pregnant helper...

hello, i had i problem i just hire my helper,after she when back from vacation, she process the visa,she is finish contract after she receive the visa she tells me that she is 3 and 1/2month pregnant.(at that month she is still under her previous employer) can you tell me what to do? can i fired her?

Oh dear! That is why you should always insist on a medical checkup before hiring.


If she performs her job, you could give her a chance?


Lots of employees don't tell their bosses too. It's just that you'll need to pay extra for a temporary helper to cover the time she's on maternity leave and they charge by the hour and you too will need to take annual leave. I'm assuming you have children.

thank you for your advane,

am single, she just take care for my dogs. and she said she is single, and now she will tell me she's pregnant after she got the visa, and its already 3 and 1/2 month. she just started the work. am not angry about her being pregnant its that she lie to me. she still have 2 month to tell me before she ask me to sign, am still young and don't know how to handle a pregnant helper. i just want someone to take care of my dogs and the house work. by the way thanks.

I would ask Immigration, about that situation, she obviously knew she was pregnant when you signed her contract, and yes if you had done a medical before signing the final papers you would have been able to stop at that time and not employ her.

You are not allowed to fire her.

Are you aware, that you are responsible for all her medical care, check ups and delivery of the baby? plus you will have to have the baby in your home for a few weeks till she sends it home, I would ask Imm how long you have to keep the baby there.

According to the Government website Q&A section on domestic helpers it says:

Q6.1 Under what circumstances is a helper entitled to paid maternity leave?

A A helper is eligible for 10 weeks’ paid maternity leave if-

 she has been employed for not less than 40 weeks immediately before the

commencement of scheduled maternity leave;

Your helper will have been employed for less than 40 weeks by the time her baby is due, so I don't see how you have to pay her anything. You cannot fire her but you do not have to pay her anything for her leave time to have the baby.

HK has public hospitals which FDHs are entitled to use. The costs of her medical care will be negligible compared to what you would find almost anywhere else in the civilized world.

I have a feeling that the only one who will be enjoying any "luxury" in this situation will be the helper.


OP, have you contacted immigration? This situation is completely outrageous, especially as the helper willfully neglected to inform you of her pregnancy.

Colin - If I signed a 2 year contract that would be doing a job requiring at least some physical duties.....I would feel extremely neglect and downright dishonest not to mention to the employer....in whose house I plan to LIVE that I was pregnant! It is dishonest through and through and she did it on purpose no doubt.

I run a business and if one of the girls I hired was 3 months pregnant when signing up for the job for a 2 year contract, I would be upset to say the least! I think it is absurd to think it is ok not to tell the person who is going to provide your pay check what they are in for financially and staff wise. I run a dance studio so it would also be an extremely difficult situation. However.....being a helper is also physical! HAving a physical before you get a job is not a bad idea in my mind!

I think some of the comments are a little harsh. Just because the OP is upset about her new hire being pregnant/ was dishonest to her, does not mean that she believes FDH should never have any children/never have a family of her own. It is confronting to have an employee who lives in your home deliver their child and then live in your home for whatever period of time with the child, it's not the same as in an office where although a pregnant employee is an inconvenience as others have to cover your tasks when you are off on maternity leave, here the employer has to be subject to the crying of the child, has to work around the babies feed times, work around a helper who may not be able to work properly because she has been up all night breastfeeding, ?deal with post natal blues ect.

Being a mom is hard, hard work and with the support of family and helpers whilst working it is only just manageable, with out all the support it would be near impossible, I think the OP probably worries about how the helper will be able to manage, and of course how she herself will be able to manage.

Yes, contact immigration to find out your options and also let the helper know she will not be receiving any paid maternity leave from you. Sometimes pregnant helpers will take a package deal (which is unfortunate for you), whereby they will ask for a lump sum to end their own contract and go home to deliver, this happened to one of my girlfriends recently (however difference is that helper has been with her for 4 years and had really been an excellent helper, so she felt inclined to be generous to this lady). See what your helper actually wants but remind her as to her actual entitlements. Not sure if you are also up for all the medical bills and time off to attend all the appointments (long wait times for outpatient care in the public hospitals).

COLIN- If the company you work for require you to have a medical, before being given your job, I am sure you would have had one.

As FDH's often work in close proximity to babies and young children, it is better both for the employer and the helper to know they are healthy.

