified payroll, tax, or legal professionals regarding their individual circumstances.
Here are eight practical steps to help you get started.
1. Determine Whether Your Household Professional Is an Employee
One of the first questions to address is how your household professional should be classified.
The IRS generally considers a household worker an employee when the family controls not only what work is performed, but how it is performed.
This distinction can be important for positions such as housekeepers, household managers, caregivers, and other professionals regularly performing work in or around a private residence.
Simply referring to someone as an independent contractor does not necessarily determine their classification.
Action Step:
Before your new employee begins working, speak with your accountant, tax advisor, employment attorney, or household payroll provider to confirm the appropriate classification and payroll setup.
2. Put the Position and Compensation in Writing
A successful placement starts with both sides understanding exactly what the position entails.
Your written offer or employment agreement should clearly explain the employee’s role, responsibilities, schedule, compensation, and benefits.
Depending on the position, consider addressing:
For an estate manager or house manager, you may also want to clarify authority over vendors, contractors, household projects, budgets, and other household employees.
Action Step:
Review the employment terms together before the employee’s first day. A five-minute conversation today can prevent significant misunderstandings later.
3. Establish Professional Household Payroll
Paying a household employee is different from paying a company that comes to your property to provide a service.
For 2026, federal Social Security and Medicare taxes generally apply when a household employer pays $3,000 or more in cash wages to one household employee during the year, subject to IRS rules and exceptions.
Household employers may also have federal unemployment and state employment-tax responsibilities.
A household payroll company or qualified tax professional can help determine what applies to your particular situation and assist with payroll calculations, tax filings, W-2s, recordkeeping, and other requirements.
Action Step:
Set up payroll before the employee’s first paycheck rather than trying to recreate months of payroll records later.
4. Complete Your New-Hire Documentation
Private households are workplaces, too.
Depending on the employment relationship, families may have federal and state onboarding and recordkeeping requirements.
For example, employers generally use Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to verify an employee’s identity and authorization to work in the United States.
Additional tax, payroll, insurance, or state reporting requirements may also apply.
Consider creating a confidential employee file that includes appropriate employment documents along with important household information.
Action Step:
Create a simple onboarding process before your employee starts. Having everything organized from the beginning makes household employment easier to manage.
5. Establish a System for Hours, Overtime, Travel and Overnights
Private household schedules don’t always fit neatly into a traditional 9-to-5 workday.
An executive housekeeper may stay later when the family is entertaining. An estate manager may need to oversee an urgent vendor issue. A family assistant may travel with the family. A household employee may occasionally work weekends or overnight.
Federal and state wage-and-hour requirements can affect how certain household employees must be compensated, and special rules may apply depending on the position and employment arrangement.
That’s why these expectations should be discussed before they happen.
Action Step:
Establish a reliable method for recording working hours and clarify how additional hours, overtime, travel days, weekends, holidays, and overnight responsibilities will be handled.
6. Consider the Rules Where Your Employee Actually Works
This is especially important for families with multiple residences.
A family might maintain a primary residence in Palm Beach or South Florida, spend summers in another state, and travel regularly with household staff.
Employment requirements can differ by jurisdiction, including rules involving wages, overtime, unemployment taxes, workers’ compensation, paid leave, and other employer responsibilities.
Florida has its own requirements as well. For example, a private home that pays $1,000 in cash wages in a calendar quarter for domestic services may become liable for Florida reemployment tax.
Action Step:
If your household employee works in multiple states, ask your payroll, tax, or legal professional whether multi-state employment requirements apply.
7. Build a Compensation Package That Helps Attract and Retain Great Staff
Compliance is important, but successful household employment goes beyond minimum requirements.
Experienced private-service professionals are career employees. When considering opportunities, many look at the entire employment package, not simply the hourly rate or annual salary.
Depending on the position, family, market, and level of experience, a competitive package might include:
In our experience working with private households, clarity matters almost as much as the package itself. Candidates want to understand what is being offered and what will be expected of them.
Action Step:
Establish the complete compensation package before interviewing whenever possible. It allows your staffing agency to target candidates whose expectations align with the position.
8. Create a Professional Onboarding Experience
Once you have found the right person, don’t stop at the offer letter.
Your employee’s first few days can set the tone for the entire working relationship.
Introduce them to the household’s routines, communication preferences, vendors, security procedures, pet routines, vehicle policies, preferred products, household systems, and other information relevant to their role.
For larger estates, employees should also understand who has decision-making authority and how communication flows between principals, family offices, estate managers, assistants, and other household staff.
Consider creating a household manual for positions involving significant responsibility.
Action Step:
Schedule time during the employee’s first week specifically for onboarding rather than expecting them to learn everything while simultaneously performing the job.
The Goal: A Long-Term, Successful Household Placement
Finding an exceptional household professional isn’t simply about filling an open position.
It is about finding someone whose experience, personality, work style, schedule, compensation expectations, and long-term goals align with your household.
The employment structure matters, too.
Clear expectations, professional payroll, appropriate documentation, competitive compensation, and thoughtful onboarding can help both the family and employee begin the relationship with confidence.
At Lorraine Lee Estate Staffing, we work closely with private families, estates, and family offices to identify experienced household professionals throughout Palm Beach, South Florida, across Florida, and nationwide.
Our placements may include:
Our goal is not simply to send résumés. We work to understand the household, the position, the family’s expectations, and the experience necessary to identify candidates who can become valuable long-term members of a private household team.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hiring Household Staff
Is a private housekeeper an employee or an independent contractor?
It depends on the working relationship. The IRS generally considers a household worker an employee when the household controls both what work is performed and how the work is performed. Families should consult a qualified tax or payroll professional about their specific arrangement.
Do I need payroll for a household employee?
Potentially. Household employers can have federal and state payroll and employment-tax obligations. For 2026, Social Security and Medicare taxes generally apply when you pay one household employee at least $3,000 in cash wages during the year, subject to IRS rules and exceptions.
What should be included in a household employee agreement?
A household employment agreement may address responsibilities, schedule, compensation, overtime, guaranteed hours, PTO, holidays, benefits, travel, overnight work, confidentiality, vehicle use, and termination procedures. The appropriate terms depend on the position and household.
Should household employees be paid overtime?
Many household employees are covered by federal or state wage-and-hour requirements, but the rules can vary based on the position, duties, schedule, and whether the employee lives in the residence. Families should obtain guidance applicable to their particular employee.
How do I determine a competitive salary for household staff?
Compensation depends on the position, location, experience required, schedule, responsibilities, travel, and overall benefits package. An experienced private staffing agency can help families understand the candidate market before beginning a search.
How can I find qualified household staff in Florida?
A specialized private household staffing agency can recruit and screen candidates based on a family’s specific needs. Lorraine Lee Estate Staffing works with families seeking experienced household professionals in Palm Beach, South Florida, throughout Florida, and nationwide.
Looking for Experienced Private Household Staff?
Whether you are hiring your first household employee or adding another professional to an established estate team, Lorraine Lee Estate Staffing can help you identify candidates who align with your household’s needs.
Explore our Luxury Domestic Staffing Services.
Learn more about hiring Private Estate Staff.
For households requiring more complex administrative and operational support, explore our Family Office Supportservices.
Learn more About Lorraine Lee Estate Staffing and our approach to private staffing.
Ready to begin your search? Contact Lorraine Lee Estate Staffing to discuss your household staffing needs.
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