Advise on Baby & Maid Exps

[erkerk]

Hi,

Been working out on our monthly exps after our wedding. Heard so much on Baby & maid expenses but not sure how much it will cost, any kind soul can share some info?.

1) Maid levy - 250 to 295
2) Maid Salary - Philippines(ard360) Indonesia maid?
3) cater ard 100 per month for misc spending on medicine & other purchases for maid sufficient?
4) food - 300(for full day meal) for maid per month?
5) other baby exp? diapers, milk power, doctors etc..

 

[nilrep]

Hi!
(1) Maid levy - $200
(2) Maid Salary - Philippine about ($320) Indonesia ($260 to $280)
(3) Misc - $100 include food, medicine (provide your maid isnt the fussy type & homecook meals for most of the time)
(4) incl in the above item 3
(5) BB: Diaper - about $30 per month (depending in brand), milk powder about $50 - depend on what brand and whether you are breastfeeding. I think these are min. the most expensive is the education. Touch wood - healthy BB save on the medicate. Jab can go polyclinic, not that expensive

Hope this help

 

[sumiko]

Hi,
My own experience.
Milk Powder - Similac follow-up (abt $26.00 for 1 tin 900g) depending on how much bb drinks estimate to consume 1 tin in 7-10 days.

Diaper - Dryper L size (abt $17.00 for 72 pcs) estimate to use 4-6 pcs per day.

Infant seems "cheaper" cos only milk. when bb starts solid food, then u have to buy fish, meat, fruit. and ur "hidden cost" will increase.

Not forgetting that as bb grows, u need to buy new clothing and toys.

I agree with PO that Education is more expensive.

 

[erkerk]

hihi PO,
TQ for sharing

1) er...ytd I look at the MOM website, maid levy at $295 and if got elderly staying with us, will get rebate so pay $250. U paying $200, u r enjoying any other form of special rebate

2) can share share advise on your preference on PH or ID maid

I heard ID maid more primitive so got to spend more time to teach them..ID maid also only take Hala food right?
3) do we have to pay for maid's health jab? do they have to go for this type of health jab often? Btw, for food, I am suggesting to ask maid to cook and let her scope her portion of food and eat first but my hb say ok to sit and eat together but my MIL don't practice 'gong yong' spoon, wonder what is the usual practice.
4) I thought maid exps near to 1k + BB a few hundreds*phew*so..maid levy250+salary320+misc100+bbmilk 30+bbdiaper50=$750, looks like if breast feed + BB and maid don't fall sick often, 1K is quite sufficient to cover both maid and infant exps per mth

hihi sumiko

TQ:

Hm..I took the quickest consumtion, so milk cost ard $115 + diaper ard 50 = $165per mth & plus a few hundreds on misc.

We burn a big hole for hse reno and wedding, so I am trying to adjust our spending and saving, at the same time find out more on maid and bb, with the mind set, hopefully can cope both physically and financially

 

[erkerk]

hihi,

any others can share, share more info. on maid & BB exps? My MIL is working part time and lost touch in taking care of BB so I wonder if should ask her to quit to help look after BB. was thinking since need to pay her to look after BB so might as well get a maid who can help out with hse work. Any advise on Philippine and Indonesia maid?

 

[mummy_bs]

Hi erkerk,

think may be able to share with you on the maids from different origin... let me recall, my first was sri lanka (dun know why I ever think of them), the second was indonesian and finally, all the others are Filipino.

My sri lanka maid speaks very good english but maybe she too "old bird" liao, always tell lies and very lazy. Second was an indonesian, well, scare the hell out of me cos one day, I found copies of our family photos wrapped up with some form of long black feathers, inside her pillow! when I confronted her, she told me it's for PRAYER!!!! gosh, she was out of my house the following day. Later check with some of my malay friends and they told me that it is for "black magic"!

