All about Hiring Helper/Maid in Singapore

MistyCloud

Active Member
I'm new to it and my maid is coming in 2 week's time so would be glad if I can get advise from experienced mums here.

Firstly, wanna find out how do you all get your maid to wash her own clothes? I'm definitely asking her to wash her undergarments separately.
 


Hi,

My maid used my washing machine to wash her clothes, coz the amount of water she used to handwash is alarming. Unless you want to limit her washing to 2 pails of water (water in their village is free/cheap so they dont realise how ex is PUB charging us).

I think you need to set expectations right in the first place. We took it easy initially thought that she need time to adapt, but she get lazier as time goes by. Things that she was not asked to do and now u ask her to do, she will "make noise". Make clear what is her responsibilities.
 
I was thinking of listing and printing out the paper for her to keep. Don't know whether she can understand or not.
 
Agree about the water usage... It's really alarming... My maid came and left after 2 weeks and in that 2 weeks alone, my water reading increased by 200%! Her usage in that 2 weeks is equivalent to 2x me and my husband combined!!
 
Similar like what mocha_c mentioned, I suppose is due to the washing of clothes... I didn't check on her but I hear the water keep running for a good 20-30mins non-stop when she's hand washing her own clothes... And I tink she's relaxing and enjoying my rain shower inside the bathroom as well...
 
Wah... I feel like have so many things to teach her once she's here and wants to set her expectation right also. Don't want her to think that I'm asking her to do more once baby is here. Coz I'm getting my maid in about 1.5 mths before delivery.
 
Goggle and search for maid house rules. I find some advice in the templates giving some good examples to new employers.
 
undergarments i think my parents' maid wash her seperately coz she hand wash...
her clothes i think machine wash with my family ba...
but most of my family laundry is hand wash, only home clothes is machine wash...
we treat her like own family since she working here for 20yrs le..
 
I also want to eventually treat her like my own family but guess for a start, it's better to lay some ground rules. Dunno what to expect and hope she can manage with a young infant also.
 
I think that (personal opinion) you cannot treat them like your family when they first come. They need to know that they come here to work, not enjoy. If they shown to be appreciative, I am sure we will treat them well too. I think really hard to find responsible maid nowadays.

It is good to lay ground rules when they first come, eg. must tie up hair (imagine her hair all over when feeding your kid), need to bath everyday (some first time maid dont do that everyday I heard). Also must make it clear that they need to take care baby at night.

After being a year in my house and having off days, her behavior getting from bad to worse. E.g. she start putting her used clothes all over like this is her house. When I question why the used cotton wool not thrown and left at sink, she say it belong to my sister in law!!! (i employ her to clean my house, so what if my sis in law left there?)
 
Agree must lay ground rules right. Especially using of handphones is forbidden during working hours must be emphasis. Say that they cannot carry their handphone with them and their family nd friends cannot call her during the day. Personally communication only allowed from 8-10pm example and after she finish her work!! And handphine cannot be left to charge over night!!
 
Agree... I didn't know and let my ex-maid use hp overnight... In the end she didn't sleep, wake up every 2 hrs to pee.. End up disturbing our sleep and she got very bad tempered due to lack of sleep..
 
Yes, I agree with the mummies on the use of handphone. Can only use handphone after finish work and for maybe half hour (set the time for them). I don't allow my maid to log into my house internet. Else will be facebook and chikka all day long.
 
i think maybe for the new maids to set for the ground rules..
as time goes by, i think need to be slightly more relax, if not maid also will feel stressful...

for example at working time, i also read book, surf facebook and chat in forum.. if my boss so uptight on me, i definitely will feel very depressed.
 
Haha.. yup, agree.

I also intend to relax more when the trust is built up.

BTW, how do you decide on what toiletries to get for the helper? Do you her choose what she wants?
 
I understand that some employers do not provide toiletries for the maid. I provide for her bath foam/shampoo/pad/toothpaste etc (basic and I decide the brand). if she want to choose brand, she buy herself. I told her it will be provided based on reasonable usage, cannot be every month ask for new bottle. Some employers will ask the maid to buy their own pads. When they first arrive, most won't have money. May have to provide them (if they dont have) till they get their pay.
 
my parents also provide for her.. but i think my maid bought her own because she prefers some brands
 
Did you check her bag on the first day to acknowledge all valuables?

