Is medical check-up compulsory?

Legally it is not compulsory, but employers ask helpers to have one for peace of mind. First of all, you want to be sure that she's not pregnant, otherwise you'll have to give her 10 weeks paid maternity leave, but that's not the problem. The main problem with her being pregnant is that she will not be able to funtion of full capacity in the months leading to birth, and will not be able to do a lot of the more strenuous manual labour. Furthermore, the nature of work is such that your helper is in very close contact with you, your family and your personal items, ie. she does the washing, ironing, folding, cooking, caring for your children, etc. etc. so you want to make sure that she doesn't have any nasty diseases that can affect you and your family.

So, to answer your question, no, it is not legally required that the helper has a medical check-up, but you have to decide what you're comfortable with as you're the one who will have to live with her.

I don't believe Immigration ever verifies this, but I did notice that when you sign the green Contract form, one of the many things you agree to in the fine print, is that your DH has had a medical examination. There are clinics that do special Helper check-ups(including, if I recall correctly, TB test, hepatitis, AIDS, pregnancy) for a reasonable fee; something like 600-700 dollars I believe. It is definitely adviseable because in addition to needing to protect your family, you will be responsible for her health care, including pregnancy, as blcw says, but also if she has a medical condition, etc. Even a young healthy person could have high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, etc. Some of my friends have learned this the hard way!


Don't forget that you are required by law to obtain health insurance for your helper.

When our helper did it, it took several hours, she said-much of which was waiting, and then the results took a week or so. I don't know the name of the Clinic because it was recommended by an agency, but I know it was in Wan Chai. Of course, any physician can do the exam/tests; it just depends on what you want to pay.