Posted by
alex430
13 yrs ago
Hello
I'm considering hiring a driver (non live-in). Does anyone have some leads about it?
Any advice is welcome as well (although I already read the most recent threads about this topic).
Thanks for help
Alex
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There are 2 ways to hire a driver.
One is the same as a DH with the same contractual, immigration and labour department conditions. Therefore they will not live out but the cost of said driver will be $3580 per month. As for immigration, you need to show the registration of the car and promise they will not drive for your company but drive for your family only.
The second kind is a local driver paid per hour. The cost of this is much higher, but the restrictions are not there. They can legally drive for you, your company, family etc. They can live out, but you still need to ccomply with labour dept employer/employee regs.
A foreign driver is hard to get, they need to already have a driver's license in their own country and then take the training/exam for a license here in HK. Of course, this will be at your expense.....
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"Therefore they will not live out but the cost of said driver will be $3580 per month. "
DH drivers command much higher salaries, typically north of 8k per month. Very unlikely you will find one willing to work minimum wage.
"A foreign driver is hard to get, they need to already have a driver's license in their own country and then take the training/exam for a license here in HK."
No need for a foreign license. All the HK government cares about is that they have an HK license.
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axpatguy38
I am not talking about how much a potential driver can get for their time, but rather what is the process. The following is from the HKSAR website re hiring of DH drivers
26. FDHs are not permitted to take up any driving duties if they are allowed to enter or remain under the new standard employment contract which prohibits motor driving duties. However, individual employers who have a genuine need for their FDHs to perform driving duties incidental to and arising from domestic duties may apply for exceptional permission. All such applications are considered on their individual merits. Permission may be given if:
full justification of the need for and the specific details of driving service to be provided by his/her FDH incidental to and arising from any of the five broad categories of domestic duties is provided, namely household chores; cooking; looking after aged persons in the household; baby-sitting; and child-minding;
the ownership, description and registration number of the vehicle to be driven by his/her FDH are clearly stated and the vehicle concerned should be either a family saloon car or a mini-van of no more than eight seats;
where the vehicle is registered in the name of a company, a certificate from the company to the effect that the vehicle is provided for the personal and family use of the persons concerned;
the FDH must be a live-in helper; and
the FDH possesses a valid Hong Kong driving licence (an international driving licence and a temporary driving licence are not acceptable
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Ummm. You said "cost of said driver will be $3580 per month". I wanted to correct that point.
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Ahha Sorry, I thought you were talking about processing....
I said $3580 only because that is the minimum that the HK law says a DH must be paid per month. Of course, a driver knows they are a premimum and will negotiate.
Local driver would get much much more!
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There are hassles related to hiring a FDH, namely you have to supply accomodation, food or food allowance, sponsor their visa, and there are restrictions on the driving activities, and they tend to require you to train, help finance their licence ect and in one instance (my friend's) they can leave when a better deal comes along (even though I'm sure the new employer is having some teething problems as she is a totally new driver and needs at least 1-2 years under her belt before she could be considered an average driver). It is much easier to find a local person (amah) who can drive. I found one through my management, an ex security guard who can drive, who works for 5.5 days a week for 9,500 with no need for me to supply accomodation, ect. Its just an easier relationship. She is not as good a professional driver and doesn't know how to get everywhere, but she is sufficient to drive me to the airport, central, my child's school, drop me at work ect. And will help me buy my groceries, watch over my daughter on occasion, but won't do any domestic duties. Just a thought.
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They don't necessarily dislike those duties. As long as it is clear during the interview that such duties are included there shouldn't be a problem.
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yan88
13 yrs ago
If you have kids then it's very easy, as you can just hire an overseas worker, usually Filipino, as an FDH and state that they need to do driving duties in order to run the kids around.
If you want them to do other duties then just be honest in the interview process. If their previous job was mixed duties then they should be ok with it. However, if they only did driving, then it's unlikely they will want to do mixed duties. Ours is responsible for driving, gardening and the dogs. They'll usually ask for 10-12k.
Personally I wouldn't recommend training someone, nor someone without driving experience in HK. It takes a while for a driver to get used to HK's roads, which side to drive, etc.
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Thanks all for your contributions. I gather that as I will need him/her to drive to work and back, I can't go the FDH route.
Any recommendations where to advertise the job?
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Ask around with the management in your building, if you want a 'non professional' driver (like a security guard, clerical staff at the building sites who want to move to a driving job), who is more likely to be willing to do a mixed job, and will be cheaper. It will be a local person without the hassle of hiring a FDH, who if you read carefully, you can't ask to pay more than $300 if they damage your car.
Another place to ask if you speak chinese is, and this is going to sound a little weird, but are the car parks of private hospitals, there are loads of drivers there and they always seem to know other drivers. Oh the other people to ask are the management of your building, they will know who has a driver, and just approach the driver, and see if he has a contact for you. We've never failed via these routes.
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Rumdoodle, I don't worry about the FDH drivers....the Mainland drivers of trucks though are nuts...they make me and my family feel really unsafe.
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Moooo
13 yrs ago
even for a local driver, you can't ask him/her to pay more than $300 if they damage your car too.
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Mooo how sure are you sure about this? For FDH this is stated explicitly, not so for local drivers.
Our contract with our driver drafted by our company's law firm explicitly says he is responsible for accidents which are his fault and for all fines, excesses on the insurance premium ect. Moreover he has had one accident due to his own carelessness, and has paid out according to this stipulation in his contract.
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I am a driver/helper/dog taker
Pls call me at93153244 look for mithess thanks
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I am a Filipino driver ,gardener and dog taker.I am looking for a new employer with a good references of my prevous employer.Please call me 91002316.Thanks
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i would say its better to hire a car with driver, i use this company when i need since im back from US, its called flyfu car hiring service, the service is pretty good on time and the drivers are from hong kong. hope it helps
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