Some of my friends who are having indonesian maid also told me that they have similar experiences like their kids name being written on a piece of paper and wrap up with salt and many other more funny practices. they also complain that they are slower, communication problems, and one of them was even pregnant! my friend also blur when it happen cos the only time she was away from the house is to fetch her daughter, which she was usually back home in half an hour! Not to be bias, do you notice from the news that most of the maids who murdered the employers or their children are from Indonesia?

So far, I find that Filipino are best with children, cos most of them are smarter and not much of communication problem. They are also the most expensive but with the recent rise of wages of the indonesian maid to $280, so not much of a different. But having said so, as they are smarter, they also tend to give more problems like off days, phone calls etc etc... Over the years, i have learnt to tackle with some of their problems tactically, maybe later we could start a thread to share and discuss all the maid's problem, hahaha

Go with your feelings when choosing a maid, take your time and dun rush, visit different agent and get one that you feel comfortable with, remember she is going to stay with you for the next 2 years, if you dun like her look (excuse me for this), no matter how good the agent praise her, DUN or you will regret!

Also, I dun think it is safe to just leave the baby with the maid alone the whole day, MIL is also not a very good idea, will have lots of conflicts, believe me. so my advice is that to get your MIL to pop in after or before her part time work to check and keep an eye on both maid and baby.

 

[sumiko]

Hi,
Everyone has difference experience and "theory" on maid. sometimes, there is no right or wrong. important is u must use the suitable method/treatment.

I saw u have another thread on the same topic. To buy or not to buy shampoo, soap, toothpaste etc for ur maid? is really up to individual. is ur maid going to take care of ur baby? if yes and if she trys to cut cost by not using shampoo or soap, then how? but on the other hand, if u buy for her, she may finish them very fast. So, i buy for her the cheapest. If she wants to use some other brands, then she can always use her own money.

I think i made a wrong decision to let her keep her hair. though she tied a pony tail but she refuse to cut or trim and really look like a mess...

 

[etelle]

Hi sumiko
you eman we have a right to determine how she should wear her hair??? I am engaging a maid but don't know how to go about doing it....Hmmm....any one can help me like how to start? Nation maid agency the one that Xiang Yun advertise for is it good?

 

[tamarind]

Etelle,
It is best that you have an agreement with the maid before you decide to hire her.
For example
1. Must have short hair
2. Cannot put on make-up, not even moisturizer on face and hands. Definitely no talcum powder (Indonesians like to put this on their face)
3. Finger nails must be short, no coloring of finger nails

Ask her whether she agrees. Hire her only if she does. My neighbour even write a list of her duties on a piece of paper and ask her maid to sign it.

My first 2 filipino maids was from Nation. I will not go back to them again. It is not that they are bad, but I was unlucky to get incompetent maids from them. Also they have 10 pages or more of contract which I hated. If you do go to them make sure you read every line carefully.

 

[tamarind]

erkerk,
On the topic of filipino or indonesian maid, here's my opinion. My first 3 maids are filipino, they are all incompetent. They have no respect to elders. They hated my mother who is staying with us.

My current maid is Indonesian, she speaks good English and adores my children. She even taught my girl A - Z when she was 15 months old ! She can cook and keep the house clean. She is good friends with my mother and tells her everything. She can eat anything except pork, does not have to be Halal.

Whether it is filipino or Indonesian, it all depends on your luck whether you get a good maid or not. My friend's filipino maid only takes care of the baby during the day. My friend has to go home and do housework like mobbing the floor herself ! To me a competent maid should be able to do all of the following:
1. Take care of one baby on her own
2. Cook
3. Keep the house clean
The above is not very demanding. My mother took care of 2 children, cook and clean all by herself.

 

[erkerk]

hi mummy Bs, ai yo, your Indo maid so scarily..yes, agreed with you on their look else might worry might scare BB..kekekekeke, great idea to start the 'maid' thread

Now my relation with my MIL consider quite good so actually quite worry we might raise conflicts if she taking care of BB.

hi sumiko, yes, I accidently created 2 similar thread, don't know how to remove the other

hi tamarind, agreed with you that a competent maid shld be able to do all the 3 items if we schedule out for them, your fren can tahan still having to do hse work even with maid?

