Maid to get weekly rest days

[buds]

nms1:

Dawnie:

[quote=\"buds\"]A friend of mine has a helper who doesn't want off day (to go out) too, but just wants Facebook. My friend and hubby was more than happy to oblige. Her hubby even bought the helper a cheap phone with wifi and let the helper do just that on her day off. Good at cleaning and giving basic care for the kids but still working on the cooking bit. 4th month now.


Not all employers are comfortable with helper having a mobile phone plus Facebook time, but so far quite a handful of frenz or relatives with helpers that I personally know don't mind this arrangement.

Would like to hear your thoughts.

No weekly off. Only Facebook time.

My Filipino maid have 1 off day a month. She has a facebook account, and usually access it via her HP at night after we retire to our bedrooms. I will retire to my bedroom at 8PM, she will go to her own bedroom too. I do not allow her to close the door when she sleeps. Sometimes, I passby her bedroom past midnight, she is still using her HP. I accessed her FB and found that she have posting at different timings throughout the day. So that would mean that whenever she is out of my sight, or if she is in the bathroom, she uses her HP. Now she even block me from her FB. It's not a wise thing to allow your maid to use Facebook, they will abuse it.

Just my personal view, but I don't think you should stop her from closing the door when she sleeps especially if there are any men in the house. She has a right to privacy.

Re FB, yes some of them will abuse it but they can also waste time SMSing, talking to the maid next-door etc. You have to ask yourself (honestly) if you ever spent time surfing the net during working hours, go off for coffee with a colleague, take a slightly longer lunch break.....no-one is perfect

I don't blame her for blocking you from her FB account - I rarely accept anyone from my office as a FB friend and if I do they will have restricted access.[/quote]Agree with nms1 about :

1. Closing the door (if helper has own room) during naps or sleeping hours
2. Helper not obliged to add employer to their FB account

I wouldn't wanna add my boss or all of my colleagues. Heck, i won't even add my MIL.

[Dawnie]

Oh, I didn’t state clearly in my earlier post. My maid shares the room with my little boy, so it is a definite NO NO to close the door. As for FB, I didn’t add her, but she block me so that I can’t even do a search to locate her in FB. Not that I want to read her postings, but I just want to make sure she doesn’t post my boy’s pic on her FB anymore (I warned her not to do that before). I do not oppose my maid having FB, but she is always so tired in the day time. She retire into the bedroom at 8PM but does not sleep until wee hours, then she needs to wake up by 6:30AM everyday. If I am her, I wouldn’t have any energy to work at all.

[Funz]

buds:

nms1:

[quote=\"Funz\"]I thought still can pay off in lieu if helper agrees to the arrangement?

Yes, I think that's what buds means by \"Meaning must auto pay in lieu of off days.\"

If she doesn't take the days off you must compensate and she must agree to it - you cannot force her to not take them.

Yes, nms1... you read me correctly.

This also means that employer also cannot force them \"not to\" take their off days come 2013?[/quote]I read it as still negotiable. So long as both can agree. Just that, employers, to safe guard themselves, may have to keep records of the agreements and payments of off in lieu.

[Dawnie]

Assuming if I give my maid 4 off days a month, she only want to take 2 days. The remaining 2 days she wants to rest at home. Am I obligated to pay her on the days she stay at home to rest?

[nms1]

Dawnie:

Assuming if I give my maid 4 off days a month, she only want to take 2 days. The remaining 2 days she wants to rest at home. Am I obligated to pay her on the days she stay at home to rest?

No, if she is not working then those are off-days regardless of what she does. But I would have that in writing so that it is clear.

We have just renewed our maid's contract and due to the upcoming change I agreed with her that she can choose what to do on Sunday. She can go out, come to Church and then lunch with us or stay at home. She was happy with that as she doesn't really want to go out every week and waste her money.

[Funz]

Dawnie:

Oh, I didn't state clearly in my earlier post. My maid shares the room with my little boy, so it is a definite NO NO to close the door. As for FB, I didn't add her, but she block me so that I can't even do a search to locate her in FB. Not that I want to read her postings, but I just want to make sure she doesn't post my boy's pic on her FB anymore (I warned her not to do that before). I do not oppose my maid having FB, but she is always so tired in the day time. She retire into the bedroom at 8PM but does not sleep until wee hours, then she needs to wake up by 6:30AM everyday. If I am her, I wouldn't have any energy to work at all.

