Should maids be given a day off every week?

[bigsnoopy]

1amber:

bigsnoopy:

Yes well said 1amber \"hugs\". Dont sign on the dotted line and later regret and give employers all sorts of problem.

:celebrate:

:hi5:

[bigsnoopy]

verykiasu2010:

the maids in my neighbourhood (landed estate) always congregate in the morning when the employers are out at work


they create such a din in their loud jesting and squeal and commotion - so bad that a few neighbours had to resort to calling police to come disperse the maids' daily gathering. these mad maids have too much freedom, they are a nuisance to the neighbourhood

I was at a condo popular to expa n saw the maids leaving young children to run n crawl in the club room n they themselves gather together to chit chat.

[comet7]

I’ve also seen a group of 5 maids in a shopping centre’s toilet, changing into sexy clothes, short shorts, doing heavy make-up, transforming into sexy babes. No prizes for guessing correctly why they are doing that. I doubt their own employer can recognize them if they met them.


My colleague’s maid of 8 years returned home from her off days later and later and each time with a different outfit when she came back. My colleague was suspicious enough to check her drawer. She was shocked to find Geylang hotel card keys.

[3Boys]

bigsnoopy:

1amber:

[quote=\"bigsnoopy\"]Yes well said 1amber \"hugs\". Dont sign on the dotted line and later regret and give employers all sorts of problem.

:celebrate:

:hi5:[/quote] :roll:

[3Boys]

1amber:

Fundamental right - makes me sick to hear this again.

And why? So if other foreign workers like construction workers get designated time off, why should it be different for domestic workers? So yes, present law does does dictate such terms in the contract, but that's exactly what we are trying to change, yes?

[smartmummy]

I think should be implement the law no off day for the maid.Maids are like SAHMs.SAHMs have any leave or off day?.Maids jobs are easier than SAHMs work.They just take care the kids and chit chat on the phone all the time.They no need to worry about kids education.No need to collect information for the kids’ education.They have enough time to rest everyday.Construction workers working 7days as they earn more money and don’t waste the time.Compare with them maids are doing nothing.The govt allow one off day trigger many problem.Recently one maid left the house and abandon a baby.Police arrested her but two months only in jail.We need maid-free Singapore.

[3Boys]

There was this comment in the press about the quality of maids deteriorating with time. Actually, I think its the quality of the employers that has deteriorated.


My mum was a FTWM. She had one helper who came in once a week to help with cleaning and laundry, and a nearby nanny who kept watch for a few hours each day as the kids came home from school. Everything else she managed herself with my Dad and us helping out the chores. Now our SAHP’s can’t manage the household by themselves for one day a week? We are in serious trouble, aren’t we, and what will we expect for our children growing up in such an environment? Maids forever?

When I first hired my maid that many years ago, I was shocked that my maid asked for a SINGLE day off in a month…because I fully expected to be giving her an off-day every week. I got severely overruled by my MIL and DW on that issue though, but we are working towards once-a-week gradually, and they both are coming round to my point of view.

Yes, we as employers work harder than the maid, but shouldn’t that be the norm? And as I pointed out, how hard a maid works has no real bearing on whether she should have a day off or not. If you are not fully utilising your maid on the workday, perhaps you need to rejig her responsibilities or perhaps consider if you even need one.

[tigger88]

I think is not up to the govt to decide whether employers should give weekly or once a month off to maids. It’s a contractual agreement between the employer and maid. If the maid is not happy with no off or just one day off per month, she can reject the contract and find another employer who is willing to give her more days off per month.


Just like our employer, some gives 21 days leave a year, some 14 days and some only 7 days. It’s our choice to decide whether to accept the job knowing up front how many days leave we will have.

Maids are not stupid. They choose employers too. Some want more off days, some want to just manage hsework and do not want to take care of kids etc. We make it clear to them what their job scopes are and they can decide if they want the job. They have the right to choose, don’t they?

[3Boys]

tigger88:

I think is not up to the govt to decide whether employers should give weekly or once a month off to maids. It's a contractual agreement between the employer and maid. If the maid is not happy with no off or just one day off per month, she can reject the contract and find another employer who is willing to give her more days off per month.

This is not a matter of contract but a matter of policy and law. You may say caveat-emptor, but there are certain things under the employment act that are illegal and cannot be put into a contract. Employers are obligated under law to provide for certain benefits for employees. As this does not govern maid contracts, therefore, there is this situation where maid contracts do not necessarily build in days-off. The question is then whether the law should be changed to align it with other workers in Singapore. That is not interference in a contract, its setting a policy.

[tigger88]

Some maids prefer to get more $ instead of day off so why need a law for this? Isn’t it better to allow them to choose whether they want days off or no?