 

[mummy_bs]

hi tamarind,

I agree with you on that filipinos have no respect for the elders, that's why I also have list of rules and regulations, dos and dun on paper and get my agent to get her to sign on it before hiring her, my former agent refused initially but I told her that if she wanted me to sign on the contract, what is mine compared to hers. With the lists, I warned the maid that if she breaks anyone of them, off she goes and the air ticket will be borne by herself from the $400 salary that I will retain, one of the few rules on the top is that if my parents or my PIL are not happy with her due to irrespectfullness or conduct related problems, she will have to go. 2 of them were transfered cos they broke they rules. Other than the two, the others turn out fine. a little bit of problem here and there, not serious la, we are all brought up in different environment so cannot expect them to be perfect, 70 to 80 out of 100 are consider very good liao.

But I try not to be unreasonable, I will provide her with all the toiletries, eg, 2 bars of lux soap for 1 month and 1 bottle of shampoo for 2 months (she have short hair) etc, etc. I also educate my children not to abuse her such as screaming or hitting her, or too dependent on her. My kids will clear their own plates and cups and leave it at the basin for her to wash and many more.

I also do heard of indonesian maids who are good and competent but unfortunately for me, one experience is enough to scare the hell out of me. I later also found our from my boy, after she was gone, that she used to pinched him and pulled his ears!! She also didn't feed him properly, the threadfin fillet I bought for my son actually went directly to her belly! all these he didn't dare to tell me cos she always threatened him that if he tell, "hantu" will haunt him! My boy was only about 3 during that time.

Anyway, everybody have their own point of views and we are here to share our tots, it really depends on your luck and I still believe that you should go with your gut feelings, if the look of the maid doesn't please you, dun!

 

[tamarind]

erkerk,
I also don't know how my friend can tahan. I think she just want her maid to concentrate on taking care of her baby.

Mummy Bs,
I totally agree with you. To me finding a good maid is as difficult as finding a good husband.

My current Indonesian maid is the 5th maid I have in 1 year ! I refused to tahan incompetent maids, so I change until I get someone good enough. It is just that my first 3 maids are all filipino and they are all bad. My 4th maid is Indonesian, and guess what happened ? After 2 months she told me that my girl is very beautiful, she feels very sad looking at my girl, because she had an abortion before ! She asked to go back to the agency.

My current Indonesian maid meets all my expectations. I increase her pay from $260 to $320 a month, and give her a few hundred dollars of hong baos during Chinese New Year and her birthday. I believe in rewarding a maid well if she does the job well.

 

[mummy_bs]

wow tamarind, you very generous lei, but are you afraid that you will spoil her? sometimes my husband wanted to do that but I stopped him, but i did told my maid that we will give her bonus at the end of her contract ranging between 1 to 3 months depending on her performance. during the two years, strictly no extra cash except monthly salary. For this, they will usually "kwai kwai" and try to finished her contract.

Ya, finding a good maid is like finding a good husband, only difference is maid is short term contract while husband is lifetime contract, hahaha

 

[mummy_bs]

erkerk,

have to be tactful between maid and MIL lor, not so easy one lei. you can train the maid to do what you want her to do but you can't do the same to MIL, at the end of the day, MIL will feel that they have more experience cos they have brought up you husband so dun need you to teach or tell them what to do. aiyo, me go through that stage and not easy, our husbands will be sandwiched and many problems will arise. I became a SAHM to solve all the problems.

on the removal of thread, you might want to get Chin Leng to help, not sure if you can merge the threads.

 

[berrywife]

tamarind, sorry to butt in, I'm just curious- y your maid not allowed to put moisturiser on face(presuming she pays for it herself)?

 

[tamarind]

Berry,
When the maid carries a small baby, the baby can easily touch her face and hands. Babies usually like to suck their hands, so the moisturizer will get into their mouth ! Actually it is my mother who dislikes it.