I think DH is more particular about my helper's use of handphone and sleeping time than I am. For me, so long as she completes her chores and is not slipshod, she is free to be on the phone as often as she wants. As for sleeping late, I might just tell her not to stay up too late. And again, so long as she is not sleeping on her job or being careless and her health is not affected, I let her be.

From time to time, I may need to remind her to do some stuff or tell her she has slacken and I need her to buck up. That I think is normal. People need reminders and motivators especially when dealing with mundane stuff.

[autumnbronze]

I find that the older maids tend to have a better reign on themselves when it comes to using their hp and surfing.


My two previous maids couldn’t. And they were very young. The first one got a hp 6 mths before her contract ended and would sleep abt 2am. She would sometimes wake up later than I. I counseled her as she had been with us for 4 years and had never given us any problem. She understood and tried to control herself.

The one after her was a nightmare. She was on the phone practically glued on Facebook regardless whether I am around or not. She would sleep as late as 3 plus 4am and sleep on the job, like nodding off while my year old is playing beside her. Repeated counseling didn’t help. Requests to her to take down my sons’s photo was acceded. However, after we sent her packing, I discovered she had 2 other accounts and she had posted his pix of his butt and penis for
the world to see. I reckoned it was one of those times he had diaper rash and she had taken a pix of that. I cannot do anything about it now. Just hope that one day when she is older and wiser, she will realize her folly and take it down.

So yes, rules can be laid down bla bla but at the end of the day, it’s whether they choose to really abide by them. They can seem to do so but may have other multiple accounts (here referring to Facebook).

I was really disappointed in that girl.

[Raemuumy]

buds:

orlandospito30:

My maid dont go out at all. and I compensate her by paying her more. I rather she work at home then mix with those maid at town and learn stupid tricks and use it against us

A friend of mine has a helper who doesn't want off day (to go out) too, but just wants Facebook. My friend and hubby was more than happy to oblige. Her hubby even bought the helper a cheap phone with wifi and let the helper do just that on her day off. Good at cleaning and giving basic care for the kids but still working on the cooking bit. 4th month now.

Not all employers are comfortable with helper having a mobile phone plus Facebook time, but so far quite a handful of frenz or relatives with helpers that I personally know don't mind this arrangement.

Would like to hear your thoughts.

No weekly off. Only Facebook time.

Thats what I do to my maid too. but she don even have facebook. I gave her my old iphone to use instead. she is very appreciative so I am glad I am lucky to have found her to be my maid. Know that not all maids are liek that and might even take the owner for granted

[Littlefly]

I am renewing my maid WP this morning and found that her pay put forth by my agent is only $420 in the system but i am paying her $440 per month with no off-day. So I should renew her contract $420+70= $490 ? in her mind - she would think its only a $50 pay rise.


She just returned from her home leave. I don’t know if i want her to return or not…she’s ok as her helper but has many requests… time off , go meet her gf, change $, remit $, ask me to buy this and that for her… wants to eat breaktalk bread, help her Malay romance books…, get her a Tudong for Hari Raya, etc, etc…

At times, I felt like telling her off to remember who she is and her purpose of being in my family as a helper to the family, not my daughter…Argh…

[nms1]

Littlefly:

I am renewing my maid WP this morning and found that her pay put forth by my agent is only $420 in the system but i am paying her $440 per month with no off-day. So I should renew her contract $420+70= $490 ? in her mind - she would think its only a $50 pay rise.


She just returned from her home leave. I don't know if i want her to return or not...she's ok as her helper but has many requests... time off , go meet her gf, change $, remit $, ask me to buy this and that for her.. wants to eat breaktalk bread, help her Malay romance books..., get her a Tudong for Hari Raya, etc, etc..

At times, I felt like telling her off to remember who she is and her purpose of being in my family as a helper to the family, not my daughter...Argh....

If you are paying her $440 then that is her salary so if you increase to $490 it's a $50 increase. Any increment is a negotiation between the two of you, unless you had something written into the previous contract guaranteeing an increase?