Because it’s horses and the days never run short. They run long.
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But you’re making a wild guess that the OP requires 12 to 15 hour days. When the OP is right here and can probably tell you.
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This is not a 6 figure executive job, it’s a groom on a farm. The rest of the world there’s a price per hour and that’s it, take it or leave it. The OP was asking if it was normal for a potential employee to demand more than was offered in that role in this case that was an extra bedroom. In this case she is not obligated to provide a 2nd bedroom or an extra 30k a year for one person to bring their family. You guys are throwing around someone else’s money because you think that they are financially better off than you…to be able to afford a live in groom…and that makes you defensive. She will probably find a single person or a couple who are more than happy with the price and the job. Or she won’t and she’ll have to reconsider.
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If the employer is offering a stipend and paying for off farm housing, that is likely income to the employee. Subject to taxes. But if a requirement of the job is to reside on the property for security or animal monitoring purposes, then the inferred costs of this housing is not income. But consult legal experts to determine the implications. Something else to think about.
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So I have a lot of experience providing employee housing which is what you described. Almost without exception world wide it is not allowed to have non employees living in employee housing. Landlords won’t allow it and insurance won’t cover them and they are impossible to evict once established. We did not allow overnight guests or children at any time either, period.
People constantly, and I mean constantly, try to sneak people in to live with them, so we also regularly walked through. That wouldn’t be acceptable with non employees obviously especially children
And yes I’m aware that sometimes executive level jobs provide family housing short term but there is always some way to insulate them from liability: stipend, corporate rental etc.
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That makes sense, thanks for sharing!
I should clarify that my housing was shared with other employees, not non-employees. I will update my post.
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My job in Wellington was very similar to the one OP described and I can count on one hand the number of days that I worked before 7:00 a.m. or after 4:00 p.m.
There are a lot of different types of people in the horse industry and not everyone runs their staff or horses ragged showing every single day of season.
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I’m not sure where the 12-15 hour days and all your hostility came from? This job when not showing, is honestly closer to a 6-8 hour job, max. When I do the work, I can do it all AND ride in 4 hours. Show days may be closer to 8-10, but that’s not the norm. I have kids, so show much more infrequently than your typical barn. It’s always 6 days, we pay someone else to do Mondays. There’s also flexibility to leave in the middle of the day and come back later to finish, if they wanted.
I’m merely asking if it’s NORMAL to pay for an entire family’s housing vs. what i’m offering.
And 30k is a 30% increase in pay. That IS significant by literally every employment measure.
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THANK YOU for this insight. It sounds like a stipend is the only way to go forward with this, so I will reiterate that.
Unless you want to get a lawyer involved and figure out some way to insulate yourself if this family destroys the rental property or refuses to leave in a year then yes I think it’s the only way forward.
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Here’s a suggestion: go to your boss and use this justification for this size raise, then get back to us regarding the outcome for you.
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