 

[tamarind]

Mummy Bs,
I am not afraid of spoiling her. It will make her look forward to more hong baos, so she will be kwai.

Actually if the maid is good, I don't mind using her for long term. My auntie has a maid who has been with her for more than 30 years !

 

[hoho03]

hi, just want to join in.. anyone can advise me how to tell my maid tactfully to cut hair short.
Hers is getting long, although she tied but still untidy. Also afriad her hair drop into the dishes while cooking...
thks

 

[mummy_bs]

Hi hoho03,

how old is your maid and from which country?

 

[hoho03]

My maid is 26yrs old from Indo.

 

[erkerk]

Tamarind, is the increment mandatory or up to us? Will the maid expect it annually?\

Mummy BS, the bonus at end of contract is a good idea, agreed with u, like if we keep giving them extra $ on and off, they might expect it and ended up disappointed for not getting it and may try smtg funny hor. Wow, u really wei da to give up your job. I KS, worry things get out-of-way so had discussed with my husband, we both agreed getting a maid instead of asking MIL to take care of BB

Now, just hv to worry whether My MIL and maid can get along, my MIL quite blunt, sometime offend ppl also dun know.

 

[tamarind]

erkerk,
Usually after 2 years, if you want to renew the contract, you should give them an increment. If they are not happy with the amount of the increment, they can go home. If you think your maid deserves it, you can also give her increment annually.

 

[bluebellas]

Hi,

Does anyone know how I can extend my maid's work permit after 2 years? Do I need to go back to the agent?

I am thinking to extend my maid's contract by one more year. She has been quite good with my 18MO toddler, teaching him the alphabet, numbers and recently spelling all on her own initiative. Having said that, she's not perfect but at this point in time I'm just grateful she's good to my boy.

 

[mummy_bs]

Hi hoho03,

actually, it should be in the agreement when you first employ her, else, it is usually very difficult for us to convince them later on. if you have not done the above, then you need to know the character of the maid and handle them differently.

For example, if you know that your maid perspires a lot and she is vain, tell her how good she will look with short hair, get your family and friends to comments casually like "oh, 35 years huh? children all big liao hor?" then when they say no, only 26, then you say "ya lor, your face doesn't suit long hair, looks old and haggard....." blah blah blah.. it will take a few days to a month to really convince them that they really looks yurky with long hair. also, praises must continue after their hair cut.

If after trying many tactics, the best person is to get the agent involved, they will know ways to talk to them and get them to conform to what we want. share more details with us and we can share and discuss further, I believe a lot of us here are more than happy to share and discuss and to give you more sound advices.

erkerk,

not wei da la, no choice, 3 are too handsful and me staying with PIL who are both working, my eldest in P3, 2nd in N2 and youngest 8months with TBF. A lot of housework and running around so maid cannot cope also. what to do, need to be very thrifty lor. but having said this, the reward is great, able to spend quality time with my kids and watch them grow, it's a wonderful joy! simply love it.

 

[erkerk]

tamarind, oic..TQ

mummy BS, happy for u

the rewards are definitely worthwhile

 

[nilrep]

Hi erkerk,

For household that have children below 12 yr, there is a reduce in amid levey. That is why I only pay $200.

As most moms mention, getting a miad to a certain extend it really depend on you luck. There are both good and bad maid among fh and indo nationality. Mine is a Indo, can speak reasonably good english. My pority is BBs so as long as she love BB and take good care of them, small mistakes I can forgive and forget. Take good care of them but be firm with your rules so that they will not try to climb on to your top. For my maid I provide her with all things that she need, she dont need to spend any $ when she work at my place.

I dont think there is jab for maid, only 1/2 yearly check up required by MOM. About $20 per checkup

If everything smooth, $1K shall be enough..

 

[erkerk]

hi PO,

thk u

so we are comfortable to get one when BB comes, happy that my hb also confirm we getting maid instead of letting MIL to take care. good for me, less seeing less conflicts.

