Editor's note: Many families in Singapore have hired maids to help take care of the daily affairs of the family. Let's take a look at what you need to pay attention to when hiring a maid in Singapore.
Asking a maid to do housework to assist with the baby in Singapore is a relatively common method, compared with the domestic parents with the baby is a different choice, this article is mainly used to learn and record the process and precautions of hiring a maid FDW (Foreign Domestic Worker) in advance.
Singapore has a well-established ecosystem to help people recruit maids. First of all, the government will have a special work permit for foreigners such as maids, and secondly, most of the maid agencies in the market are regulated, and as a very mature industry in Singapore, there will also be special insurance to protect the sick situation of maids in Singapore. The Singapore government also supports the hiring of maids to a certain extent by paying the maid Levy poll tax, which can be used for personal income tax deductions.
Things to note before hiring a maid
As a first-time domestic helper, you must complete an Employer Orientation Programme (EOP) of about 2 hours at the Ministry of Manpower. It is generally recommended to support Chinese for online learning, pay S$35, and complete the learning within about 30min in the fast browsing mode.
The first way to hire a maid is to introduce the agency company
The agency will provide uniform training for the maid and be familiar with the visa procedures, so it is recommended that you find a maid through the agency. Friends can search for intermediaries with a large number of maid applications (Placement Volume) in the past year through the official website of MOM, and theoretically the number of applications is positively correlated with the quality of service.
Recommend a few search terms with maids and agents:
maid agency: 简单直白的女佣中介
employment agency: 翻译为职业代理？
foreign domestic worker: 女佣专业说法？
migrant domestic worker: 同上
domestic helper: 同上
By default, it falls on foreign domestic work, click "Search" directly, and get a list of all registered intermediaries, and the results returned by MOM are very informative, including:
retention rate: 起码工作6个月才跑的比例
transfer rate: 转了3个或以上雇主的比例
placement volume: 申到的劳工证(WP)数
experience: 中介从业年限
You can also click on the Download List to analyze and compare the data offline, and use the data to select a maid.
Domestic Helper Intermediary Research Report (Matter of Hiring a Maid 2)
A shopping mall with a concentration of intermediaries
- Far East Shopping Centre545 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238882
- Hougang Green Shopping Mall21 Hougang St 51, Singapore 538719
- Bukit Timah Shopping Centre170 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 588179
- Katong Shopping Centre865 Mountbatten Rd, Singapore 437844
How to choose a maid
Once you've chosen the right agency, you can browse the maid's resume on their website to filter it. Of course, you can also go to the offline store of the intermediary company and find a reliable intermediary for consultation. After the initial selection of the maid, you can ask the agent to arrange a meeting to further confirm the details of the maid's previous work experience.
具体查询办法：How do I check an MDW’s employment history? (mom.gov.sg)
Sign the contract
After choosing a maid, you can go to the official website of the Ministry of Manpower to check her employment history. There are two contracts, one based on the employer and the agency, which mainly focuses on the breakdown of fees, and the other is based on the employer and the maid, which mainly covers the maid's salary and rest time.
Formalities
After the contract is signed, the agency will help you handle the follow-up related procedures, such as the maid's visa application, medical examination arrangement, insurance purchase, etc.
The annual or monthly expenses include: maid's salary, poll tax, and insurance costs (security deposit, medical insurance, medical examination, etc.). A total of about S$10,000 per year, about S$800 per month.
One-time expenses include: visa application fee, air ticket, induction medical examination, training fee and intermediary fee. In total, it is about S$1,700, which is spread out to about S$70 per month if you follow a typical two-year contract. In other words, if you consider hiring a maid, you will have a cash flow expenditure of about S$900 per month, which you can use as a reference.
As for the intermediary fee, each intermediary company's fees/inclusions are different, generally around SGD 1,000-2,000, be sure to ask about the content of the intermediary fee, such as: the cost of the maid's air ticket to Singapore, the maid's medical examination in Singapore, the cost of applying for a work permit, paperwork, etc., the cost of the maid's government courses and MOM related tests in Singapore.
There is also insurance and security deposit "The cost of the maid's medical treatment in Singapore is borne by the employer, so insurance is very important, and the insurance deposit is SGD 5,000 which can be paid by insurance, when the maid runs away, works part-time, or is pregnant and the employer repatriates the maid in time, the insurance deposit of S$5,000 will be confiscated by the Ministry of Manpower of Singapore"
Tax, the Ministry of Manpower charges a monthly fee of S$265 for female helper employers, and only S$60 per month is required for family members who need to be cared for, such as children under the age of 18 or elderly people over the age of 60.
Some intermediaries provide services to replace maids, for example, if some maids cannot live with their employers, they can change maids for free/at a discount within the specified time, but employers often still need to pay miscellaneous fees such as paperwork/insurance, and the specific situation needs to refer to the contract, and in case of disputes, it depends on whether the intermediary's after-sales service is conscientious.
The second way: find it yourself at the Ministry of Manpower in Singapore
If you don't hire a maid through an agency, most of them are because the maid is due to renew the contract. If the maid is doing well and people are willing to continue to work, you can apply to MOM for a maid renewal visa on your own. Moreover, renewing the contract with the original maid actually solves the problem of communication and trust for the maid, and also saves a lot of intermediary fees for the maid herself (yes, the maid will have to borrow money from the agency when the work visa expires and returns to China next time). If you want to go to a maid on your own empty-handed, then your opportunity cost will be much higher than the agency fee, and in the end, the gains will outweigh the losses.
Here's a quick rundown:
1. Buy medical, accident insurance (26 months) and security deposit insurance for the maid on the insurance company's website
2. Apply for a visa on MOM, after the visa application is successful, MOM will issue an entry visa (IPA)
3. Buy a plane ticket for the maid and come to the house with a visa
4. If the maid comes to Singapore for the first time, she needs to attend SIP pre-job training within 3 days of arriving in Singapore
5. Take the maid for a medical check-up
6. Go to MOM to apply for a Work visa
7. Apply for GIRO to pay monthly poll tax (Levy) to CPF via online banking
AK丨Edit
HQ丨Editor
hello dog丨来源
Wang Ao丨Author
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