Posted by
dbrongie
18 yrs ago
I can't decide if I was just naive or completely stupid when I hired my helper. It's been 2.5 years now and she has done a really good job in the past and has really gone down a path within the past few months of deviating from her original performance...noticeably so.
when I hired her I followed her guidelines since I really didn't know what I was doing hiring a helper. Currently she is making 5475.00 PLUS overtime over 10 hrs. On average she gets between 6500 to 7000 a month. AND she insists on getting paid twice a month...AND i pay for her telephone which runs anywhere between 351 to 956 a month...AND she I pay for her vacation flights, which she takes 2 vacations a year...AND I bought her son a laptop for his schooling. AND, AND, AND.oh yes...AND I paid her an extra 1000 a month to make diet meals for me on top of my childrens meals.
How this all came to a head is when I said I needed a second helper, but really couldn't afford one because she is too damn expensive for me to keep as one!
She's really bright and she came from a ended contract in Singapore. She is excellent with my children.
When I said I was going to hire a second helper, she said that she would come back from the US...where I sent her right now to set up my home...and 2 days later pack her bags and go to the Philippines. I was thinking wow! What loyalty!
How far off am I on the pay...I think I have an idea, but I'm looking for feedback.
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jele
18 yrs ago
Oh my god.
So many money for one helper. I hope she was doing a fantastic job.
You know the minimum is 3400HK of salary (live in helper) + food allowance.
Of course it is the minimum, you can pay her more and I think it is normal to pay her more when she has experience, or work very well.
I give more than the minimum of salary to my actual helper, and give her some extra when we are really happy.
Be careful with phone bill, you can't control the amount, 1000hk$ this month and next one? you don't know.
If you want to allow us phone, give her phone card.
Last thing, most of us have stories with our helpers. It's quite hard to find the good one. I am sure you will find the best solution for your family.
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JWM is correct...I heard from another family via her helper that my helper gets to do what she wants. I thought I was trying to be thoughtful and considerate...but I think I went overboard. It was hard because when I arrived I worked out of the house the first year, but stopped this past year, but still do random work for my husband at home. I am looking for the second helper because of evenings and weekends...especially Sundays when I am home alone running in two different directions with the kids and or when we travel and someone needs to fill in my shoes of running in a seperate direction with one of my children. I don't want a random part-time person...I want someone that I can trust with my children. So thus me looking for a second helper. But hell with what I pay for one...I can certainly pay out almost the same for 2!!!
It's a hard reality and one that I have to nip in the butt. Thanks for everyone's feedback...it's greatly appreciated.
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dbrongie,
I am new to Hong Kong and employed a maid recently. All the maids I interviewed had very good verbal references and I was surprised to learn that they were pretty much all earning the minimum....I actually came across very few earning more and that was only usually around 5000+food, which was not what I had heard about Hong Kong. I am happy with my choice, From what I can gather if the maid acts more of a house keeper and there is a lot of entertaining involved or they fill more of a nanny role with the children (as it sounds like they may do in your case depending on how often you travel) they get more.
If she came from Singapore I think she may have got her exchange rates mixed up when talking to you, and hit the jackpot! HK5000 is at least double what most maids earn in Singapore. The extras, especially to cook diet meals for you seems to be taking the *** especially as you also pay overtime which should cover her if she does have to work extra to do it.
Why don't you get talk to the agent via this board which will give you an idea. At the end of the day it comes down to supply and demand - is what she is supplying worth what you are paying TO YOU.
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alk...you are true, thus me doing a reality check. Honestly I didn't think much of it before because we did have a nanny in the US at a much higher rate...but I was working out of the house then and needed the extra help and my income covered it easily, so the transition here was easy with the help, but I thought I was getting a deal at first compared to the nanny. But now that I'm not working and just helping out the reality has sunk in. I'd rather have the money in savings, but I do know that you also get what you pay for...or at least that is normally the case. Yes, it's time for a real reality check. This thread certainly is a big one...thus me asking the question.
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mrsl
18 yrs ago
Have to agree with the other posters, but it sounds as if you do too. I would be happy to pay upto double minimum for right helper, but would not be paying extra for phone calls, cooking adult food etc. Only you can place a value on her work, but if her attitude and work have been going downhill, her return to the Philippines might not be a bad thing! Good luck
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green...it's true...now I have these helpers fighting over working for me for that very reason. It's bizzare, but a problem I seemed to have brought on all by myself not taking the time to sort out the details early.
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mrsl
18 yrs ago
It's so funny how the DH grapevine works. I recently heard in great detail from a friend's helper what mine does in a given day. The 2 girls do not know one another, but apparently mine was boasting about how much cooking, childcare etc. I do and how much she gets paid, not to mention 2 trips home a year. I have had a few offers of help, should my helper ever leave. The funny thing is that I think that my DH does plenty for her money, so I can only imagine how hard some others work.
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I agree with most things people have said - you now have a bit of a tricky reputation, but it won't be solved completely by hiring someone from outside your complex - whatever happens the other helpers will tell your new helper how much harder her job is that the previous one's. But even if it wasn't, you'd get this anyway. The DH community is not the tight-knit friendly one it might look like - there's an awful lot of back-stabbing. I would give this helper a month's notice (for her bad attitude about leaving you, at the very least) and then hire a replacement, at the minimum wage. See how that goes, then if she's good, pay more. I don't agree that you get what you pay for in these cases - I had a helper I paid more than the minimum and she took advantage non-stop. I've since had 2 helpers on the minimum salary and they've both worked very professionally. Oh, and whatever a helper made before is completely irrelevant - if she wants to work for you she will accept what you are offering. If she wants to hold out for more then that's fine, she won't accept the job. It's the same as any other employment situation. (It's also the same as in a market, when the stall holder agrees to sell you something but tells you they're making a loss and their children will go hungry because of it... Right.)
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Green...thanks so much. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best for the new year!
Thanks to everyone for your input. My conversation with my current gal this weekend will be nothing short of painful I'm sure.
Happy Holiday!
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