 

[mummy_bs]

Hi bluebell,

you can extend the contract yourself personally, my hubby did once but complained very troublesome, quite a bit of running around, so later we decided to pay a minimal sum to the agent to do it. it will costs about $200 (insuarnce, renewal of work permit and a couple of other things) if you do it yourself, with agent, can't remember liao, but not much difference, about $80 or $100 more for their running around expenses.

If you decided to do it yourself, I think you can try MOM online, you will be able to get quite a substantial amount of information there, that's what my hubby did last time.

cheers!

PO,
I think the S$20 checkup does not include X-trays right? if yes, must let me know where. S$1K is it for the engagement of new maid? if yes, think quite ex also, mine filipino only pay $320 agent fees, another S$1800 paid up front for the maid's loan which I am allowed to deduct S$300 monthly from her salary for 6 months, is yours deductible too?

 

[nilrep]

Hi Mummy_bs,

$20 dont cover x-ray, but not all medical check up need to do x-ray right, only appoint doc request. So far my maid only do x-ray the first time she came to spore (cover by the agency I think), the rest dont need, only blood test, urine test and normal check up. Very fast.

$1k refer to erkerk's monthly expenses for maid & BB.

I think I pay about $300 agency fees, $1610 paid out front for maid salary then $230 from monthly pay for 7 months... This is a year ago. I think the salary as increase for indo maid.

 

[mummy_bs]

PO,

if i am not wrong, think they have to do one xray after one year, remember that I have to bring her for xray myself somewhere in the middle of the contract.

and ya, agreed with you, maid and BB expenses will be around 1K but think can be slightly less if we TBF our babies. say maid (indo) $430, baby's pd fees $100 (can be much further reduce if at polyclinic), pampers $100, misc $100, approximately $800 I think.

 

[preggie]

Hi Bluebell,

My maid's permit is expiring soon too... i went online to renew.. not sure if there will be other things i need to follow up with.

 

[etelle]

hi erkerk
which means your maid be home alone to take care of bb ?

 

[erkerk]

hi etelle,

my MIL working part time, think will send maid to her place in the morning on some days. Some days got to leave maid at home to take care of bb, considering setting up view cam.

 

[nilrep]

Hi Mummy_bs,

My maid did not do X-ray on her second check up (after 1yr).

 

[mummy_bs]

mmmm.... how come mine need...sign.... very troublesome....

 

[babycutie]

tamarind,
Good to see you here. I need advise on getting a competent maid. Which agency did u get your current maid? Is she new or ex-sin? I will need her to look after my 15mths old girl (now) and an infant like bathing and cleaning (future). What type of criteria should I look for?

Currently I am paying my Indo Maid $300/mth which I find overpaid. She is quite staunch and request for prayers every night and puasa. We agree with her but she has to do her job well. However, she is very lazy. As my mum is staying with me. I realise most of the feedings are done by my mum. And she always goes to the toilet (dunno why). There was once when my mum was in the toilet and Belvia was making noise and crying in her playpen in the living and the maid did not attend to her. She was in the room dunno doing what. When my mum come out from the toilet, she then walk out of the room and told my mum she is looking out at the window to see whether her friend come for prayer or not. My flat is just next to a mosque... KAOS!!!!

I think I should change a maid. She already behave like that now. It will get worst if she puasa during Ramadan. Do you think I should tell the agent? She cried and pleaded with me not the tell the agent about her prayers and puasa. BUT I think I should voice out since I decide to change a maid. Can I have your opinion?

 

[tamarind]

babycutie,
I have also replied you in the other thread.

Sigh...I think you should change your maid. She is plain lazy. She is also weird so you must be very careful. Go and find a new maid, but do not tell her anything. Be nice to her otherwise she may do funny things to your girl. Make sure your agent comes to your house to take her away. Do not let her know until the agent comes, then let the agent handle everything.

