Days off for maid

[verykiasu2010]

Busymom:

verykiasu2010:

having trust in the maid is one thing


whether the maid is trustworthy is a totally different thing. having trust in the maid does not mean the maid can be trusted

trust is always subject to abuse

if the law is less onerous on the employer, who cares what they do outside as long as don't bring men and diseases back to the work place which is the employer's home

How does one ensure that? We know one of my maids has a boyfriend, but we don't talk about it... I mean how to talk about safe sex with a woman in her thirties and divorced... :?

Those Indon maids would fill in the form anything to get out of the country :

some claimed the husband died - actually still alive

some claimed divorced - but actually no

they are quite loose in what they say, or the recruiter didn't understand them or what ?

after we repartriated our recent maid for theft, we also received many letters from telcom on their outstanding tel bills - even though the maid told us she does have a mobile phone ..... .... all the telco bills were addressed to her

[silverhorse]

briskcross:

What is your view about giving your maid days off. How many days a month does your helper go out?

I give my helper ( Filipino) every Sunday off. She'll go out at 830am and back by 630pm. As an employee myself, I would be frustrated if I do not get off days. She's an adult and she knows what is out there. But I know that my helper will hang out with her aunt n cousins , go to church and eat. Her aunt's employer let them gather at her house too, which I think is generous.

[thankgod]

Agree that "trust" is subjective. Essentially, the contract between the employee and the FDW is an employment contract. We can’t control the lives of the FDW. The problem with the law at present is that the employer is made to held responsible for the actions of the FDW. Good or bad, each party has their own views.


IMHO, I think the law needs to be tweaked. If its purely an employment contract, employers cannot be held responsible for what the FDW does outside. Its an employment contract similar to the S-Pass holders who are sitting in the offices. The employer of these S-Pass holders are certainly not held responsible for their actions outside the scope of work and employment. That should be a case for FDW as well. The only difference in the two employment contracts should be the fact that FDW lives on the employers premises. Otherwise, it should be a standard employment contract.

If the FDW are treated similar to the S-Pass holders, then FDW are free to negotiate their contracts with their employers. 1 Day off per month, 1 day off per week, how much salary etc. there might be guidelines for these but each contract can then be tailored differently.

While some FDW don’t deserve sympathy, one must admit that there are FDW that are worth more. Good ones might be far and in-between but to generalize them would be a bit harsh IMHO.

[verykiasu2010]

thankgod:

Agree that \"trust\" is subjective. Essentially, the contract between the employee and the FDW is an employment contract. We can't control the lives of the FDW. The problem with the law at present is that the employer is made to held responsible for the actions of the FDW. Good or bad, each party has their own views.


IMHO, I think the law needs to be tweaked. If its purely an employment contract, employers cannot be held responsible for what the FDW does outside. Its an employment contract similar to the S-Pass holders who are sitting in the offices. The employer of these S-Pass holders are certainly not held responsible for their actions outside the scope of work and employment. That should be a case for FDW as well. The only difference in the two employment contracts should be the fact that FDW lives on the employers premises. Otherwise, it should be a standard employment contract.

If the FDW are treated similar to the S-Pass holders, then FDW are free to negotiate their contracts with their employers. 1 Day off per month, 1 day off per week, how much salary etc. there might be guidelines for these but each contract can then be tailored differently.

While some FDW don't deserve sympathy, one must admit that there are FDW that are worth more. Good ones might be far and in-between but to generalize them would be a bit harsh IMHO.

that is true

on the reverse side, many like to demonise employers in general who don't have off day for the maid as part of mutual agreement, is also harsh

in other words, bad maids and bad employers are both in the minority

I only wish that the bad maids could have been better matched with the bad employers....like that will be more \"equal\" terms .....

[peapot]

I give my maid off once a month. anything more she says waste money. That’s why Indonesia maid is so different from Philip maid.

Busymom, I think you need to be frank with the maid with boyfriend. Tell her she must use protection. My friend’s maid who is also in her thirties got pregnant after going off every Sunday. No choice sent her back .

[LOLMum]

Busymom:

How does one ensure that? We know one of my maids has a boyfriend, but we don't talk about it... I mean how to talk about safe sex with a woman in her thirties and divorced... :?

show her the rules and regulations as stated by mom about sending pregnant maids home.

if she has a bun in the oven, employer needs to get her out asap and meanwhile, it takes a long long time to get a replacement. so better to have a frank talk with her and ask her to go to dr for advice on birth control. but shucks, if she take pills, the boyfriend might not wear condom and in the end, maid might end up with ai__ which is worse than being pregnant. :faint:

[verykiasu2010]

LOLMum:

Busymom:

How does one ensure that? We know one of my maids has a boyfriend, but we don't talk about it... I mean how to talk about safe sex with a woman in her thirties and divorced... :?

show her the rules and regulations as stated by mom about sending pregnant maids home.

if she has a bun in the oven, employer needs to get her out asap and meanwhile, it takes a long long time to get a replacement. so better to have a frank talk with her and ask her to go to dr for advice on birth control. but shucks, if she take pills, the boyfriend might not wear condom and in the end, maid might end up with ai__ which is worse than being pregnant. :faint:

it is a well know fact that many of them earn a second income on off day and never gets pregnant

[BeContented]

verykiasu2010:

I only wish that the bad maids could have been better matched with the bad employers....like that will be more \"equal\" terms .....

eeerrr.....but no maid will think they are bad and no employer will claim they are no good :siam:

[Yoke]

I tend to believe that maids who are older in age (40 +) are less likely to bring trouble when they go on off. I could be wrong.

[Busymom]

peapot:

I give my maid off once a month. anything more she says waste money. That's why Indonesia maid is so different from Philip maid.

Busymom, I think you need to be frank with the maid with boyfriend. Tell her she must use protection. My friend's maid who is also in her thirties got pregnant after going off every Sunday. No choice sent her back .

Actually, I am less concerned about her getting pregnant than if she catches some diseases...

Erm... a bit difficult to talk as it was DD who went to fiddle with her HP after she accidentally left it in our car...

This maid is a bit stubborn type... furthermore quite new with us, although she has worked quite a long time in Singapore already.