Employment benefits for household staff confuse everyone. Corporate jobs have clear benefit packages. You know what to expect – health insurance options, 401k matching, PTO policies, all of it laid out in offer letters.
Household employment? Most families are making it up as they go. Guessing what’s normal. Trying to figure out if they’re being generous or stingy. Hoping their household staff don’t ask questions they don’t know how to answer.
The lack of clear standards creates problems. Families offer benefits that are way below market, then wonder why they can’t attract good candidates. Or they offer extremely generous benefits without realizing it, creating expectations they might not want to set. Staff don’t know what’s reasonable to expect, so they either don’t ask for anything or they ask for things that aren’t standard.
After twenty years working with families and household staff throughout Los Angeles and nationwide markets, I can tell you what’s actually standard in 2025 for professional household employment. This isn’t aspirational or ideal – it’s what the market actually looks like for nannies, household managers, private chefs, and other household positions.
Let me break it down so you can make informed decisions instead of just guessing.
Health insurance is increasingly expected
Ten years ago, health insurance for household staff was nice-to-have for wealthy families. In 2025, it’s increasingly standard for full-time positions, especially in expensive markets like Los Angeles where insurance costs are high and quality candidates have options.
What’s typical: Families either provide health insurance directly (adding household staff to family plans or purchasing separate individual plans) or they provide health insurance stipends that staff use to buy their own coverage.
Direct insurance provision costs families anywhere from $400 to $800+ monthly depending on the plan and coverage levels. Stipends typically range from $300 to $600 monthly, giving staff flexibility to choose their own plans.
Not every family provides health insurance – probably 60-70% of full-time household positions in LA include it in some form. But increasingly, candidates for professional positions expect it and will choose families offering insurance over those who don’t, all else being equal.
For part-time positions (under 30 hours weekly), health insurance is less common but still appreciated when offered. Some families prorate stipends based on hours worked.
Paid time off matters more than you’d think
PTO for household staff typically ranges from 2-4 weeks annually for full-time positions. Two weeks is bare minimum. Three weeks is increasingly standard. Four weeks is generous.
What counts: Vacation time, sick time, and personal days usually all come from the same PTO bucket rather than being tracked separately. Simpler for everyone.
Some families separate vacation from sick time – maybe two weeks vacation plus one week sick time. That works fine too, just make expectations clear about what’s what.
Holidays are typically separate from PTO. Most families give household staff major holidays off (Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s, July 4th, etc.) as paid holidays that don’t count against PTO.
Los Angeles families sometimes offer more generous PTO than other markets because competition for good household staff is intense here. If you’re offering just two weeks PTO when comparable families are offering three, candidates will notice.
Sick time is legally required in California
California law requires paid sick leave – employees earn one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, with minimum accrual of three days (24 hours) annually. That’s minimum, not optional.
Most families just build sick time into general PTO allotments since you’re required to provide it anyway. Makes tracking simpler.
Don’t try to avoid California sick leave requirements. You’re legally required to provide it and trying to claim household employment is exempt will create problems if employees complain or if you’re audited.
Paid holidays are standard
Typical paid holidays for household staff: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas. That’s six guaranteed paid holidays most families provide.
Some families add more – Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Easter, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, day after Thanksgiving. Generous but not universal.
What’s important: Be clear upfront about which holidays are paid time off versus which holidays staff are expected to work (potentially at premium pay). Don’t leave it ambiguous.
Live-in staff often have different holiday expectations than live-out staff. Make those distinctions clear in employment agreements.
Overtime is legally required
California law requires overtime pay (time-and-a-half) for hours worked over 8 in a single day or over 40 in a week. That applies to household employees.
Some families try to claim household staff are exempt from overtime. They’re not in California. Personal attendants who work in private households are covered by overtime laws.
Factor overtime into your budget planning. If you’re regularly asking staff to work over 40 hours, you’re paying overtime rates for those additional hours. That’s not optional – it’s legal requirement.
Workers’ compensation is required
California requires workers’ comp insurance for household employees. It’s not expensive relative to other employment costs, but lots of families don’t even know they need it.
If your household staff gets injured on the job and you don’t have workers’ comp coverage, you’re personally liable for their medical costs and lost wages. That can get extremely expensive.
Work with household employment specialists or payroll companies that can handle workers’ comp for domestic employees. Don’t skip it hoping nobody gets hurt.
Professional development varies widely
Some families pay for relevant professional development – certifications, training, conferences, courses. Not standard across the board but increasingly common for long-term employees.
For nannies, that might be CPR/First Aid renewals, child development courses, or specialized training. For household managers, maybe project management certification or estate management training. For private chefs, maybe culinary courses or specialized diet certifications.
Generous families cover costs plus time away for professional development. More typical is covering costs but not paying for time away if it’s outside normal work hours.
If you want staff to maintain certain certifications relevant to their work, you should cover renewal costs at minimum.
