Taking anothers maid...

[deemi786]

We have some friends who are leaving Singapore after a year and we are considering asking if we can take her maid, does anyone know the process or the costs involved.

[Mad Scientist]

Whether you can have a second maid or not , will depends on MOM

I got this link for you

Best to ask them to question yourself

http://www.sgmaid.com/faq.asp

[deemi786]

not sure i understand, i dont have a maid at all!

We were thinking of asking the maid of our friends (who are leaving and going back to the U.S.A) to work for us instead of leaving and going back to her home country.

[Mad Scientist]

LOL , LOL !!!!

Sorry OP I misunderstood you. Yeah you can have the maid transfer to you . Either you do it yourself at MOM or thru maid agencies. easy peasy.

The hardest part is whether MOM will allow the maid to continue or not

[deemi786]

HAHAHAH! i thought as much, it's ok i forgive you!

You know what the costs are?


maid levy, agency fee's, maid loans etc?

[Mad Scientist]

Not sure on the cost

Try this link
http://www.singapore-maid.com/recommendations

[ex-pat]

You know what the costs are?


maid levy, agency fee's, maid loans etc?[/quote]

Costs:
Levy 270 per month
Agency fee including documentations and work permit around 500 or more depends on the agency
Plus you need to provide here daily foods
Monthly salary depends how much she ask you but i guess 450 to 600 if she is a experienced helper.

Loan no worries its not your problem anymore

Her employer,/ your friend needs only to cancel her work permit and give her a release letter , agencies can provide you with the release form

hope this helps

[deemi786]

thanks.

450 - 600? wow thats allot! i wasnt expecting to pay that much, is it a case of you pay for what you get?

[ex-pat]

thanks.

450 - 600? wow thats allot! i wasnt expecting to pay that much, is it a case of you pay for what you get?

most expats i know pay thier helpers ranging from 450 to 1,200 depends how long they been working here....350 are for the newcomers.

[batgirl_cdn]

thanks.

450 - 600? wow thats allot! i wasnt expecting to pay that much, is it a case of you pay for what you get?

If you cannot afford, or don't think a live-in helper's daily work is worth that monthly salary, then perhaps you could consider weekly part time cleaners instead or do the work yourself.

[carlos hathcock]

We've recently done just this, we've taken an FDW from some friends that have moved on to another country and we need to 'transfer' the maid to us. I'd much prefer to run down to the MOM and hand them a form but my wife has been told by our maid that she needs to speak to their agency. If this costs us $500 then its annoying but for speed and comfort we'll suck that up. What is more annoying is that the maid's agency wants a letter from my local employer to confirm my salary and address. They will not accept the EP-paperwork which includes my salary on it.

For reasons which are a bit complicated the local branch of my firm is not currently my employer (though they did sort out my EP). The problem will come when I ask for a letter confirming salary and address, two reasons being that I am still being paid out of head-office and my address is my address not paid for my Singapore branch.

Whilst I can probably get through my local HR in some way or other it will take a lot of escalation and heads of depts talking to get a fairly simple and easy letter. What I am wondering is, does anyone know if the agency is correct or if they are - rather like nearly every organisation I have come across in SG - just collecting paperwork and numbers for the sake of it.

My preferred options are:

a) going to MOM myself with the form filled out and paying the $10 re-registration fee (hypothetical form and cost!)
b) telling the maid's agency to FO and do what they are told.
c) going to another agency without the 'letter' restriction.

Any advice on moving through this red-tape would be much appreciated.

[MaidInSing]

You can arrange a transfer yourself online for free without going through an agency. If you do want to have someone take care of the transfer I know someone who will submit paperwork for you for around $150 much cheaper than agent.

Please bear in mind agencies will also charge the maid at least one months salary so they make quite a bit of profit for something that can be done for free.

Here are details:

Apply for a new work permit for a transfer foreign domestic helper:

Preconditions:

The current work permit is still valid 30 days or longer.
The current employer stays still 30 days or longer in Singapore.
the current empl. gives a letter of consent (release letter) by either completing Part 5 of the Work Permit Application Form or by writing a letter.
The domestic workers passport is valid for another 7 months or more.
Application procedure:

Get a Singpass: http://www.singpass.gov.sg/sppubsvc/req1.html
Take the Employer Orientation Program (EOP) online course: http://cec.sp.edu.sg/webapps/login/ The course will take about 2 hours to complete. You will need to print a copy of the Certificate of the Employer Orientation Program (EOP).
You can now apply for the Foreign Domestic Worker’s Work Permit online here. You can pay the S$10 administration fee online using your credit card. Please check this site again the following day for the status of your application (i.e. Received, Pending). When you see the status as “Pending”

[MaidInSing]

thanks.

450 - 600? wow thats allot! i wasnt expecting to pay that much, is it a case of you pay for what you get?

If you can't afford a maid don't get one. the hourly rate for the maid works out to very little.

Are you getting a maid to free you up to take full time employment? If so then it is a small price to pay to take an extra salary.

If just for help around the house/babysitting then go for a local cleaner/nanny and pay $12/hr.

There are no minimum wage requirements for domestic helpers in Singapore. The Philippines govt. states US$400/month as a minimum. Read the Human Rights Watch Report about the maid trade in Singapore on my site.

Please pay a fair wage if you get a maid.

[carlos hathcock]

MIS thanks for all that explanation.

I got my Employment Pass IN PRINCIPLE yesterday, my wife is doing the FDW employers course Friday evening. I hope to be able to apply for a singpass on Monday (I hope it is the Monday after approval in principle and not the Monday after pass issuing). If it is not then I guess I can't do the online process and wil ahve to use your contact.

What about the "letter" rule from the agency, what do you think?