My current maid is ex-sin. I don't really want to recommend the maid agency, because I got a bad maid from them, before I changed to this maid. Like I say it depends on your luck, it doesn't matter which agency.

Personally I prefer experienced maids. Try to find those whose previous work is very tough, like taking care of a few children, doing all the washing, cooking and cleaning. Then when they come to your house they will appreciate it better. It is also better to get those who are mothers to small children, they will need the money to support them. Also draw up a list of do's and don'ts and make sure she agrees before hiring her. I have written a list earlier in this post, but I think have to add more.
1. Must have short hair
2. Cannot put on make-up, not even moisturizer on face and hands. Definitely no talcum powder (Indonesians like to put this on their face)
3. Finger nails must be short, no coloring of finger nails
4. Cannot have handphone
5. Cannot pray (no offense to anyone)

The best is to ask around your friends, see if they have any good maids to transfer. You can do the paperwork yourself and save the agent fees, it is not very difficult.

 

[babycutie]

tamarind,
Thanks for the info. I will look out on the above. My current maid is my 3rd maid liao. My first one is good and competent but she steals so we changed. Then 2nd one is ok but she don't talk to my girl...kept shh..shh... and she wanted to go home so we send her back. Then this 3rd one has 7 years exp in Singapore with a Taiwanese family taking care of a 5 & 7 years old kids. A 15mths toddler and a 5 & 7 years old kids are 2 different category. Toddlers need more attention as they are not independent to do things. Whereas kids can do most of the things themselves. So I find this current maid not suitable to take care of my girl. Furthermore, she has no babycare experience which I am quite worried as my 2nd baby will be due in Feb and don't think she can cope well.


Though my mum is around but she is old liao and her mobility is very poor so can't help much.

 

[tamarind]

babycutie,
Yes with your new baby coming, it is best to get someone with actual experience taking care of new borns in Singapore. I had a maid who has 3 children of her own, but she does not know how to change diapers !

I hope that you will find a good maid soon.

 

[babycutie]

tamarind,
I hope to find a good maid too...

Can you share your exp with me on the following:-

1) Does your maid have off days? I really don't
encourage off days for my maid. I don't feel
save because you won't know what the maid
will be up to as we don't follow her.

2) What will you do if your maid request to call
home? For me I will buy a phonecard for her.
Do you think she should pay for her own
phonecard?

3) How about incoming and outgoing mails of the
maid? In fact, I don't allow my maid to seal
her letter for postage. Am I too much? As for
incoming letter, I will check whether there
is suspicious enclosure.

4) What about toiletries like shampoo, soap,
sanitary napkins, toothpaste? Did u provide
your maid all these? I provide my maid all
these. Of course I get the cheapest one.

5) And about keeping hair short. Do you pay for
her haircut? I paid for my previous maid. So
far have brought her to cut 2 times.

6) Do you allow your maid to use water heater
when having bath? My current maid use it
without getting permission from us. But we
just let her be because I think she has
sensitive nose. She sneezes a lot upon waking
up or taking something cold. She can't take
filter water. She will sneeze like hell. We
install a water filter at home.

Really so many things to consider ......

 

[babycutie]

Tamarind,

One more question. Do you set a timing for your maid to take her bath?

My current maid always bathe very late at 8+ or 9+. And sleep with wet hair. My mum ever scold her not to bathe so late and sleep with wet hair. Otherwise she will sneeze but she don't listen. My 2 previous maid bathe at 7+. Then take their dinner and continue with washing the utensils. But my current maid said if she bathe at 7+, later when she do washing, she will get dirty. I think this is just an excuse. Its because she pray everyday after her bath and before prayer have to keep very clean so she want to finish all her chore before taking her bath and pray in the toilet.

So headache.... Lessons learnt. Next time must list down. NO PRAYERS, NO PUASA as a rule. In fact this is a rule between the agent and the maid. Think I really should tell my agent that my maid breach the rules. What do you think?

