This is an interesting conundrum. A lot of factors could be considered in the decision process:

*What your employment agreement is with her, and how formal the agreement,
*How long you have employed her,
*What proportion of her income is dependent on your employment,
*How many other clients she may have to help distribute her income,
*How much you wish her to return and clean for you after the remodel,
*Whether you have moral or compassionate leanings to ensure she does not experience financial distress due to your remodeling.

There is no right answer, but one thought, assuming you definitely want her to return to clean the new space, would be to offer her some sort of partial income while you are away, as a sort of retainer.

Short of a written employment agreement stipulating terms and times, you probably have no legal duty to continue her services or pay if you decide to discontinue. So what you decide would then be what feels right and fair to both parties, such that an ongoing, successful relationship can resume, later.

JMHO

I have not had my cleaning lady since I started my remodel and she understands. Its like hairdressers, don't always have the same clientelle. I did however refer her to other people and that made me feel better about the situation

I felt bad about it too. In the end, I gave her small raise when we hired her back.

Thanks for the replies. She's been cleaning our house for seven years and is wonderful and I don't want to lose her. I've thought about paying her for half the time we'd be gone, which seems a little weird, since we don't have any formal agreement, and she won't actually be doing any work for us, but also fair in my mind. I'll also ask around and see if anyone I know needs a great house cleaner this summer. Giving her a referral or two is a good idea.