Guides
Housekeeper guides
9 guides for hiring a housekeeper in India: what it costs, what to buy, how it works and how to hire well. Prices come from the same rate card the estimator uses.
The nine guides every trade gets
Cost guide
What a maid, cook, nanny or attendant should be paid in India in 2026: monthly, live-in and by the day
Role-by-role pay for household and office staff in a typical Indian city, how the salary is made up, what changes it, and what a fair offer looks like before anyone starts.
8 min readUpdated 12 November 2026
Buying guide
What to provide and what to agree before household staff start: equipment, duties, leave, pay and the written sheet
The household's side of the bargain when hiring a maid, cook, nanny or attendant in India: the supplies to keep, the duty list to write, the hours, leave, advance and bonus to settle, and the few things that are never negotiable.
8 min readUpdated 12 November 2026
How it works
How household staffing actually works in India: part-time, full-time, live-in, by the day, and agency versus direct
The arrangements under which maids, cooks, nannies and attendants work in Indian homes, how pay is set in each, who the employer is when an agency is involved, notice periods, society rules, and what each arrangement costs.
8 min readUpdated 12 November 2026
What matters most
Five things every household with staff must have: verification, a written sheet, fair pay, a keys policy, medical cover
The five non-negotiables when a maid, cook, nanny or attendant works in your home in India, why each one matters, how to check whether you have it, and what it costs to put right.
7 min readUpdated 12 November 2026
Common problems
Absent again, extra work, something missing: the ten household staff problems and what to do about each
The ten frictions Indian households run into with maids, cooks, nannies and attendants, what is usually behind each, what to do, and what a replacement or a day's cover costs.
8 min readUpdated 12 November 2026
How to hire
How to hire a maid, cook, nanny or attendant: where to look, what to ask, the trial days, and a fair offer
A practical guide to hiring household staff in India: where good workers are found, the phone screen, the two paid trial days, references and verification, red flags on both sides, and the offer that keeps someone for years.
8 min readUpdated 12 November 2026
Maintenance & seasonal
Diwali leave, summer heat, monsoon, wedding season: planning the year with household staff
A seasonal guide for Indian households with staff: festival leave and the bonus, summer water and heat, the monsoon, guests and weddings, school holidays and the nanny, and the year-end raise.
7 min readUpdated 12 November 2026
Choosing between options
Agency or direct, part-time or live-in, attendant or nurse: the household staffing choices explained
The six decisions every Indian household faces when hiring help, with the trade-offs laid out plainly and the monthly cost of each option beside it.
8 min readUpdated 12 November 2026
Useful tips
Twenty useful tips for households with a maid, cook, nanny or attendant, from people who have kept staff for decades
Short, practical tips for Indian households with domestic staff, in four groups: the first week, money, daily life and the long run, each one learned the hard way by someone.
6 min readUpdated 12 November 2026
Related guides
Trades that share ground with this one.
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