Batgung

Well, I had an eloquent and insightful reply just about all set to John's excellent question yesterday, but then suffered the computer crash inevitably brought on by hubris.

Anyway, I'll try again.

As you know from our articles, Mrs Tall and I do employ a domestic helper. I'd say she's probably got somewhat less on her hands than it sounds like yours might (Mrs Tall works, but Toddler Tall is at kindergarten in the mornings, and naps for 2-3 hours in the afternoon, and we take over with her completely in evenings and throughout weekends). But you're already more generous than we are in terms of pay and perks.

What you've set out is a classic dilemma, I think, for us westerners who employ DHs. Even when we seem to be doing pretty well by our helper by HK standards, we look at our relative wealth, and feel like we're not doing enough. Or is this not the case for you, i.e. you're really worried your helper is looking for a better deal? If that's the case, I don't know how much a few hundred dollars a month might make -- she might, as Mr B suggested, also be motivated by other factors such as simply finding an easier post.

Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is that it's almost impossible to give advice on this question, because it's often just as much about the employer as it is about the employment situation itself. If you want to pay her more, by all means do so, but you're certainly not underpaying her now. My guess is that she's already making more than the majority of DHs in HK (especially the many who are being paid *less* than the legal minimum by their unscrupulous employers).

Another thing to keep in mind is the nature of the relationship you have with her. If you want her to 'feel like part of the family', that can be great, and might encourage you to pay her more/give her more gifts/help her out with family emergencies, etc. Many people, especially westerners, it seems, do this. But there are potential problems here, too, as it can really complicate your working relationship with your helper, and may lead to an escalating series of stories about crises that require funding help.

As I mentioned in the first of my articles about DHs, it's easy to go to extremes as an employer (treating them as working machines or as saints). Both deny their humanity. Similarly, it's easy to attibute the worst possible motives to them when it comes to money and benefits (i.e. give them too much, and they'll get 'spoiled', a word you hear all the time when people discuss problems with helpers); or to assume the very best possible motives (i.e. my helper would never paint me a picture about her need/desire for more money because she just wouldn't, that's why!). Both are again neglecting the more obvious explanation, i.e. DHs do what they do not because they love the life, but for the money, and they're going to do what they can to maximize their returns. This is neither scandalous nor edifying, which makes it far less fun to talk about, but I think it's most often the case.

Anyway! Didn't mean to ramble on like this, and I'm certainly not assuming you're making any of these assumptions, but once you get me started on this topic, I do tend to go on.

Bottom line: I don't think you're underpaying her. Pay her more if you want to/you think you need to. Can't really say more than that.

Do other reader have more?

Anyone had any experience with DH and theft, etc?

Never had a theft problem w/ our FDH

We've employed 2 different helpers, one for 3 contracts and the other has almost finished her second contract.

So far we've been pretty lucky. Howver, I think it's also that we were pretty clear on what type of women we wanted to employ.

1) Not a kid - we wanted a woman at least 30. I was afraid that if I employed a girl of 18 or 20, I would feel responsible to her parents to keep her safe and well in the Mean City. Also that a very young woman would likely be as.... sometimes lacking in judgement as I was when I was that age.

2) Since for us, for our first helper - the main job was caring for our baby (later babies) we wanted someone who had either her own kids (now grown to an age where I did not feel guilty that she had left them) or lots of experience.

3) Someone who had worked abroad before (in HK, S'pore, or Taiwan, preferably) so she would be experienced w/ homesickness etc.

4) Someone with at least a high school education - so we could communicate fairly well and she could read recipe books etc. & keep basic household accounts (so we could see how the housekeeping money is spent).

Different families have different needs. Our second helper was MUCH better at cleaning than the first, because by then baby-care was not an issue. Don't expect super woman.

******
Has anyone hired a local helper for part-time work? Any experiences to share?

Hi Celso;

Unfortunately for you, it's now illegal to hire a domestic helper who lives outside your home. It'd be taking a significant risk to try to get around this requirement. You might want to think about hiring part-time help.

Let us know if you've got other questions, and good luck with your move.

Mr Tall

[quote="celso"]hello
thank you for your tips

so
is it possible to hire a domestic helper just for a couple of hours a day?

regards

celso[/quote]

I'd think so. My aunt hires a DH for a couple hours every weekend to do heavy duty cleaning chores as she can't do them herself due to her disability.

Hi Mr. B,

How has your local helper's reliability been? I had a friend who had the same baby-sitter/cleaner for about 5 years. But my husband says his colleagues say when they've hired local helpers, there were problems w/ absenteeism, lateness, etc.

Did you or Mrs. B check your local helper's references before hiring? Did you hire from the Labour Department's website?

We just arrived in Hong Kong and want to get a helper. We like our privacy very much so we really would prefer someone who would live out. I have been browsing through so many sites about Domestic Helpers and still am confused.

I understand that it is illegal to have the helper live out if they are not from Hong Kong or have a depeendent visa. How do I go about at finding a local (trustworthy) helper or someone with a dependent visa. I would also hope that I could communicate with the person in English, Is it common to have someone working full time but living out?

I really appreciate any clarifications or recommendations. Thank you very much.SB

Simonek, those are some very good questions. MrB's suggested site should help a lot in finding a live-out helper, and you might also check out your local supermarket's notice board. Note, however, that you will likely get nowhere unless you read Chinese, or bring along someone who does, as most ads for people who will do part-time cleaning/housework will be posted in Chinese only.

On a related note, keep in mind that most local Chinese part-time helpers are not likely to have a high standard of English, although this is not an insurmountable problem, of course.

Good luck, and let us know how you're doing as you get settled here in HK.

I have a friend who lives in the flat upstairs. He wants a maid to cook and clean but he is single and values his privacy when he has lady friends over. I'm old, retired widower, and don't care about the privacy part. The maid takes care of both our households, but she sleeps in my home. Minimum wage is approximately $500 USD per month but we pay her $700 USD per month since she is taking care of two households (and doing more work). That's only $350 USD per month. You might want to reach a similar agreement with a neighbor and your maid.

Anyone knows the details about this? I heard when the contact hits the 5th year, MPF kicks in too. How does it work? How to calculate?
Help!!!

Dear Simonek
I just found your communications exchanged last year about local domestic helper and would like to know if you finally easily found a local DH speaking Chinese as this is what I am currently looking for and I am just starting the procedure filling the gov form.
Thanks a lot in advance for your advise.