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Can someone school me on the domestic help in SPR?

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mom2gurls
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Can someone school me on the domestic help in SPR?

Post by mom2gurls » Fri, 27 May 2011 6:12 pm

Whats the scoop folks? We are on assigment right now in India..where the first thing I was asked "did you find a maid, didn you find a cook, did you find a nanny(evening) and did you find a driver YET)**WHEW**.

Being brought up in the states, the process was overwhelming to say te least, however we live in a gated detached home community where word of mouth landed me the staff I have right now.

But that is the NORM over here. Whats the norm over there??? I mean do most engage in domestic help..I.E.. you have at least a maid? Do they come everyday?

I dont like live ins...its a space and encroachment issue for me. Just do your work and go home is what I like,


What I have now is (and is the most common where I am at):

1. Maid monday to saturday 4 hours(does everything) 100 US dollars a month.

2. Cook monday to saturday (break.lunch.dinner.continental food). She is fast...and is done in about 2-3 hours. I dont expect her to stay. $90 Us dollars.

3. Driver M-S 12 hour shift...275 USD.

And these were expat rates based in an expat community.

Is it common to have a staff..or just a maid. Please advise on the norm.

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Re: Can someone school me on the domestic help in SPR?

Post by x9200 » Fri, 27 May 2011 9:44 pm

mom2gurls wrote: 1. Maid monday to saturday 4 hours(does everything) 100 US dollars a month.

No that popular (live-in maid cheaper) but no problem to arrange: SGD12-15/h. Typically people have here part time maids like once up to 3 times a week for a few hours a day.


2. Cook monday to saturday (break.lunch.dinner.continental food). She is fast...and is done in about 2-3 hours. I dont expect her to stay. $90 Us dollars.

Very uncommon but should not be difficult to arrange if you really opt for this. No idea about the rates.


3. Driver M-S 12 hour shift...275 USD.
Very very uncommon unless you are a very well-off person.

And these were expat rates based in an expat community.

Is it common to have a staff..or just a maid. Please advise on the norm.
It is very common to have a living in maid, also common but less a part time one. The rest cases are not that common.

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Post by mom2gurls » Fri, 27 May 2011 9:48 pm

thank you...I guess I dont mind having a live in..they are cheaper...how much do they run...do they cook as well?

No big deal to me if they dont. I like to cook.

Re: Driver, India driving..No way..LOL...so company gave us an Ford Endeavor and we get a driver.

Will we need a car in Singapore...is driving easy like the states? (please say yes)...or if public transport is the norm...is it safe with little kids..I am fine with adopting public transport.

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Post by x9200 » Fri, 27 May 2011 10:04 pm

mom2gurls wrote:thank you...I guess I dont mind having a live in..they are cheaper...how much do they run...do they cook as well?

Yes they do. 1000-1500 a month (depending on the country of origin and experience). All depends what you really want. It is hard to capture the complexity of this arrangement in a few sentences but there are many pros and cons. Take a look at some threads around on accommodation for the maids and your responsibilities as her employer. Many things fall out of what people consider a common sense.

No big deal to me if they dont. I like to cook.

Re: Driver, India driving..No way..LOL...so company gave us an Ford Endeavor and we get a driver.

Will we need a car in Singapore...is driving easy like the states? (please say yes)...or if public transport is the norm...is it safe with little kids..I am fine with adopting public transport.
I have no driving experience in the States but it is much safer here than in India :) Comparing to Europe it is ... different. People generally do no follow traffic rules but I wouldn't say is much more dangerous. You need to learn some patterns and be patient. Very patient.

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Post by mom2gurls » Fri, 27 May 2011 10:31 pm

Thanks for that...the less domestic help I have in my house the better!! I will admit, having someone come in once or twice a week to "tidy up" would be nice.

And to be able to "drive again"..I miss it..rolling down the windows and listening to music.