Also, for off day, what is a reasonable time off on Sunday?
 
my parents' maid is quite old liao.. 40s, so she seldom take time off.. even take time off mainly is do her errands or go church....
she normally take half day (sometimes morning off sometimes afternoon off)

but young maids must becareful...
jurong west swimming complex always gt maids in bikini...
 
MOM wrote somewhere that off day should be at least 8 hours. I give her off from 8.30am-6.30pm. If she come back late, i told her it will be considered another off day (so far still back before 6.30pm). Actually off day do not have to be on Sun (mutual agreement). For my maid, I can see that after she has off day, more pattern came out. I don't really believe the maid need the off day to be on Sun to go church. My maid said that she would want off day go church when she first come my house. Now she has off day, I never see her step into any church.

I do not check her bag. I told her to surrender all her Singapore money to me (I have a coin box which can be locked). She hold the key while I keep the box. So any Singapore cash found in the house belong to me. When she need cash, will inform me to take out from the coin box. This is to avoid conflict on whose money it belongs later (advised to me by my boss who employ many maids).
 
That's good advice. All valuables or sgd only? But then every off day, I'll need to open the box and take out the money and when she returns, count and put in again?
 
A few things I need help on:

-How do you manage TV time?
-What about house wifi? Allow maid to use?
-Payday? Pay at end of the month?

Thanks for your help in advance!!
 
A few things I need help on:

-How do you manage TV time?
We seldom watch TV so we didn't give her TV time..

-What about house wifi? Allow maid to use?
We allowed her to use wifi freely but tink she abused this and used throughout the night and didn't sleep.. Our friend told us to just let them use their prepaid SIM card to surf and at their own expense so that they will also limit their usage..

-Payday? Pay at end of the month?
Depends on which day they come in. Agency recommends to bank in the salary instead of giving her cash..

Thanks for your help in advance!!
 
Hi,

-How do you manage TV time? No special TV time, if she finish her work and want to sit there watch with us, we are ok.
-What about house wifi? Allow maid to use? No connection to my house wifi, she has to buy her own data plan etc to surf web suing HP. They will abuse the wifi. My maid get to use my mil house wifi, don't want to sleep, finish work in a flash so that she can press her handphone, chit chat with her friends.
-Payday? Pay at end of the month? Payday is one month after she come. MOM stipulate we need to pay her within 7 days. She can choose if she want to bank in or take cash. But if the latter, you need to make her sign over that she received her pay every month (need to produce this proof when request by MOM). She don't have valuables.

Yes, if she go off, will draw out money from box and when she come back, will count and put in (counter sign by both parties). She go off only twice a month.
 
I have more questions:

-Are employers responsible for maid's meals on off day?
-Do you ladies give your maid a space with lock for her things or no lock at all?
 
Hi,

Replies to your questions:

1) No, she settle her own meals during off day.
2) I give her some space to keep her things (no lock), no valuable so no need lock.
 
Hi Misty Cloud,

I do have a rule listing however I cant upload as a file here. I go through with her and make her signed 2 sets.
I will give her one set and keep the other set.

List of House Rules
Our expectations of a Good Domestic Helper
Your Personal Hygiene

You have to tie up your hair neatly at all times, except when you bathe and sleep, so that you don’t look messy.
You cannot wear sleeveless or very sexy clothes when you are working. You cannot use make-up or nail polish at all.
You have to bathe and brush your teeth at least once a day. Change your clothes whenever it is dirty, and make sure you have no body odour at all time.
You are not allow to put on any jewellery or any costume accessories at all time
You cannot share food with the Children’s unless they do not want to eat anymore
You cannot apply anything that is oily or has a strong No perfumes or oil.
You must always keep your finger and toe nails short and clean.
Always wash your hands with hand soap after using the toilet, after doing your
chores, after eating, when we come home from outside, before cooking,
before preparing the meal for the family
You will use the shampoo, soap and sanitary pad we bought for you. If you want to choose the brand, you must pay for it using your own salary
You can only use the toilet in the kitchen. You cannot go into the master bedroom toilet except when attending to the kids
You cannot use the washing machine or dryer. You must hand wash your bedsheets and own cloths daily.Do not mix our cloths with yours.

Your Conduct Listen carefully to instructions and follow. Please do not argue with us when we give you instructions. Since we are the employers, things will be done our way.

