terminating helper - how much time to move out

We've decided to terminate our helper. Just wondering how much time to you give her to move all her stuff out. From other threads it seems that people expect their helpers to move out the day they're fired. Our helper has alot of stuff (her room is chockers) so not sure this is reasonable??


Any comments/thoughts would be welcome.


BTW our helper has been trustworthy, she's just lacking in common sense, and wants to do things her way. And we just don't really get on.

Sometimes we think helpers lack common sense. We don't suspect untill the last moment that they are smarter than we think and their "lack of common sense" is actually very well planned strategy to ease their work.


I fired my helper last week and gave her 1 hour to pack her stuff. He room was also full of all sorts of things. I was surprised how she could obtain about 70 kilograms of things over the 8 months!


--Don’t give her 1 month notice; rather fire her on the spot. Otherwise, she’ll not work during the month and will do her best to irritate you or plot something against you.

--Sit her down and ask her to sign all the papers. OW, she may sue you.

--Give her all the money you owe. OW, she may sue you.

--Ask her to return house keys. OW, she/her friends may rob you.

--Give her 1 hour and provide her with big strong bag/bags. OW, she’ll have to go out and buy one while consulting her “smart” friends over the phone.

--Keep an eye on her door. OW, she may pack some of your valuables.

-- Make sure your kids are out of home. OW, when a person is under stress she might do unpredictable things (e.g., become abusive and rude).

--Pay for a taxi to your agency or take her there by car. Your agent will help her to go to a boarding house. OW, she’ll be hanging around your house until she decides where to go.




Don’t feel sorry, because that’s what you decided to do. If somebody tells it’s too harsh and inhuman, read some of the threads on this site to understand what kinds of problems “human” employers have.

In the end we gave her the whole weekend to move out. I'm glad we did as we've "parted" on relatively amicable terms.

Actually, bad employers deserved bad dh. As simple as that.

I do agree to everybody,Nat_76 you are the worst employer in this community.Everytime you comment, too negative I was wondering why Ed hasnt review you comments here as they are very negative.You deserve to be banned in this forum.

In our case, our helper gave one month notice and is working out her last month, but she has been with us many years and we trust her implicitly.


We don't know the situation that Nat76 was in, maybe she had a very good reason to terminate her helper like that.


A friend had a really awful helper (dangerous to flat and baby) and did similar to Nat76. In her case, without going into details, it was really the best way to handle it:

She had all the paperwork in order.

She paid her all money owed.

She arranged and paid for a van to move her things.

She arranged and paid for a boarding house.

She bought her ticket.

She advised immigration via a termination letter.


Even the agency said she was more than fair in her case.


While Nat76 has one set of views, I think it is good to be reminded that not all of us have had good domestic helper experiences. We have been lucky and we have, but Nat and other posters remind me how lucky we are!

I think Nat76 gave very good advise.

Think about it, if your DH is a DH from hell, then Nat ended it the best & fair way possible.

I should know, I had a horrible DH & whilst I wished I could take revenge on her, I did similar stuff to what Nat76 did & I am glad I did that.

Most DH are decent people, but unfortunately some of us get the rare...the ones from hell!

gogis,


'may do' is not the same as 'will do' and generally Nat76 said 'may do' ie she was stating what might possibly happen and gave her own advice about how to avoid the possible events that may arise - to me at least she was giving her opinion and advice as requested by the original poster and for the benefit of other employers (who can of course disagree and ignore the advice or act upon it), if you believe otherwise about the points raised why not comment item by item rather than attacking Nat76? I fail to see how anyone could tell from the information given whether or not she is a good bad or whatever employer.

My goodness! That's really harsh, I just read through what Nat76 wrote and the rest of the thread.


I think when it comes to hiring someone to work for you as a house help, and I tend to use that word more than a maid, we should remember that unlike Europe, the terms and conditions the house helps work under are really inhuman. In reality, it's really a human rights violation.


First off, the two year contract separates them from family and any support other than the support system they can establish with "friends" they make here.