It will be nice to NOT be so dependent on someone to get from point A to B. LOL

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Post by Calmday » Fri, 27 May 2011 10:45 pm

Live out maids are more expensive but IMO is the way to go if you need help. Most live in maids are nothing more than slaves. Ya they make a few bucks but I guaranty that no one on this board would want to be in there shoos.
Driving won’t be a problem for you here. There are a lot of idiots on the road but no more than any major city in the US (I’m American so I know). The biggest difference are the motor bikes zipping between the lanes but nothing compared to India.

Singapore will be a nice change from India.

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Post by mom2gurls » Fri, 27 May 2011 10:54 pm

Calmday wrote:Live out maids are more expensive but IMO is the way to go if you need help. Most live in maids are nothing more than slaves. Ya they make a few bucks but I guaranty that no one on this board would want to be in there shoos.
Driving won’t be a problem for you here. There are a lot of idiots on the road but no more than any major city in the US (I’m American so I know). The biggest difference are the motor bikes zipping between the lanes but nothing compared to India.

Singapore will be a nice change from India.
LOL..great! I am used to nutjobs...I am from New york.. J/K..maybe :-)

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Post by x9200 » Sat, 28 May 2011 7:22 am

Calmday wrote:[..]I guaranty that no one on this board would want to be in there shoos.
Nobody who drives mercedes would like to change it to tata nano ... perhaps not the best hyperbole.

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Post by Calmday » Sat, 28 May 2011 9:38 am

Ya that’s a good point but I was thinking more along the lines of keeping a human being in a closet, taking there passport so that they can run away. Bringing them along to watch the kids when you go out to dinner then not buying them anything to eat etc etc etc etc

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Post by x9200 » Sat, 28 May 2011 12:16 pm

Calmday wrote:Ya that’s a good point but I was thinking more along the lines of keeping a human being in a closet, taking there passport so that they can run away. Bringing them along to watch the kids when you go out to dinner then not buying them anything to eat etc etc etc etc
The later one is just up to the individual to be a human or a bastard but all together (the whole l-inM thing) is far away from a black and white situation. It should be a standard employer-employee relationship but then the maids are so poorly paid they would not be able to live here independently but if they were paid better nobody would like to hire them and they still want to be hired for obvious reasons. Because they cannot sustain themselves on such low wage (this include potential medical expenses) the government shifted all the material responsibility for their well being and consequences of their behavior to the employers justifying to some extent the slavery. Pardon the truism but maids are as much humans as their employers. Both of the parties can be bastards.

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Post by ecureilx » Sun, 29 May 2011 3:46 pm

did anybody ever say that 'part time' maids, like those posted at the cold storage and such, are ILLEGAL ????

You can only have part time maids, if the maids is a SPR, or Citizen .. or engaged through a maid service company .. like the nanny-on-wheels .. type ..

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Post by therat » Sun, 29 May 2011 5:29 pm

ecureilx wrote:did anybody ever say that 'part time' maids, like those posted at the cold storage and such, are ILLEGAL ????

You can only have part time maids, if the maids is a SPR, or Citizen .. or engaged through a maid service company .. like the nanny-on-wheels .. type ..
I remember there is a case some yr back, 1 employer sent out flyer to 'out-source' her maid to work part-time like 2-4 hrs a day.
She was caught and charge.

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Post by ksl » Sun, 29 May 2011 5:36 pm

therat wrote:
ecureilx wrote:did anybody ever say that 'part time' maids, like those posted at the cold storage and such, are ILLEGAL ????

You can only have part time maids, if the maids is a SPR, or Citizen .. or engaged through a maid service company .. like the nanny-on-wheels .. type ..
I remember there is a case some yr back, 1 employer sent out flyer to 'out-source' her maid to work part-time like 2-4 hrs a day.
She was caught and charge.
Yes she was an expat PR, a real piece of work too by what the papers quoted, only following the pattern of the locals though. In fact Singapore fine City is just that, you need a licence for just about everything and locals when asked say your own risk! A cat needs a licence too :-|

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