Be humble, mature and responsible. If we tell you that you have done something wrong, apologise and do it correctly. Apologise saying ‘Sorry maam/sir’, not ‘ya’ or ‘ok’. Remember your mistakes and do not repeat them again, or you will be wasting everyone’s time.

You must be polite and greet everyone who comes to our house or when we visit their houses. This is good manners.

Please greet us and our parents before you eat. If we are having meals at other people’s houses, do greet the owners as well. This is basic courtesy to be thankful for your meals.

Please do not talk to outsiders without our permission. If you are outside and someone comes to speak to you, move away or let us know. Only talk to people we know, including other helpers we know.

You cannot open the door to any stranger without our permission. We will tell you if someone is coming.

Answer the phone if you are alone at home. It will usually be us. If it is someone else, just say we are not home and to call back later.

You can only enter our room. If you need to do something inside, like cleaning and packing, do not sit or lie on the bed, only sit on the floor if you need to attend to the children’s.

You cannot enter the rooms of other people’s houses unless we ask you to, or our children’s is inside. If you need to do something inside, like cleaning and packing, ask our permission first.

You cannot watch TV or read the newspaper when you are supposed to be doing your work or taking care of the children’s. You can read books if you have the time, especially cookbooks. Do not turn on the television on your own, especially when you are alone in the house. You can read, write, or just rest after you have finished your chores.
Do not shout, you must walk to the children’’s or us if you need to tell us something.

After you have finished repaying your loan, you can use your own salary to get a prepaid card for use. You can only use your handphone after 9pm, or if we allow you to rest earlier. Your handphone must be off and kept away from 6am to 9pm as that is your working time. We do not want you to be distracted when taking care of the children’s. If you break this rule, we will keep your handphone and not allow you to use it anymore.

As we are not Christians, you can only pray at home.

We will keep all your money for you, and you can keep track in the handbook. When you need the money to buy things, tell us how much and we will pass it to you.

You have to inform us immediately if you are slightly sick. If you are sick and don’t see a doctor, we will have to take care of you when you are very sick. You may pass the germs to the family.

Please tell us if you hurt yourself. We want you to get treated immediately in the right way. Do not use your own medication. We will give you ours.

Please do not use any of your traditional ways on us or the children’s. Just do your job well and we will treat you well like a member of our family.
Do not ask us for an off day as that is part of our agreement. We will go out as a family.

You cannot tell outsiders what happened in our house or what we say. This is simple respect for us.

You must always be honest and tell the truth. Please do not lie to us about anything. If we find out you lied about anything, we cannot trust you anymore.

You must NEVER steal anything - clothes, things, money or food from us or anyone else. If you steal, we will send you to the police and you will GO TO JAIL. You will also not be able to come back to Singapore to work FOREVER.
You cannot accept any gifts from anyone, if yes, you have to inform us and show us the content.
Do not disturb us when we are in the bedroom unless is urgent else wait till we come out or the next day then tell us.
 
Your JobTaking care of the children’s is your most important job. You have to take care of them well, then do housework.

You cannot shout, beat or scold the children’s .If they are naughty or you cannot handle them, tell us and we will teach you how. If you treat them well, she will love you too.
You must watch the children’s carefully and make sure they don’t get hurt.
You must ask permission before you are allow to bring the children’s out of the house
Hold the children’s hand whenever you are outside the house. Follow the safety rule.
Check the time at all time, do not be late to send the children’s to school

If something happens when you are bathing, changing the child, like raining or water boiling, always take care of the child first. Finish what you are doing with the child quickly then go do the other things.

If you think the children’s is sick, tell us immediately. A small thing might be very bad so we have to give medicine fast.

We will give you instructions on what to do. You must reply “yes, maam/sir” if you understand. You must always ask if you do not understand our instructions or have forgotten something. We will not be angry with you for asking, but if you do something wrong because you did not ask, then we will be angry.

When we ask you if you know how to do something, tell us the truth. We will show you how to do everything till you understand. You must follow and do all the jobs.

We will give you a reasonable amount of work to do every day. If you cannot finish, you must tell us the reason, and we will adjust the schedule if it is necessary. Be fast, but make sure everything is clean.
You must always ask us if you want to do something we did not tell you to do. We have our own ways of doing things so just follow. Don’t try to use your own ideas because they may be wrong.

When we go to our parents’ houses, you must also help to do the housework there, like sweeping and moping the floor, cooking, cleaning, washing dishes and others.

