Q&A
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
| Q1. I just
bought over a restaurant. Ever since, I am hardly at home. Do you think
that it is possible for me to ask my maid to help out with washing of
dishes in my restaurant, instead of her being at home only?
Mrs. Ye |
| Ans: Remember
that you are bonded by IMMIGRATION ACT (CHAPTER 133) IMMIGRATION ACT
REGULATIONS SECURITY BOND (REGULATION 21)"That she shall not engage
in any form of employment, paid or unpaid, or in any business, profession
or occupation other than that of a domestic worker in my employ;".
Therefore, we suggest that you do not bring your foreign domestic worker (FDW)
to your restaurant to help out. There have been caught bringing their FDWs
to help out in their shops. They were subsequently, imposed with heavy
fines and banned from employing and FDWs.
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| Q2. I've just
bought a dog for my daughter but my maid is afraid of dogs. She doesn't
even dare to go near the dog at all. The dog is only a puppy. However, I'm
quite happy with my maid's work performance. What should I do?
Janice Teo |
| Ans: Most of
the FDWs are able to take care of pets. However, there are the minorities
whom are afraid to take care of dogs for various reasons ranging from
phobia and even religious reasons. Most of the Indonesian FDWs are Muslim
and therefore they are ones whom are usually afraid to take care of dogs.
Show your FDW that puppies are harmless and actually very cute. You may
want to show and teach her how to take care of the puppy and then
eventually leave her on her own. You may want to speak the assistance from
the agency.
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| Q3. Recently,
I just had a Filipino maid. She doesn't speak much to the family. Most of
the time, no one is at home during the day except her. Sometimes, when I
tired calling home during that time, the line is engaged. Recently, I
realized that she does not do the housekeeping according to my
instructions and threw her temper on me last night. I am really upset and
wish to send her back. However, she has just arrived less than two weeks.
Please help.
Mrs. Jessie Goh |
| Ans: It is
common for an employer to have some difficulty in communicating with a FDW
initially. This is because most FDWs are shy and cannot express themselves
well. Your FDW may not be familiar with you and the members of the family
yet. After some time, she will be less shy and more communicative towards
you and your family.
Your FDW should not have shown her temper at you. This is absolutely uncalled for. Have a good talk with your FDW and tell her that she is not supposed to use the telephone line while nobody is at home. Explain to her why she cannot use the telephone during these hours. For instance, you may want to call her and let her know of something important which you may want to do but you are not able to get through as the line is engaged. Also, if you allow her to make local telephone calls, you may explain to her that she should make these calls during the evening when you and your family members are around. Most FDWs will make some mistakes when they first start working for an employer. Again, given some time, she will learn to do some time, she will learn to do things according to your instructions You may want to remind her that she should follow your instructions on how to do the household chores. You may want to draft a timetable for her, indicating the different household chores that require her to do for the day. If you still find that you cannot tolerate your FDW, you may want to seek a replacement from the Agency that you had taken her from. The provision and conditions for replacement are stated in the contract that you had signed in the contract that you had signed with the Agency. If you want repatriate her back to her country of origin, you may have to absolve the cost of the Maid's Loan an the cost of repatriating her. It is best that you seek the advice from the Agency if you wish to proceed and repatriate her back to her country of origin. |
| Q4. My
Indonesian maid has been a great maid. She did a great job in housekeeping
and taking care of my baby. She has been with me for 2 years. I would like
to keep her with me for the next few years. What should I do?
Madam Lim |
| Ans: Base on
the description of your FDW that you had given, that she is such a good
worker, we strongly encourage you to keep her and renew her contract.
First and foremost, your FDW and you should discuss about renewing her
contract with you. You should discuss matters regarding her new salary
payment and number of off-days that she may want now. This is to reduce
any disagreements later. Some FDWs may want to have a change of
environment after working for two years with their employers. However, if
you really want to keep her then we would suggest that you approach your
agency and ask them for assistance. You may want to explain to her the
pros and cons of changing to another employer. When both of you have
finally come to a conclusive decision and an agreement, you may want to
approach a licensed employment agency to assist you in renewing your FDW's
work permit. If her passport has expired, you would have to renew her
passport too before you can renew her work permit.
|
| Q5. My mum is
getting old and I would like to get a maid to do all the housework for
her. But would that make my mum feel uncomfortable or unhappy? My mum is
used to being alone and she usually does all the housework very neatly.
Miss Joyce Goh |
| Ans: It is
best that you ask your mother about the matter and inform her of the
changes that she may need to adapt to by having a maid around the house.
You may want to ask and convince your mother to look at brighter side of
things about having a maid. Your mother may welcome the presence of a maid
instead of being all alone in the house by herself. Your mother may still
maintain the same standards of cleanliness and neatness by giving
instructions to the maid of how she wants things to be done. Convince your
mother that this arrangement would allow both of you to spend more time
together.
|
| Q6. I have a
maid who is leaving us at the end of the month. She has practically seen
my daughter grown up. However, she is unfortunately, a slow worker in
general. Is it advisable that I keep her or look for a new maid in regards
to the fact that my daughter may need to adjust to a new person? Can the
change of maid affect my daughter's mood? If I wish to keep her without
going through her maid agency, how can I go about doing so? Thank you.
Selina Tan |
| Ans:
Professional Employment agency would encourage you to keep your existing
maid. It will be easier for an adult to adapt to a new maid in the house
than a child. Your daughter may find it difficult to adjust to a new face
and a new person handling her. This may affect your daughter's daily
routine and education sometimes.
It is common for Singaporean employers to find their FDWs to be slow worker. This is because we live in a fast-paced society and we expect our maids, who come from a slower-paced society, to work like us. You may want to teach her on how to do things fast. You may also want to find out whether she is taking up so much of her time doing a chore that she is left with little time to complete others. For instance, she may be spending a few hours doing the laundry when she could be doing it in an hour. When you receive the letter from the Ministry of Manpower to renew your FDW's work permit, the first thing you should do is so send her for a medical screening, if required. In the meantime get an insurance company to process the S$5,000.00 Security Bond and Personal Accident policy for you. You have to check if your FDW's passport has expired. If it has expired. If it has expired, you would then have to get it renewed first. Once all that is done, send all the document to the work permits department of the Ministry of Manpower located at 18 Havelock Road Singapore 059764. You may want to consider approaching a licensed employment agency to process the renewal for you to go through on your own, for example you may have to wait in long queues to renew her work permit. |
| Q7. My
husband is an odd job worker and I am a housewife. We intend to employ a
FDW to take care of our baby who was born recently. However, we both do
not have any CPF and Income tax Assessments. How can we go about applying
for a FDW? Are we eligible to apply for a FDW?
Melissa Lim |
| Ans: We are
not in the position to say whether you are eligible to employ a FDW. The
Ministry of Manpower is the approving authority. We would only be able to
assist you in sourcing and recruiting the maid and submitting your
application to the Ministry of Manpower for approvals. There are employers
who are in similar predicaments and have been given the approval to employ a
FDW. However, this is on a case by case basis only.
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