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Management sent out a letter telling everyone that it's against company policy to give caregivers individual gifts at holiday time. I get that, but they recommend instead giving money that will be pooled together anonymously to provide holiday bonuses to all hourly employees. Then they suggested a "donation" amount that's quite a lot of money! And since it will be anonymous and include staff people who don't even know my husband, it seems to kind of defeat the purpose of a personal recognition for those who take best hands-on care of him, to let them know how much our family appreciates their work.

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I think it's ridiculous for workers in a care facility to expect a "tip" for the holidays.

It cost a fortune to live in managed care. It's not a hotel. You don't have to grease the porter who carries the luggage or the maid who cleans your room and brings the clean towels.

I often ask people of they think they tip their doctor? Or their auto mechanic. Or the cashier who checks them out at the grocery store.

I was a supervisor at a high-end AL. The supervisors and administrator had a meeting to decide your actual question. They took my suggestion that small gifts (not over $20) could be given to staff members of choice by residents and their families.
There were a lot of boxes of chocolates and wine.

The facility your husband is in is going to pool the money collected and give a percentage of it to the hourly employees after they take their cut. I wouldn't give to that if I were you.

If there are particular aides that take good care of your husband take care of them on the down-low.
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The problem I see with bringing in little treats (bribes) at any time is they almost always go the the day shift, those who work overnights or morning shifts won't see any of that.
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No tipping, but I take occasional goodies to the staff--clearly labeled for the different shifts
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I'm planning on a Christmas cookie tray delivery that can be shared by all the floor staff.

At Easter I took a very large box of pick-a-mix from the Russell Stover candy store. All individually wrapped pieces and a huge variety for all tastes.

Best way I've found to try to give something back to the staff at my mom's place. They also have a no tipping rule and request that those who want, donate towards their staff party, all funds to be used for raffle prizes (gift cards).
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My mom's facility used to do a lump sum sharing. Every employee is a value to the building. Management or salaried should be separate. You might not think of the staff members who do the laundry or cleaning up.
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Davenport Nov 28, 2023
I agree, BUT, I think it's awful that the corporate suits have the audacity to 'suggest' an amount! I guess that most residents' families are stretched to the absolute max of their loved ones' finances just to pay the monthly expenses to have them stay there.

Another ethical consideration: I'd respond to such a 'suggested' amount to 'donate' with a few written questions before writing a check: How precisely, in detail, are the residents' families' donations going to be divided among the paid hourly employees who actually interact with our loved ones? I don't want it going to the facility manager or anyone at the corporate level at the facility [who, in our case, never knew our names or even made eye contact with us when we came to visit our mom]! And I wouldn't write a check until I received exact answers to those questions.
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I always brought in one of those super huge boxes of chocolates you can get at holiday time and handed them out to the caregivers that were especially kind to mom in her AL and MC, on the down low. I also wrote a check for $100 to the pool, and I didn't care how it was distributed. The caregivers worked hard for little wage and I hoped a portion of it DID get to them. Even the garbage collectors get a tip at Christmas time.
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Like all tipping it is not required, and there is no way in h3ll I would contribute to the staff parties and bonuses that should rightfully come from the facility purse. If you do want to acknowledge certain caregivers who you feel deserve special consideration keep it small and discreet, a $5 or $10 gift card in a sealed holiday card.
PS - if you hand out cards to everyone and only include the tip for your chosen few it will be even more discreet.
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BurntCaregiver Nov 21, 2023
Amen to that, cwillie. These places get a fortune for every resident. They certainly don't need residents' family paying for their holiday parties.
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I agree about the people working behind the scenes Alva, there are many people who are going the extra mile or simply performing with competence that we never see or notice. Those making sure there's no missing laundry, the facility looks and smells clean, repairs are taken care of promptly, and even office staff who put in unpaid overtime to ensure all shifts are covered often never get anything. Pooling tips can be a good thing for those workers, it really depends on how it is handled. My sis works at a not for profit facility with all donations going through the foundation, for profit places that don't handle this at arms length always make me skeptical.
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BurntCaregiver Nov 21, 2023
@cwillie

No one owes anyone a tip or anything else. If a person wants to give a gift or a tip to an individual who they like or who takes care of their LO directly they should. They do not owe everyone else.

As for pooling tips. That is total BS. I did restaurant as my second job for a long time. I refused to work in a place that pooled tips. If I'm busting my backside hustling on a busy night, it's me earning that money not everyone else. It's the diners I was taking care of leaving ME that money, not all the other waitstaff.

I let my employees accept gifts from clients and their family this time of year. Nothing over $100 though.
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Tipping is not mandatory in America. When you tip someone it’s a way of showing appreciation for the service rendered.

It’s very unethical for this MC to ask clients to provide money that they are going to use as “bonuses” for their employees which I’m sure the MC will present to the employees as though they are the ones giving their employees these bonuses and they are not going to tell the employees the truth that the money came from the clients. Meanwhile, the MC is making a profit and instead of passing some of those profits as bonuses onto its employees, it’s just going to pocket their profits. This is a rip off.

I would secretly go against their policy and give gifts to employees that helped your LO. If you are going to give money, just place it in an envelope and secretly give it to your LO’s caregiver.
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Davenport Nov 28, 2023
Yep, good point. The facility may well and likely present the bonus as though from their employer, the corporation, and not the families of those they care for on a daily basis. That's an important question I'd ask the facility BEFORE writing any such check!!
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A few $25 Starbucks gift cards handed out to those specific people in your husband's care is thoughtful and in line with what professional ethics boards typically allow, according to my ethics learning in school.

Maybe this is naive thinking. I don't know what's happening in the real world around holiday gift-giving.

I'd say just hand them a holiday card. You don't have to tell them there's a gift card inside. It's a token of appreciation, which is what is meant... from you, to them.

A for-profit business suggesting contributions to a pooled anonymous distribution is a new one by me. I have to agree it defeats the purpose of wanting to give to those people one interacts with and very much appreciates during the holidays.

It's not that those folks behind the scenes are lesser; only they aren't the ones you interact with. Can't it be more personal..?
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