When we go to our friends’ houses, you must also help with the cleaning, cooking, washing dishes and others, if we are having our meal there.

Help us to save money by not wasting water and electricity or things. We will give you tips on how to do a good job while saving money, like always turn off lights when you are not in the room, don’t wash things with too much water, can use last rinse for washing clothes to mop the floor, and make sure the lights, switches and gas are off before we leave the house.
Check out the note pad stick on the fridge, you may receive message from us.
Write down the household items that going to run out need in a shopping list. If need urgently tell us and we will replace it.

Always make sure that the window grilles are locked when you are cleaning windows. Always close and lock the window grilles after putting out or keeping the clothes.

If you break something, let us know, in case we need to replace it. Don’t let us find out only when we need to use it. Be more careful the next time.

Please put things back to where you took them from. Do not remove anything from its place without checking with us if it is ok. Else, we will not be able to find out things in the future.

Depending on our schedule, we will inform you what time to wake up the next day else will be everyday 5.30am till the children’s goes to bed.

There are different cloths/brooms/mops/pails for different areas/purposes. Remember them and use them accordingly. If you cannot remember in the beginning, please ask, as we will be upset if you use the wrong one and dirty them.
We will provide enough food for all your meals. We will tell you which are the items for you. Or else ask for permission.

We will provide all bath items, toothpaste and sanitary pads. Do not use the other toiletries in the bathroom. You will have your own set.

Your agreementIn return for no off-days, we will pay you the additional allowance

- Your family can call Sir’s handphone number if there is a need to speak to you during the 1st 4 months. You can buy your own calling card when you get your pay and call them once a month. You can also give them our address so that they can write to you. You can write to them as many times as you want. We will pay for the paper, envelopes and postage.

-These house rules only help you to perform better in our home. A good helper will try your best to follow my house rules. If you break my rule or do not want to follow, you can always ask to leave.

Please sign below to state that you accept and promise to work according to the above expectations set out for you as a Domestic Helper.
_________________________________
Name :
Date :
 
Wow, thanks. it's very comprehensive.

I've decided not to give her a locked cabinet in case she abused it to keep stolen things or what. At least not for the first few months...
 
Gave up on hiring a maid! In the end in the amount of time I took to teach her/enforce on how to do a chore, I could have done it myself twice or thrice. Now I just get my kids to help with the basic chores as they should :)
 
I got a transfer maid and it's so much easier to guide her coz she already knows how to do all the basic stuff. She has been in SG for 4 yrs.
 
Dear all, I'm releasing a maid for transfer as my kids are going to childcare next year. Interested parties please pm me. Maid will be available from 1st Jan 2015. Prefer to work near Amk area. Prefer to work for Chinese family. Have experience to cook and take care of young kids. Please whatsapp to me 91822664.I will be travelling next week, dela

yed response is to be expected. Thanks all..
 
Now my transfer maid asked for advanced home leave this Dec. She has been with us since late Oct last year, what should i look out for if i decide to give it to her?
 
We were thinking of withholding a certain amount of pay until she comes back or ask her to leave some of her savings here with us and we will remit back for her for free when she returns. Kind of serves as a bond.

Don't know if that's ok....

What's the procedure for applying home leave for her too?
 
I'm changing maid. What should i look out for? Like Work Permit etc. Do i cancel the moment i bring her back to agency or how does it work?
 
Hi dear,

Anyone in need of getting a new maid or to replace their existing one here.

We have hired an Indonesian maid for about 2 months ago. She is good in the sense that initiative on the house works without much of our guidance as what we have expected earlier. She is also caring of my 4 years old boy and a new born baby. Just one set back is that she is not well verse in cooking Chinese foods but that not limited to a simple cooking like steaming/frying fish and meat (including pork).

Unfortunately, my hubby has been retrenched 3 months ago and we are now feeling the great stress of financial problem and leave us with no choice but to let her go:

1. Monthly salary : S$480
2. Off day per pay : S$ 18
3. Placement fee : 4 months

Frankly, if we can afford we will try to retain her whenever is possible. It is really a sad thing to giving up such a good maid.

Well, do let me know if anyone here have the above need.

Thanks!
 
I'm changing maid. What should i look out for? Like Work Permit etc. Do i cancel the moment i bring her back to agency or how does it work?