Next, they have to live and work with their employer, which oftentimes, is not contained in an 8-hour work time-frame, usually accorded to us "normal working folks", and if they take a "day-off" they can only go and join their friends, sitting on sidewalks and eating out of lunch boxes, even through the cold and the rain.


If they're fired, where do they go? They came to Hong Kong to find work and sustain their families, and it would be good if they find someone, like you discover a good employer and you both get along working with each other for a good number of years. If someone ends up with a house help they cannot get along with, then really, this should be known early and you should look out for certain signs when you take someone in your home, at least the first week or month should show you something, so you can terminate the service and move on to find another. The termination can then be a friendly one.


I would give a help anywhere from one week to one month's notice depending on her situation and mine, for example, if I had a replacement ready, if my ex-help can find someone to take her on ... I'm a humanitarian and really, I would think this "help from hell" thing is one cultivated by people who don't pay enough attention to who they hire! That's basic common sense, you take someone into your family, they live, eat, and sleep in your home, day after day ... you should know who they are at least, get close to understanding something about them and their personality.


Oh and as for personal possessions - I really think this is none of our business but the help's. They don't work for people to be monitored on what they buy for their family and keep with them. If you don't trust your maid and think she may have taken things from you, then you should just tell her you want to inspect her bags before she leaves. But what she accumulates is her business - you don't know if she comes from a very poor family and she buys presents for them and waits for her return home to give them those presents so, really, it's terrible to judge helps like that and look into their "possession" and what they stuff in their tiny rooms - if they're even lucky to get a room and not just the bare floor to sleep on!


On "stealing", this falls under the "trust" factor - you should already know if you've been missing things early or not. And again, this is something you should "test" with your help early in the relationship. Leave a few things valuable in your toilet every week, can be money, can be jewellery (preferably something that looks valuable, even a fake rolex hahhahaa!) and see what she does with it.


Interesting post! :) Just a friendly exchange ... and more in response to what Nat76 put out. ;)

I agree with nat76. Lets face it, how many employee's actually work through their notice period in a constructive and professional manner? (I'm making reference to ALL jobs and not directing this comment at DHs alone.) If the DH is a problem resulting in your decision to dismiss, her attitude and deficiencies are only likely to deteriorate over the coming 30 days. Moreover, TRUST is the key here. Once a DH quits she knows she is guaranteed 30-days pay and a 14-day extension during which she can look for another potential employer. Lets face facts here: the DH wants to get out asap but if made to remain in your employ she is likely to make your life a misery. Most would prefer a spot of garden leave. $$$...thank you and good bye.

Agreed, but the original poster was asking how much time to give her helper to move her stuff out of the house. Nat76 gave her helper only one hour after she'd fired her which seems unnecessarily harsh.

Dismiss her immediately, they all have a network of boarding houses to go to and are all perfectly capable of dealing with it. I fired a new domestic after 10 days (broke very expensive antique items, lost the dog twice and was cleaning the car with an abrasive pad - despite being told what to use!) Simply paid her the monies due, flight ticket back and that's it. MAKE SURE YOU INFORM IMMIGRATION IMMEDIATELY TOO.

I agree with nat76, he is right.

so I am thinking about what to do re my new helper if in a week or so things are no better...I am happy to pay the months leave notice etc and flight ticket etc... my grounds are that she doesn't follow instructions ,,doesn't read English although did not disclose this at interview.. is this a good reason according to Immigration and does she get tostay on in HK and try again?I am happy to tell a prospective employer thats she idoes OK work under supervision...or should I just terminate...

give her three warning letters first in writing and let her acknowledge it.


the warning letters should include specifics of what the offenses were.


with this you have strong grounds for dismissal

You can only give warning letters for negligence or laziness, not lack of common sense. In certain cases, you do have to follow Nat's advice. It's rare that you can allow someone 30 days notice.I've done both...It depends on the situation and people involved. I broke a contract and found a person another job, but is rare.