EMS Human Treatment Policy

Why This Policy Matters

In most households in Private Service, the Principals play a central role in shaping the tone, expectations, and emotional climate experienced by staff. While not always overt, their communication style, standards, and leadership approach can quietly influence staff morale, performance, and long-term retention. When challenges arise with highly qualified and vetted Professionals, they are frequently rooted in a misalignment between unspoken expectations and professional boundaries being crossed—making it essential to ensure clarity, consistency, and mutual respect from the outset.

Why is this so important to point out on a regular basis? When we are in our homes, we are our most genuine selves. We drop all the little things we do out of common courtesy to others, including professional boundaries and filters. This environment is the Private Service Professionals and Domestic Workers office. Your Home = Our Office

As a Principal, you set the tone of the home. A vast majority of Principals are wonderful people who treat their staff with kindness and respect. The below are our standards to inform those who don’t. Once you hire staff, you become an employer, cultivating a respectful, communicative, and supportive environment is not just ideal—it’s a fundamental baseline.

Non-Negotiables

Treat all staff with Dignity, Respect, and Human Decency regardless of role or tenure.
Avoid demeaning, derogatory, or disparaging language, raised voices, or passive-aggressive behavior.
Respect personal boundaries and privacy.
Respect your employee’s time off. As the employer, it’s your responsibility to ensure that FLSA standards are adhered to.
Do not expect staff to work while sick or injured.
Pay your employees in accordance with all local and federal employment laws.

Best Practices

Provide a written job descriptions and set clear expectations.
Offer regular feedback in a constructive, non-confrontational manner.
Encourage open dialogue and questions without fear of reprisal. This includes allowing your employee(s) to discuss work-related difficulties with the recruitment agency that placed them in the position.
A professional will always step in when needed. They also understand that a Private Service Professional’s job is as dynamic as the personalities we serve. However, before making permanent changes to their job description, it’s best to discuss the change with the Professional to make sure that other duties don’t faulter. Consider additional compensation if their duties are growing.
Allow reasonable breaks, meals, and time off, including time between shifts. Especially during travel. Provide separate and private accommodations and compensate them appropriately. Contact your agency for travel compensation recommendations.
Never speak negatively about one staff member to another unless it is with their supervisor addressing work-related matters.
To avoid the perception of favoritism and inconsistent treatment, apply rules and expectations uniformly across all staff.
Address issues promptly and fairly. If there is a Household or Estate Manager, make sure to bring them into the conversations with staff. If there are issues with new staff members, ask the reporting person to provide clear instances of negative actions to ensure that current staff aren’t responding negatively to the change(s) you envisioned when hiring the new person. An HR advisor may advise you to have them put it in writing.
Encourage inclusivity and understanding.
Be mindful of cultural, religious, and personal differences.

Recognition and Appreciation

A simple “Thank You” is the fuel of every Private Service Professional. While we understand that often no-news is good-news, an acknowledgement of efforts will go a long way.
Offer opportunities for growth or additional training when possible.
Provide Cost of Living Adjustments and other performance-based and discretionary bonuses/raises and opportunities for financial growth.

Conflict Resolution

Address misunderstandings directly and respectfully.
Avoid public reprimands or punitive behavior.
Bring in your Agency to mediate misalignment.

Not Just Bluster

This policy is not just a guideline; it is a standard. It governs the validity of our extended replacement guarantee and determines whether we believe if we are capable of ensuring a long-term placement with a client. We are committed to placing staff in homes where they are treated with respect and professionalism. Clients who do not align with these values may not be eligible for continued service or future placements.

The Opposite Side

The moment you hired staff, your home became someone’s working environment. Our clients who are making the transition into having household staff often find themselves wanting to be viewed as the caring, kind employer. This is applauded and received with gratitude by the Professional, but can be taken advantage of by a “Domestic Worker.”

Following a professional process and maintaining kind professional boundaries with your staff will help prevent your kindness being taken advantage of. This helps prevent mistakes or regrets born of your good nature.

Have staff address you by your last name. If you are not comfortable with that level of formality, Mr./Mrs. C or Mr./Mrs. H is a great alternative. Relaxed yet draws a clear boundary.
Stick to the agreement drafted. Including probationary periods.
Do not provide your employee with additional compensation that you don’t intend on continuing consistently and across all staff members.
If an employee asks for something that is contrary to their agreement or falls outside standard policy, discuss it with your recruitment agency before agreeing to anything. Especially if you are still within the guarantee /replacement window.
While an employee loves the sentiment, we are not a part of the family. Expressing this sentiment opens the door to unprofessional behavior stemming from a lack of experience and an inability to discern the difference between the literal phrasing and the intended context or nuance of the communication.
Refrain from sharing personal details and struggles unless the employee is hired to address them.

If you feel like you may be being taken advantage of, CALL YOUR ANGECY. That is what we are here for and is a cost calculated into your placement fee.