All About Full-Time Maids

[Andaiz]

hquek:

Act blur better than kena scolding for doing wrong thing. Besides jokes, she was quite quick on the uptake when we were talking about her.

We were suitably impressed one time when she was able to interact with my cousin's maid (from philippines). Was wondering how one chicken and one duck can talk to each other.

hquek, most of my maids won't act blur...they'd do things THEIR way, then after that, act blur when told it's not the right thing. Getting them to apologize is really tougher than moving mountains :roll:

but honestly, these maids are really friendly - can interact with ANYONE if they so choose. My HRH (previous maid) could show me the Indonesian Rupiah she's exchanged with an Indon maid at the training centre...I asked her if the other maid can speak English she said \"no\"...they used sign language plus basic words to communicate :stupid: :stupid:

peapot, smart cookie is willing to do things the way we want her to do it. Oftentimes will answer back, think she's never wrong...but generally good attitude.

She just celebrated her birthday with us on Sunday. Was very touched and for now, seems keen to stay long.

I've learnt to close one eye at things that do not matter; but my pet peeve with her is that whenever we need to go out quickly etc, she'd get flustered (kan cheong spider! :!: ), listen wrongly then have to re-do. Hard to keep calm when we are rushing out but must try lah! :rant:

[jennykhots]

leonardtay:

Hi all,


Currently my maid is going to be due in June 2010 and she will be extending for another 2 years. We intend to let her go on 2 weeks of home leave before she continues working again.

I would like to check if i should renew her passport now or after she comes back to Singapore, the expiry date is 2 June 2011.
We intend to let her go back in late May.

Will she have any problems coming back to Singapore?


I had an agency to help me renew my maid's passport 2 years back which costs me $450, I was pretty naive back then. (maid still with me). A friend took the maid personally & renew it at the Indonesian Embassy. BTW, please do not take passport photo before hand (they might reject), the Embassy will have their own standard photographer over there. Everything in I think was less than $200. I do agree that you need to keep aside 1 to 1 months' of pay for safekeeping.

Thanks

[autumnbronze]

Andaiz:

but my pet peeve with her is that whenever we need to go out quickly etc, she'd get flustered (kan cheong spider! :!: ), listen wrongly then have to re-do. Hard to keep calm when we are rushing out but must try lah! :rant:

Same same, Andaiz.

She'll get all flustered too and will have this \"why didn't you tell me earlier\" look.

But I think over the almost 2 yrs, she's learnt to dela with it.

Andaiz, give your helper more time lah, think she'll get used to it

[leonardtay]

jennykhots:

leonardtay:

Hi all,


Currently my maid is going to be due in June 2010 and she will be extending for another 2 years. We intend to let her go on 2 weeks of home leave before she continues working again.

I would like to check if i should renew her passport now or after she comes back to Singapore, the expiry date is 2 June 2011.
We intend to let her go back in late May.

Will she have any problems coming back to Singapore?


I had an agency to help me renew my maid's passport 2 years back which costs me $450, I was pretty naive back then. (maid still with me). A friend took the maid personally & renew it at the Indonesian Embassy. BTW, please do not take passport photo before hand (they might reject), the Embassy will have their own standard photographer over there. Everything in I think was less than $200. I do agree that you need to keep aside 1 to 1 months' of pay for safekeeping.

Thanks

I do keep aside $500 of her pay for safekeeping.
I had checked out the fees for making passport. Go to embassy personally to renew passport will be $35, take photo $10, renew work permit online will be $10.
Agents quote me $400 for passport and $40 for WP.

[leonardtay]

carebear:

leonardtay:

Hi all,


Currently my maid is going to be due in June 2010 and she will be extending for another 2 years. We intend to let her go on 2 weeks of home leave before she continues working again.

I would like to check if i should renew her passport now or after she comes back to Singapore, the expiry date is 2 June 2011.
We intend to let her go back in late May.

Will she have any problems coming back to Singapore?

Thanks

Please make sure she has some deposit in terms of cash if you let her go on home leave and only renew her passport and work permit on her return.

My second maid asked me to renew her passport and she did not leave any deposit with me. She left for home leave of 1 month. On the day she was to return, she sms me and said she would not be coming back. Luckily i did not renew her passport and work permit as it requires one to buy the insurance as well when applying for the work permit.
So i lost on time, the amount paid for the return air ticket and the emotional stress, not to say the inconvenience of taking extra leave to wait for the new maid.
After that, subsequent maid if want to go on home leave means go back for good. If want to extend work permit, then cannot go on home leave.

So if i let my maid to go home and come back on the 28May will she have any problem entering Singapore as her WP expires on the 2June

[carebear]

leonardtay:

So if i let my maid to go home and come back on the 28May will she have any problem entering Singapore as her WP expires on the 2June

You can go to this website http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal/en/communities/work_pass/foreign_domestic_workers/renewal.html

The other option is to renew her permit for her 1st but you ask her to pay for the fees, then on return from home leave, you reimburse her the amount.
If she is Indonesian, the she needs to endorse her passport at the embassy. This can be done by yourself, or authorize a 3rd party to do it for you.

[Piggymum]

Oh haha Peapot soulmate : ) Mine is from Chin but worked in Yangon for a year. Her bio-data states that she has worked for 3 yrs and took care of 4 kids. All bxx-sxxt! She work for only a yr and has never taken care of any kids. I know all bio-data are fake but didn’t expect it to be so super fake. Her English is cannot make it one but like many parents have mentioned, when we tell jokes, she will also laugh!


With the way she works, I would send her away at once if I need her to help out with my children. Her heart and mind are not here. Everyday give me that no strength look although she get to take afternoon nap and eat more than us. Water can be all over the floor and she can just walk pass it without necessary action! I gave her and went through a list of Dos & Don’ts plus work schedule with her but …sigh…I still need to nag and nag at her until I am so tired. Oh, and she likes to place things (plates, cups etc) at the edge of a table when there is plenty of space at the centre of the table. Told her so many times and yet did it again this a.m. :x

Thanks for sharing about the email thing. I have created another gmail a/c for her. Will re-send the email tonight. She has a M1 calling card but said doesn’t know how to use it. Told her I will go to the public phone with her on weekend to try again. My previous maid settled the calling part herself. I would post her letters whenever she wanted to send letter home. I paid for her postage.

[peapot]

Oh dear Piggymum, are you still holding onto this maid? If you need to remind so many times, you need to ask her to write down in the book. Tell her if she forgets again, you will also forget her salary!!


For the phone, why don’t you use your hp to call? The calling card is quite safe to use if you use your handphone. Going to a public phone is too much hassle. You can keep the calling card. There is a pin number in the calling card which you must key in before you can make a call out.

Yes bio-data are so fake. Mine says she works in Myanmar as maid before but in actual fact she was a waitress. English also equally bad. I m transferring her out because she can’t handle kids. She can only work in families without children.

I m getting an Indo maid for the first time, very worried too. About witchcraft. Heard they can perform witchcraft even without holding any of your personal items.

[raynreg]

Hi Peapot, how do you intend to commuicate with your Indon helper. I’m also comptemplating to change to Indon helper but we don’t speak their language and am afraid that mis-communication only makes things worst. My agency is not willing to bring in fresh Indon helpers as the "quality" has been deterioriating.

[minnie2004]

Hi raynreg, that’s why we only stick with filipino maids as we can’t communicate with Indon maids. At one point we thought of switching to Indon maids thinking they’d be more hard working but it’s difficult to find one who speaks reasonably good Eng. I know some people who can communicate with them in malay but we we don’t speak any malay.