Bad employers

A while ago someone suggested a 'bad maids' list. I would prefer to have a bad employers list. Yesterday I interviewed a Sri Lankan helper who came here to work a couple of years ago, having signed a contract stating the terms of employment (standard minimum wage/holidays etc). Basically you know the story - she arrived, was paid $2000 a month, got one day off a month, worked from 6am until about 1am, cleaned the office on Saturday, looked after a couple and 3 teenage girls, then she found another job - the employer happily gave her a release letter, then changed the reason for her terminating the contract, Immigration then held up her next contract so she lost the job, etc.

I now feel horrible as I would love to employ her - she was nice and smiley, can obviously work hard, had good English, but I have a baby and her experience is only with older children. I feel upset as she now has less than 2 weeks to find a job, and will probably get equally exploited by the next employer who will realise that she can get away with it, like all the others. I wish now I had written down the name of the bad employer... these people should not be allowed to employ others. If you ill treat a dog you can get a 10-year ban from keeping a pet - it should be the same with helpers.

Actually this particular lady was employed by a nationality that I would not expect much compassion from, sadly, from what I've read in the papers.


I just can't believe that there is no legal protection - I assume it's because the people at the Labour Dept/police/Immigration are all doing the same themselves.

Don't worry Goldilox - I've heard the horror stories about terrible helpers from my colleagues - some helpers don't clean the toilet well enough! Or, they don't iron properly. Or wait, some of them want to listen to the radio while they work! Can you believe it? Obviously in these cases the helpers deserve to be paid less. And probably beaten too. Let's stand up for the poor employer here, who can't afford to pay her helper the minimum wage (and it's ok, you know, as do you know how many pesos you get to the dollar?), but who can't be arsed to look after her own children.

Geiboyi, a nationality - do you mean Chinese? If not what nationality are you talking about? Why are you scared to say it? Is it because you do not want to generalise or you are not sure about what you heard was 100% true or not? When I saw you looking for a sri lankan helper a few days ago, i right away voluntarily told you the magazine's name,cos I wanted to help and I like sri lankan people as well. I m 100% local chinese so please do not generalize. Let me tell you a story - my previous helper was Sri Lankan. When I interviewed her, she told me she was earning $2000 and 2 days off per month. She did not want to make a big fuss because she wanted to finish the 2-year contract. When I asked for reference, she said she did not have a reference letter nor the emploer's no. The story was fishy but I was 'touched' by her sad experience so I did not insist for a reference. I employed her and as a result she was fired for stealing money. Yet I still like sri lankans and I dont think they are all like that. I was only unlucky.

Nice and smiley dont count at all at interviews, by the way.

Really Geiboyi, I think it takes a bit of time to really understand everything and it sounds like that you are a newbie. So be humble and learn. Every story has two sides.

Sabi, I think they take 2000 because they are desperate and don't know any better. It doesn't mean they are bad workers. If they say no to 2000 they may not get another offer for some time. And how exactly do people who sign contracts for friends, girlfriends etc "cheat" the Hong Kong people ?


As for legal protection I think it mostly exists on paper. I knew an Indonesian girl who was receiving sexual advances from her employer (in front of his 6 year old son). When she went to immigration and asked them what she could do she was told that if she wasn't happy with her situation she would have to break her contract and go back to Indonesia. Obviously not true, but these guys are probably making advances to their maids to. Maids who are forced to work in restaurants or take care of two houses can't complain becuase they will have to pay a fine too.

The system and the local culture are completely rigged against them.

they get protection because they have no power

Mighty - I apologize for being rude and generalizing. Thank you for your advice where to look - I do appreciate it. Also I do realise that there may have been more to the story than the helper was telling me - I just felt unhappy that I'd been put in an uncomfortable position, so I was having a badly-thought out rant. I was brought up somewhere it's not common to employ domestic help so I'm finding it hard to go through this process. Sorry! I do however still believe that it is more common for locals to underpay their helpers than other expats - perhaps it's because we too are living in another country and technically could be forced to leave if we break any laws? I do personally know people who are underpaying their helpers and they appear to genuinely see no problem with that. I have also heard people say that the minimum wage only applies to Filipinas - this I presume is a case of agencies misleading clients. But just saying that $2000 is a lot of money in some countries is not a valid argument. I can't go to my boss and say that as living expenses are much higher in Europe they should pay me more than my local counterparts, can I?


Of course there is legal protection in theory, but if a helper has come to HK through an agency, for example like all Indonesians must, they generally start off with debts in the region of $21,000. If they don't accept $2000 they'll get nothing, so of course they stay. The 2-week period to find a new job is ridiculous - just not practical. Also I agree with those who rightly point out that $2000 is far more than an unqualified person would earn in their home country. In Sri Lanka, a secondary school teacher earns around HK$600 a month. But still, that's not the point, is it? The government has set the minimum salary higher than it needs to be - why? People would still come here if the minimum was $2000. Also, why can't mainland Chinese residents get a domestic helper visa?


Anyway - I found a nice helper - I hope she is happy with how I deal with her, and in return I hope she will look after my son well. Let's see.

Geiboyi, I do not want to generalise and do not want to be generalised neither. Just like we locals cannot say every westerner is the same, coz Americans, British, Australians, Canadaians, just to name a few are so different in their culture and upbringing. Anyway, glad to hear that you find a good helper. As you seem to be not too sure about employing a helper, my little adice is to : treat her with respect as an employee but rememeber she is not part of your family. Good luck.

Thank you Mighty - actually this will be my second helper - the first didn't turn out quite as I'd hoped as I didn't listen to others' advice, thinking that of course I knew how to deal with an employee. This time I am gratefully listening to all the advice that comes my way. I understand that it is not always appropriate to generalise, but I think there are trends that can be observed and commented upon.

The reason I experienced some problems employing a helper this time is that last time I relied on a personal reference from an acquaintance, as I needed an experienced helper for a newborn baby - the former employers were obviously very keen to find their helper a new job as they were leaving. It didn't work out well.