Retirement contributions are rare but appreciated
401k or IRA contributions for household staff are uncommon but really appreciated when offered. Maybe 10-15% of household positions include any retirement benefits.
When families do offer retirement benefits, it’s usually either matching contributions up to certain percentages (like 3-5% match) or flat monthly/annual contributions to IRAs.
This isn’t standard enough that candidates expect it, but it’s a significant differentiator if you want to attract and retain truly excellent long-term staff.
Cell phone and transportation
If you require your household staff to have cell phones for work communication, you should cover that cost – either paying their bill directly or providing monthly stipends ($50-100 typically).
If staff are driving for work (taking kids places, running errands, etc.) and they’re using their own vehicles, mileage reimbursement is standard. IRS rate is currently 67 cents per mile for 2025. Alternatively, some families provide vehicles for staff use.
These aren’t huge costs but they matter to staff and they’re appropriate to cover when work requires them.
What generous benefits look like
Top-end household employment benefits in Los Angeles competitive markets include:
- Full health insurance (not just stipends)
- Three to four weeks PTO plus paid holidays
- Overtime paid appropriately when worked
- Workers’ comp coverage
- Professional development support
- Retirement contributions
- Phone and transportation covered
- Annual performance bonuses
- Regular cost-of-living adjustments
Families offering these benefit levels typically have no trouble attracting excellent candidates and retaining long-term staff. They’re investing in employment relationships, not just paying for temporary help.
What minimum viable benefits look like
Absolute minimum to be competitive for professional household positions:
- Two weeks PTO plus major holidays
- Sick time per California requirements
- Overtime paid when required by law
- Workers’ comp coverage
- Mileage reimbursement if using personal vehicle for work
Families offering minimum benefits can still hire decent staff, but they’re not going to get top candidates choosing between multiple offers. And retention will be lower because staff will leave for better benefit packages when opportunities arise.
How to structure benefit conversations
Include benefits in initial job offers, not as afterthoughts. Detail what you’re providing so candidates can evaluate total compensation, not just base salary.
Put benefit terms in writing as part of employment agreements. Don’t leave PTO or health insurance or other benefits as verbal understandings that people remember differently later.
Be clear about when benefits start – some families have waiting periods before health insurance or retirement contributions kick in. Tell candidates that upfront.
Review benefits annually as part of performance reviews. Cost of living changes, market standards shift, your ability to offer more might increase – keep benefits current rather than setting them once and never revisiting.
The LA market specifically
Los Angeles has expensive cost of living, competitive household staffing market, and candidates with lots of options. Benefits here need to be genuinely competitive or you won’t attract quality candidates.
Health insurance matters enormously in LA because individual market insurance is expensive. Families offering good health benefits have real advantages in hiring.
PTO expectations run slightly higher than some other markets – three weeks is more standard here than two. Candidates know Los Angeles families can afford competitive benefits.
Don’t try to go bare minimum on benefits in LA and expect great candidates. The market doesn’t support that approach. Quality household staff have choices about who they work for.
What’s changing in 2025
Benefit expectations for household staff are generally trending upward. Things that were generous five years ago are becoming standard. Things that were standard are becoming bare minimum.
Health insurance specifically is shifting from nice-to-have toward genuinely expected for full-time professional positions. Families not offering it are starting to struggle hiring.
PTO expectations are creeping up – two weeks is feeling stingy, three weeks is becoming normal, four weeks is increasingly common for experienced long-term staff.
Professional development support is becoming more common as household staff professionalize and seek career growth, not just jobs.
Stay current with market standards rather than assuming what worked years ago still works. Household employment is evolving toward more professional benefit structures.
The investment perspective
Some families balk at benefit costs – health insurance, PTO, retirement contributions add up to real money on top of base salaries.
But think about it as investment in employment stability. Staff with good benefits stick around longer, perform better, feel valued, and create less turnover chaos.
Replacing household staff costs thousands in agency fees, training time, lost productivity, and disruption. Investing in benefits that retain good staff prevents those replacement costs repeatedly over years.
The families who complain about benefit costs are often the same ones constantly hiring because they can’t keep anyone long-term. The families who invest in competitive benefits typically keep excellent staff for years and spend way less on turnover.
Getting professional help
Most families aren’t employment law experts. Working with household employment agencies, payroll companies specializing in domestic employment, or employment lawyers helps ensure you’re compliant and competitive.
They can structure benefit packages appropriately, handle legally required elements like workers’ comp and paid sick time, manage payroll correctly including overtime, and keep you updated on changing regulations.
Don’t just guess about household employment benefits and hope you’re doing it right. The costs of getting it wrong – either in terms of not attracting good candidates or in terms of legal compliance issues – exceed the costs of getting professional guidance.
Los Angeles has great resources for household employment support. Use them rather than trying to figure everything out independently.
