Your first day at a new house: how to stay safe as a maid, cook, nanny or driver

Why the first day matters

Most families are decent people who need help and want it to work. But the first day in a new house is the day you know least: you do not know the people, the building, or whether the job is what was described. A few habits on that day cost you nothing, and they are the same habits experienced workers use for years. None of this is about being suspicious of every family. It is about keeping yourself in control of where you are, who knows it, and what you have agreed.

Before you go: know who the family is

A Verified badge on Sevetu means a person's identity was checked against a government ID such as Aadhaar. It is an identity check, not a police check, and it cannot promise how anyone will behave. Whatever a profile shows, the habits on this page are what keep you safe.

Go in daylight, and take someone the first time

For a first meeting or a trial day, choose a daytime slot. Ask whether you can bring a companion: your husband, a sister, a friend, or another worker from your area. They can wait downstairs or come in for ten minutes to say hello. A family that wants to hire you will understand. A family that says "come alone, come late" has told you something.

If you are going for a live-in job, a nanny or japa job, or elder care where you will stay nights, be even more careful on the first visit. See the room where you will sleep and the bathroom you will use before you agree to stay.

Agree the work before you start it

Most fights in the second month come from things nobody said on the first day. Before you begin, agree these out loud and, better, in writing:

1. The tasks, as a list. "Sweeping, mopping, dishes for four people" is a job. "All housework" grows every week.
2. The hours, with a start and an end time.
3. The pay, the date it is paid, and how (UPI leaves a record).
4. The weekly off, a fixed day.
5. What happens on the trial day, and that it is paid.

On Sevetu these go into a digital work agreement that you and the family both accept in the app, so there is one copy of what was agreed and you keep it. The guide to the work agreement explains each line with the words families and workers actually use.

Two things you never do

Never give your original documents. Not your Aadhaar card, voter ID, PAN, passbook, ration card or driving licence. Some families ask for a copy for a police verification, which is normal and protects you too; give a photocopy and write on it in pen what it is for and the date. The original stays in your bag. A family or agent that keeps your originals "for safety" is holding them over you.

Never pay to start a job. No deposit, no registration fee, no "uniform charge", no advance to an agent. Sevetu is free for workers: making a profile, getting verified, applying and getting hired cost nothing, and Sevetu takes no share of your pay. Anyone asking you for money to get work is not giving you a job.

Keep your phone, and keep it charged

Your phone is your safety. Keep it on you, not in a drawer or a family member's hand, and charge it before you leave home. Some families do not want workers on the phone during work, which is fair; agree a time you can check messages, but the phone stays with you. Save these in your contacts before your first day:

• 112: India's single emergency number for police, fire and ambulance.¹²
• 181: the women helpline, open 24 hours, every day, for emergencies and non emergencies.³
• 7827170170: the National Commission for Women helpline.¹
• 1930: the cyber crime helpline, if someone takes money from you by phone or UPI fraud.¹
• The person at home who knows where you are.

112 is not only a phone call. The Ministry of Home Affairs says the 112 system takes requests by voice call, SMS, SOS, email, web and WhatsApp, among others, and sends them to the police, health, fire, women or children helpline that is needed.² 181 connects women to the police, One Stop Centres, hospitals and legal services, and also gives information on welfare schemes.³

If something feels wrong

Trust the feeling. You do not owe anyone an explanation for leaving a house where you feel unsafe.

• If a request makes you uncomfortable, say no plainly and calmly. "That is not part of the work we agreed."
• If you feel unsafe, pick up your bag and phone and leave. Say you are unwell if that is easier. Call or message the person at home as you walk out.
• If someone stops you from leaving, touches you, or threatens you, call 112. If you cannot speak, a message to your person at home with your location is the next best thing.
• If you are not paid for a trial day or the pay is short, do not argue at the door. Leave, write down the date, the hours and what was agreed, and raise it later with the record in hand.
• On Sevetu, use the report and block tools on the family's profile and tell the team what happened. It helps protect the next worker.

Your first week

The first day is not the only day. In the first week, keep sending your person at home a short message when you arrive and when you leave. Keep your own note of the days you worked and the pay you got. If the work starts to grow past the list you agreed, or the weekly off starts to slip, raise it in week one, calmly. It is far easier then than in month three.

If you are still looking, the guide to getting a house help job without an agent covers the profile, the paid trial and the red flags. And the e-Shram card guide explains the free government registration that links you to accident insurance and a pension.

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Written by the Sevetu teamSevetu is a hiring marketplace for household work in India, operated by Fiel Private Limited. These guides come from the questions families and workers ask us. Nothing here is sponsored, and where a number has no defensible source we say so instead of inventing one. About Sevetu

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