She ever told me she don't want to continue working after 1 month and request to go back to her ex-employer. I let her call her ex-employer and they don't need her service anymore. And also I had a word with her ex-employer. The ex-employer told me that she is very religious conscious and pray everyday. Sometimes when they call her, she don't respond. But also told me that because of her religious believe, she don't steal or do anything funny. That's why I let her pray and puasa. But I find that she is not competent to take care of toddler. What will you do if you were me?

 

[tamarind]

babycutie,

1) My current maid did not have any off days for the first 8 months. After that I gave her off days once in 2 - 3 months, for a few hours only. When you have your new born, it is better not to let your maid have off days at all. She might contract some diseases from her friends and pass it on to your baby. This is what happened to my girl when she was a baby. But do let your maid have some interaction with those maids in your neighbourhood, she needs some socialization to keep her sanity.

2) The maid must pay for her own phonecard. I let my maid call using my home phone, then deduct from her salary.

3) I don't check her incoming or outgoing mail.

4) When my maid first came, I will provide her with these because she does not have any money. Later she buys using her own money. For sanitary pads I will buy for her, because I am terribly scared of staining so I made sure she always have a lot.

5) I think if you insist that she has short hair, then you should pay for her haircut. I also paid my maid's haircut.

6) I did not stop my maid from using water heater. But she did not use it because she prefers cold water.

For bathing you can set a time for her to bathe. In fact, you can write down a schedule for her. What time she need to wake up, feed the baby, cook, eat, bathe, all this can be listed in a piece of paper for her. The best is made sure she agrees and sign on it before you hire her.

You should tell your agent that your maid breach the rules. But if you are sure you don't want to keep her, tell the agent not to say anything to her, in case she creates more trouble. Will your agent give you a new maid free of charge ? If they want to charge you than you can use this to argue with them.

I cannot tahan an incompetent maid. I felt especially bad if my mother has to do all the hard work because the maid cannot do it. I will definitely change the maid. But then it is no guarantee that your next maid will be a good one, sigh...

If possible, find a maid who has worked in Singapore, interview her personally and talk to her employer also.

 

[babycutie]

tamarind,
I did draft out a timetable for her. Ended up she told my mum her ex-employer don't give her time-table to work.

Yesterday my maid request to talk to me. She told me she has try her best and she can't handle taking care of my girl. I won't want to keep her if she has no heart to work with me. I will use this to fight for free replacement and the prayer and puasa issue. And I told her she has to change herself to suit the environment and not environment change to suit her. And I told her no other employer can tolerate her for praying and puasa and she has to change this habit. God will not punish her for not doing so because she has no choice. If she want to work in Singapore, she has to change. Otherwise she can go back indonesia and pray from morning till night and no one will stop her.

My mum kept complaining to me that the maid is lazy and she has to do all the job for the maid. The best solution is to get a good maid. Bo bian. I told my current maid to give me time to find a really good maid and I can't promise when I can release her back to the agent and she agrees.

I will draft out a Letter of Employment for the maid listing down all the rules & regulations to sign before hiring her.

How do you interview the maid personally? Only transfer maid then we can do so right? It is not possible to interview a new maid face to face leh.

This time round I will insist the agency that I want to talk to the new maid ex-employer. But what if the agent told me it is not possible because they don't have record? How can I handle?

Can you advise what questions should I ask the maid? Especially taking care of 2 infants. I have no experience leh.

 

[kckc]

Tamarind,
Seems like u are expert in the maid issue. I had a transferred maid and has worked in mysia and sin (2months) before i got her.
My maid run away last month and later was found by the agent. I of course did not want her service anymore as i have yound children at hom. However, i have paid the agency on the up-front loan and now i can only wait for her to be transferred. I thought of sending her back but then my pre-payment will be all gone and also no replacement. I have to pay her food & lodging that is $10 per day and levy fee for 30days. After that the agent has to take care of it. What i am uncomfortable is that her w/permit has to be still under my employment until she is being transferred and moreover the agent will need me to continue paying the levy even after 30 days and reimbursed me back later. I asked the agent how long this has to be and he told me the max. they will keep her is 3moths. Pengz! I dont know why MOM does not have any regulation to protect the employer for run away maid as it is a wrongful act. Instead the employer still have to pay their F&L, levy etc. If every maid dont feel like working and run away and then eventually the employer still have to cover their cost...how can this be fair?
My advice for those looking for maid, dont go to those small agency with 1 or 2 people. They will have hard time to get their maid transferred out!
Also think carefully before you really need a maid, sometime they can give you more stress than help you.

