A cook, a house help, a driver, a nanny, the building’s guards and cleaners. The gifting question comes up mainly at Diwali and it deserves a plain answer rather than a tasteful one.
Cash is the right answer
It is what is wanted, it is what is useful, and it is not a lesser gift.
The instinct to give “something nicer than money” is well meant and it is usually about the giver’s discomfort with the transaction rather than about what helps. An object chosen by an employer, for an employee, from a different income bracket, carries an implied judgement about what they should want.
A bonus does not.
What the convention actually is
Broadly, across urban India, and it varies by city and by household:
| Typical Diwali bonus | |
|---|---|
| Full-time cook or house help | One month’s salary, or close to it |
| Part-time help, several houses | A proportion, or a fixed amount |
| A driver | One month, commonly |
| Building guards, cleaners, lift operators | A collected amount per flat |
| A nanny or full-time carer | One month, often more |
⚠️ These are conventions, not rules, and what matters more than the figure is that it is given, on time, in an envelope, and without being made into a performance.
Where an object fits
Alongside the bonus, not instead of it.
Two that genuinely work:
Something for their family, chosen by them. Sweets, clothes for children, something asked for. The distinction is that they chose it.
Photographs, in the specific case where the relationship warrants it.
A nanny who raised your children for eight years, a cook who has been in the house for fifteen, a driver who took a child to school every day for a decade — those are real relationships and they usually end without any record at all.
Thirty prints at ₹270 of a decade, given alongside the bonus, is the one version of an object that is not condescending here, because it is a record of something shared rather than a purchase made on somebody’s behalf. Giving prints one at a time →
What to avoid
Something instead of cash, when cash was expected.
Used or handed-down items, presented as a gift. Passing things on is fine and normal; framing it as a Diwali gift is not.
Anything that assumes a lifestyle. Décor for a home you have not seen, an appliance they may not have space or supply for.
Making it public. Giving in front of family, guests or other staff turns it into a demonstration.
For building staff
A collected amount per flat, organised by the association, is easier and fairer than each household deciding separately — and it means the guards on the night shift, who nobody sees, are not left out.
The rest of the year
⚠️ A Diwali bonus does not settle the year. The things that matter more are prosaic: paid leave that is actually taken, salary paid on time, medical costs covered when they come up, and being asked before a plan is changed.
No gift substitutes for any of that, and it is worth saying in a guide about gifting.
The timing, which matters more than the amount
Before Diwali, not on the day.
The bonus is what pays for the festival — clothes for children, sweets, travel home, a contribution at their own family’s celebration. Given on the day, or after, it arrives too late to be used for any of it.
A week ahead is the convention that actually helps, and it is the single easiest thing to get right.
The same applies to anybody travelling home for a festival: the money is needed before the journey, not after it.
Frequently asked
What should I give house help at Diwali? Cash, typically around one month’s salary for full-time help. It is what is wanted and it is not a lesser gift.
Is it better to give a gift instead of money? No. An object chosen by an employer carries an implied judgement about what the person should want. A bonus does not.
When does an object make sense? Alongside the bonus — something for their family that they chose, or photographs where there is a long shared history.
What about building guards and cleaners? A collected amount per flat through the association, which is fairer and includes the night shift.
Does a Diwali bonus cover it? No. Paid leave, on-time salary and medical costs when they arise matter considerably more.
Part of our guide to office gifting etiquette. See also: gifts for a neighbour and Diwali gifting etiquette.
Alongside the bonus: Print packs from ₹270 · All 11 keepsakes