Can anybody help to find out more about boarding homes for domestic helpers? We live in Stanley and have no room in our home for our helper and like to find something for her to live outside.
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Thanks for telling me this, I was not aware of this. So what does one do whe the only space in the apartment for the helper is worse than a closet??
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there's plenty around.... best bet is to ask your helper to ask around fellow helpers.
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Ed
18 yrs ago
Moved to DH channel - you should contact Evelyn about this in our office 2815 2520 - i beleive there are some harsh penalties if you are caught going this...
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TC
18 yrs ago
How did you even get your contract approved by Immigration? Don't you have to describe the sleeping accommodation? Although the chances of getting caught are slim (most likely due to the jealousy of a fellow helper) the last penalties handed out to my knowledge are a couple of years ago when the helper was jailed for 6 months and then deported with no chance of future re-employment in HK as a helper (as long as she used her own passwport anyway), and the employer copped a $50,000 fine and a ban from employing another foreign helper while in HK.
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TC, do you have a source to support your information?
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That sounds bad.....when we signed the contract we had a room for our helper. But now that we had to move the new room is really bad....I am kind of lost on what to do? I only have her best interest at heart, I mean I could just put her in the "closet" - would that satisfy immigration??? You can't win here....
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I would also be interested to find out where TC got that info. As far as I know there have been no incidents of immigration penalising either employers or DH's although they do state that they will if found out. I personally know more than 50 people who have live out helpers and it works well for both sides. The helpers don't have to stay in a closet and the employers get some "alone" time as well.
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Thanks, I feel the same way. Guess I send my helper on a search.....
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TC
18 yrs ago
The information that everyone suspects I made up was covered in the SCMP a couple of years (might even be 3 years, pretty sure it wasn't as much as 4) ago. Do I have a copy under my bed? No, sorry. Would SCMP have a copy? Almost certainly. From memory (and that's dangerous fo me) the employer was a US national. I'm more clear on the nationality of the helper - Filipino.
But if you want to keep things in perspective that is the only well-publicised case I can recall in recent years, yet thousands follow the same practice. I think Immigration understand that and will not necessarily pursue a case if brought to their attention. The fact is, though, that the practice is against the law and there are penalties for breaking that law.
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Thanks for the info. And just to clarify one thing: I am trying to something good here for my helper not the other way around. I am also gonna pay the rent and will not take this of her salary. After all it is not her fault that the people in HK have so little regards for the maids and even so the new houses are nice and big the quarters for the heplers are an absolute disgrace!!!
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Thanks to all of you. What I will do is contact Immigration and explain the situation. If they say ok we will look for a room. In the emantime also talked to various helpers who rent a single room (no sharing) for about $2000.
If Immigrations says no I guess my helper will have no choice but to live in the closet.
And bebeb - just for your info, this has nothing to do with being rich or poor, my comment was mainly that in the older building they always provided a decent size room, but in the newer buildings they don't.
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Your last sentence just proves my point.....
And I agree with you, there is no hatm in it, I also think some of the helpers even prefer to live out.
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spurs
18 yrs ago
Absolutely! We have a lovely helper who we adore. She has lived out for 12months in a boarding house where she lived with 4 girls, had her own room and shared a bathroom. we paid $1500 per month plus $3700 salary. we were in a 650sq foot apartment with a child and value our privacy and do not require help on weekends except the occasional saturday night. we have a good relationship and have no doubt that she has been very happy. we are now moving to a lovely big house with a spare room and bathroom so she will come and live with us but I have no doubt that we were doing the best thing for all concerned - illegal or not. If you have a good relationship with your helper then you should be able to talk about what is best for both of you.
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" I have no doubt that we were doing the best thing for all concerned - illegal or not."
Well it is illegal. And you know it's illegal. It is not a case of "what is best for both of you."
Although a prison sentence is unlikely for the offence, there is the risk of never getting approval for an FDH in future, or perhaps losing a work visa.
People do choose to knowingly break the law every day and in every way. Guess it depends on the kind of person they are.
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Things kind of took care of themselve for us. We are leaving HK at the end of the year and our helper already found a new job. So I guess I don't have to worry about this anymore.....thanks for all the advise so.
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spurs
18 yrs ago
Sometimes ethics are just as important as the law...............
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hi can you help me find 1 bedspacer around hennesy road wanchai..tnx my contack # 53743409
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Four foreign domestic helpers were arrested in dawn raids in a morning in January 2015 for breaking immigration laws by not living in their employers’ homes.
Three minibuses with at least 20 immigration officers descended on Ma Wan village around 7am, accusing the helpers of breaching employment legislation and their contracts.
One Hong Kong resident, understood to be an employer of one of the helpers, was also held for obstructing officers. Immigration officers arrested his wife in the afternoon.
An immigration spokesman confirmed that four foreign domestic helpers were detained for making a false representation to an immigration officer.
The government requirement that domestic helpers live in their employers’ homes was tightened in 2003 in a bid to boost job opportunities for local domestic helpers. Only those helpers who have been employed continuously by the same employer since before 2003 are allowed to live out. Under the same laws, employers are also targeted for letting helpers out of their duty of care.
The government insists the laws prevent abuse of helpers working part-time outside of their employment.
According to Hong Kong law, employers hire a domestic helper using a standard employment contract – a legally binding document. Clause 3 states that the migrant worker must reside in the employer’s residence with a stated address. The visa application states that the helper and employer must comply with clause 3.
Related link:
http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/forums/hong-kong-domestic-help/threads/147659/penalty-for-live-out/
Similar operations ongoing
http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201207/07/P201207070469.htm
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