 

[tamarind]

Babycutie,
Yes you can only interview a transfer maid. For new maids I heard there is a maid agency who can arrange for you to go to the training centres in Batam or Bintan to interview the maids.

The new maid should have her ex-employer's contact number. If she insist you can't talk to her ex-employer then you know something is fishy. There is nothing you can do, just choose another maid.

Here are some questions you can ask.
1. How many children you take care of ? How old are they ?
2. How do you feed the baby ? How do you change the diapers ? How do you bathe the baby ?
3. If the baby don't want to eat, what will you do ?
4. Are you scared of anything ? (I got one ex-maid who is scared of thunder ! She shivered so hard like she is going to get a heart attack, like this how to take care of baby ?)
5. Are you on any medication ? (Also check her skin make sure she does not have any problems)
6. Do you cook for the family everyday ? Do you clean the house ? How do you mob the floor, using a mob or kneel down to wipe ?
7. If you have to work, and there is no one else to look after the baby, what do you do ? (For a small baby she should be able to use a sarong to carry and work at the same time. For a toddler it is safer to leave in a playpen)

Hope this helps.

 

[kckc]

babycutie,
How come u still want to keep your current maid since she has no heart to work for you? Wont it be even worse..
Drafting a letter of employment on the rules n regulation is one formality...but after they got employed all is different liao!
Only transferred maid can be interviewed face to face. New maid you can ask the agent to call to their country and talk to them but new maid normally knows english well...

Good luck in yr new search!

 

[babycutie]

tamarind/KC,

Thank you.
My agent maid's training centre is at Jakarta.
Most likely can only interview through phone.
Should I ask my agent to fax over the time table to the new maid to screen through and get her to sign on the copy if she agrees with the job schedule?

I will interview the maid first. Then get the maid to sign the time-table, rules and regulations that she agree to take upon the assignment. Will this work?

 

[babycutie]

KC,
I have no choice. I really need a maid to help to take care of my girl. Although my mum is at home, she can't carry heavy thing (my girl is pretty heavy) and can't squat permanently due to hip-joint operation on both legs.

I have told my current maid to try to do her part before I get a replacement and she agrees. My mum can help to look out on the taking care side.

 

[tamarind]

KC,
I am no expert, I am just unlucky enough to change 5 maids, and 3 maid agencies. I learn everything the hard way.

I know about the $10 food & lodging fee, but I am surprised at the 30 day levy. Is this written in the contract between you and the agency ? If it is not written you don't have to pay them. If they insist that you pay tell them you will report them to MOM, maid agencies are very scared of MOM.

One maid agency tried to ask me to pay 2 weeks levy, but they did not have it written in their contract, so of course I would not pay. But in your case if it is written in the contract then there is nothing much you can do.

It is not MOM regulation that you need to pay for food & lodging and levy for 30 days if you decide not to keep the maid. In fact you can straight away cancel her work permit, buy an air ticket and send her back home. But in your case you will lose the maid loan, so you are bound to the agreement with your agency.

That's why I really hate the $2000 maid loan. Some maid agencies will let you pay by post-dated cheques. They will return you the cheques if you decide to return the maid before her loan is paid up. Another maid agency I went to told me that I don't need to pay any maid loan for transfer maids already in Singapore. I only need to pay the agency fee.

One thing is never get those maids who worked with their employer for only a few months. They must have problems that the employer cannot tahan. Also I find that working in other countries is not the same as working in Singapore.