MistyCloud, are u going to transfer your maid to a new employer? If yes just inform the agent, agent will put her up for transfer and at the same time they will give you new data for you to select a new maid. Agent will take care of the work permit issues.

For me, when i decided to change maid, i informed my agent and started to look at new profiles, conduct interviews etc. After i have selected the new maid, i sent my maid to the agent.

If u r sending her back to her home country, u have to buy her air tic and cancel her work permit online.
 
I am sending her back to the agency but agency needs us to give her 2 week's notice. We have yet to interview anyone yet and don't even know whether we can find someone suitable or not. My hubby rather she goes the moment we confirm someone and he is willing to pay her 2 week's pay so that she doesn't stay unhappy at our house as we have a 3 month old baby here. What else would we need to pay for? And if 2 week's is up, and she is not employed, I can ask to cancel her work permit right?

Anyway, I was so pissed that I scolded her terribly on Monday and she has bucked up and is "very good" these few days. Think her old ways may come back after some time again.

Not sure what to do now.
 
MistyCloud, i have employed maids from 2 different agents before and both work different ways. Some agents will be like yours, requiring u to give 2 weeks' notice before u send her to the agent office. Over there, the agent will help her to find a new employer.

My current agent is able to let me send my maid to his office after i decided not to keep her at no cost. So i paid my maid her salary up till the day she left my home.

After the maid is put up for transfer, she has 21 days to get a new employer. If not, she will need to go back to her home country (not sure if employer need to pay for air tic or not).

For new maid you will probably need to buy new maid insurance, pay for SIP (if applicable), and maybe agent will charge admin fees.
If your current maid worked only a few months for you, usually can still get back pro-rated amount of the insurance u paid.

Your maid is like mine, after getting a scolding will show improvement but slowly revert to her old ways. In total i gave her 3 warnings before i send her to agent.

Maybe your 1st step is to start looking at new maid profiles, get a new maid.
Keep your current maid until new maid comes as your plan. Unless u can do without maid temporarily, u might want to ask agent whether u can send her to boarding for 2 weeks until agent can take her.

For me that was what i did because i didnt want to have the maid ard my house anymore.... esp when they know u going to transfer her, u nv know what they do behind your back when u r not around.
 
Yes, my concern is the baby who is still so young. Hence once we shortlist, we may want to send her out. I have her for 5 months already. Doubt can get pro-rated insurance back. :(

She was alright before the baby came. Coz not much to do for my small house. With baby, can see her stubbornness in refusing to listen to our ways. Think she knows better. I, too think that she'll change back to her old ways coz it's not like overnight she'll become a new person.
 
I am sending her back to the agency but agency needs us to give her 2 week's notice. We have yet to interview anyone yet and don't even know whether we can find someone suitable or not. My hubby rather she goes the moment we confirm someone and he is willing to pay her 2 week's pay so that she doesn't stay unhappy at our house as we have a 3 month old baby here. What else would we need to pay for? And if 2 week's is up, and she is not employed, I can ask to cancel her work permit right?

Anyway, I was so pissed that I scolded her terribly on Monday and she has bucked up and is "very good" these few days. Think her old ways may come back after some time again.

Not sure what to do now.


Has she finished repaying her loan? If yes, there should be no issue in sending her back to her home country immed.

A leopard will never change its spots. Solve the problem once and for all. I would rather not keep an unhappy maid in the house. Nv know when the bomb is going to explode..

For my case, maid request to return to agent. Since she still has loan to repay, we can't send her back home, otherwise we cannot recoup back the loan that we prepaid on her behalf. Hence we agree to send her back to agent. Agent charges a fee to her for each day that she stays at their boarding house and during daytime, sits in their office waiting to get interviewed. We only pay maid levy in the meantime.. I checked with the agent. If no balance loan, we have the right to cancel work permit and send her back since it is under our name and liability. In any case, do read up the maid contract and see what it says.

Of course agent always wants u to return the maid so the they can spin for another round of profit. But do note that they are doing it at your expense.
 


Yes, she has repaid her loan coz she is a transfer maid. I feel bad sending her back to her country. She's not that bad like a thief or what that I think she cannot work in another household. If she does only housework, she is ok actually. Can cook local dishes rather well too. Just that she is stubborn when it comes to my young baby of 3 months old. I cannot take this attitude but I guess some other family can if they wanna hire her for housework etc.

So whether I pay for her boarding house fee is dependent on the agency or I won't need to pay at all?
 

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