Key receipt: You and your domestic help on the safe side

Trust is a good thing, but control is better. This saying is certainly applicable to the household as well. Using our key receipt is an efficient way to confirm the exchange of the keys as well as regulating the consequences in case of a loss.

Which house keys did I give to my domestic help? What day was it again? Did one of my children lose one of the keys or was it my cleaner? Did I lose them? And who will be responsible for covering the costs, now that my cleaner lost the keys on her way home? Questions whose answers can often lead to heated discussions and accusations of all kinds. However, false accusations and possible misunderstandings can be avoided in the first place. By using our key receipt, such situations can be resolved before they get out of hand.

Key receipt – more certainty for employers and employees

Our key receipt can be downloaded for free and is available in German, English, French and Italian.

Key receipt English

Key receipt German

Key receipt French

Key receipt Italian 

The template for our key receipt is filled in, signed and printed out within a few minutes. By providing the information of the employer – name, place and date – the employee confirms the receipt of the keys. Furthermore, one of two options on the receipt can be chosen which regulate the consequences in case of a loss of the keys.

First option: Any costs incurred by the loss or damage of the keys will be covered by the employer. In case of an act of gross negligence by the employee, the employee is eligible to cover a smaller part of the costs (Art. 321e OR).

Generally speaking, the employee can only be made liable for the damages in case the keys were lost on purpose or in an act of gross negligence. However, the employer needs to make sure that the risk of a potential damage is kept to a minimum. For example, keys should never be labeled with a name or an address. By disclosing information on the keys, the exact address cannot be identified, the employer prevents any burglaries from occurring and the keys do not have to be replaced, hence no additional costs. You will find more information on the legal situation here.

Second option: In case the employer has taken out a household insurance with quitt, any costs incurred through the loss or damage of the keys are covered by the household insurance. This means, neither the employer nor the employee will have to pay for the replacement of the keys.

We highly recommend filling out the key receipt right after the signature of the employment contract. Both parties will be on the safe side from the very beginning.

By the way, all employees of quitt have signed this exact key receipt as well.

Would you like to have the key receipt translated into any other language? Just leave us a comment.