Do I need to pay my maid extra to babysit in the evening?

[tizzylou]

We have had our maid for 7 months and have only asked her to babysit in the evening 7 times at the most (even though I would like to think it would be more like one a week in the future). She recently alluded to the fact that she expects to be paid extra for this and that the other maids on the street were being paid extra? Do employers really pay extra for their maids to babysit in th evening?

[Strong Eagle]

So... how many hours a day do you think you ought to be able to work her without additional compensation?

Damn right you should pay her... she get's up in the morning... works for you all day... then babysits at night... and when is her free time?

Would you force other employees to work overtime without compensation?

[aster]

I agree, you should pay extra.

Speaking of baby-sitting, there's a place close to me with a kiddie gym that charges $50 to babysit for 45 mins. Now that does seem like a lot...

[Nath21]

We have a gym near us in Harbourfront that has free babysitting for 1 hour as Cherie Hearts is downstairs and they have a deal with them. As to the maid I thought most full time maids only got a day off per month so why would you pay them more for babysitting at night. Its all included in the monthly price? If you didnt negotiate that up front then you should pay extra but none of the people I know both Singaporean or expats pay extra for full time maids to babysit unless its falls on their days off. I have a part time maid she's paid by the hour and the price is the same for babysitting as for cleaning. As babysitting is in the evening my daughter is asleep by the time we leave so its the easiest gig in town.

[missis]

We don't pay our maid extra in the evening.
By the way, to Nath21 she gets every Sunday and Public Holiday off. In our condo all the maids employed by foreigners do but those by locals don't seem to....

[carteki]

So... how many hours a day do you think you ought to be able to work her without additional compensation?

Damn right you should pay her... she get's up in the morning... works for you all day... then babysits at night... and when is her free time?

Would you force other employees to work overtime without compensation?

Lets rephrase the statement above. How would YOU like it if you were paid minimum wage levels and then asked to work beyond YOUR stated 8 hours for NOTHING?

To use an example that you'll probably be passing onto your kids - If everyone jumped off the bridge/into a fire etc - would you follow them too?

[missis]

Yes but if the maid is living in and the kid is in bed already, I don't see why I need to pay extra. It's not as if she has a trek home after we get in!
Would also point out that (in our case anyway) our maid has a decent-sized room, eats the food that we eat and doesn't go out during the week (her choice).

[Strong Eagle]

Yes but if the maid is living in and the kid is in bed already, I don't see why I need to pay extra. It's not as if she has a trek home after we get in!
Would also point out that (in our case anyway) our maid has a decent-sized room, eats the food that we eat and doesn't go out during the week (her choice).

It's about fairness and responsibility. You are asking her to be responsible for your kids. That is different than being completely on her own.

As an alternative to pay, additional time off is also an option, but just because she lives under your roof and eats your food doesn't mean that she is at your beck and call 24 hours a day. That is such a Singaporean point of view.

[merichan]

If you are a local no doubt that you could ask her to baby-sit every evening and not pay a cent extra....


As an expat' it's a bit more "tricky"... if the other maids employed by expats in the condo are getting paid extra... then your maid probably expects that you do the same for her...


Try to see if indeed it's the case in the condo that expat's maid are getting paid extra and then depending on the answer try to find an acceptable middle ground for the both of you to be satisfied

Like I don't know... up to X times a months... included in the salary and compensation for extra


Or state clearly your point of view and enforce it... but the risk is having an unhappy employee and less reliability...

[aster]

As an alternative to pay, additional time off is also an option

Sounds very fair to me. The hours can build up and then the family could give the maid a full day off during the weekend while they spend time together somewhere.

[merichan]

As an alternative to pay, additional time off is also an option

Sounds very fair to me. The hours can build up and then the family could give the maid a full day off during the weekend while they spend time together somewhere.

or extra holidays in between contracts when she is going home...

[ksl]

Commonsense rules the day!

Give her time off if she is looking after the kids if you don't / cannot pay more.

Only you know how much work she actually does.

So if you haven't got her working 8 hrs a day why pay her more.

Just be fair and reasonable, if she doesn't accept it ask her if she wants to go back.

If she can manipulate you she will, that is 100% sure.

Money is number one priority for a maid, and if it wasn't she would be in her home Country with family rather than working for strangers.

[raden888]

Duh?? Would you work for SGD400 per month from dawn to dusk? Maids aren't slaves!

[sundaymorningstaple]

Let's see now.......

Cost of a room in a HDB Flat minimum 300/mo w/o Aircon. In a condo? 800 with aircon? probably more. But let's just say for discussion purposes $800/mo

Food costs? $3-5/meal? x3 plus tea/snack let's say $15/day x 30 = $450/mo
or if access to fridge and prepares own? 10/day x 30 = $300

Laundry costs? 10/month?

Insurance costs? Other incidentals? $10/month?

So we have
800 Rental - provided
300 Food costs - provided
$25/month other costs - provided
That's $1125 plus disposable income of $400/mo or $1525/month. That's a lot more than a lot of locals makes.

Looks a bit different now doesn't it. Course, the big difference is she only get one day off a month and isn't allowed to go out in the evenings in most cases.

[missis]

FYI I'm not local and while she is around most of the day she most certainly not regarded as being at my "beck and call". If she wants to go out in the evening she can but most of her friends are employed by locals so they're not allowed. Weekends she generally has mostly to herself as we like to be out and about. I noted earlier that she gets every Sunday and holiday off.
SMS, that does put it in perspective doesn't it? Add also that we look after her medical costs and we give her a flight home once a year (as opposed to once every two years which is in her contract).
I'm aware that I'm in the minority as I respect my maid and she does me. I don't see that I should pay her extra when she's here anyway. She's often asleep when I return, with her door open and my son knows where she is if he needs her. And before everyone jumps on me saying she should be awake - I don't sit up until midnight every night in case my son wakes up so don't expect anyone else to.