FDh's come from 3rd world countries, where certain disease are more prevelant due to overcrowding, poor living condition, diet and healthcare, if minor problems are detected, like anaemia, mild diabetes, these can be treated easily and improve the helpers health.

Recent case a few months ago only, didn't stay on the forum long, because it went to the courts, a helper looking after a family's baby and toddler for 18 month, gradually helpers health deteriorated, employer took her to local's hospital, to find out the helper had advanced infective TB, then the helper announced she knew about it, had it since before she took the job!!! putting a tiny baby and toddlers health seriously at risk, and everybody elses health when she coughed around.

Medicals for helpers are important, and are the employers business.

As for the comment, about going out for a walk with the dogs and a stroller, have you thought the dogs might not even be used to small squeely babies, may not like them. When a person who has dogs has a first child in their home they have to introduce the child very slowly, dogs are territorial and will act as a pack, to something new which is getting more attention than they are,they can become very jealous, they may even consider eating the new thing, if left alone at any time. So watching the child and dogs will be difficult as well as doing the housework which is her job.

Just signed a new helper - who is 52 years old, was thinking of this post today when signing her, and was grateful I will not have to face this particular issue! So sorry for you and hope it works out with minimal cost to you both in stress and finances.

Colin .... Anywhere in the world , to sign a term of employment contract to work in a foreign country Immigration Department will insist on a medical report .i.e. the host country Department of Immigration .The spread or introduction of tuberculosis and other diseases are the main factors . As a result of compulsory medical tests , Tuberculosis and other diseases have been all but eradicated in first world countries . Secondly , no woman is asked for a life long abstinance of bearing children and raising a family ....only a sensible approach to family planning for two years at most at a time .

Colin, I can only speak for Swedish employment law which is where I had my 1st baby. If you had fewer than 40 weeks service with your employer, you were not entitled to full maternity benefits. Sweden is a rather developed country!


We interviewed a bunch of women years ago when we wanted a 10 hours a week helper and the one we offered the job to was pregnant. We interviewed her on the wednesday and gave her the job on the Saturday but on the friday she had a positive pregnancy test! She was so upset to not be able to take the job because of being pregnant but we offered it to her all the same and she worked for us for 7 months doing light house work and some baby sitting. She was a great fit for us at the time. Of course there was no issue of secrecy so no resentment.


One issue which could be relevant for you is the physical nature of the job. If your dogs are large, once she gets bigger, her balance will be harder to keep and if she gets knocked off balance, she could hurt herself and the baby.


She said to you she is single so what kind of support does she have for after the baby comes? You may find that she plans to stop working in HK once the baby comes so it might for you for her to work for you for the next 5 months and then resign.


Another thing to note is that some women might not know they're pregnant until they get a tummy....some even go into labor not knowing they're pregnant! -that's generally the morbidly obese so not likely in this case! She may have irregular periods and only noticed she was late after it hadn't come in a few months.


Good luck with whatever happens///

Spotless, my family also experienced a similar situation last year whereby our great helper suddenly announced 3 months + 1 day into her pregnancy that she was pregnant with a 3rd child after a 12 year gap at the age of 38, what a co-incidence only to find out then she was pregnant at that time, just after we would be able to 'legally release her' from her contract. For the next 2 months she managed to hospitalize herself for approximately 5 weeks on & off over that period with nothing more than 'morning sickness' as the Dr's found after many tests etc. We were very concerned, cancelled holidays & biz trips during that time, visited her at least once if not twice a day in hospital etc etc etc. Eventually she made it clear that she thought it would be a good idea for us to hire a 2nd helper, let her live out if we didn't want the inconvenience of having a baby in the house & even illegally not tell immigration about this - however still pay her salary & allowances at the same time of course.... It took a while & some clever maneuvering, however eventually, thankfully, we managed to 'encourage her to resign'. The penny finally dropped that until the day that the baby was going to be born, it was impossible for her to play the Dr's to stay in hospital for the remaining time of her pregnancy or at least until she could no longer get on a plane back to her home country. It may sound harsh, however it was very blatantly obvious that it was all ideally timed within her contract period. We decided not to be taken for a ride. We made it clear, very nicely, politely but firmly that we still had a house, garden, 2 dogs etc etc to take care of & she would perhaps be better off with her family, taking care of her back home. She eventually agreed. If necessary, draft a letter for her to copy, give this to her & have her write a hand written letter offering her resignation. Send to Immigration immediately & put her on a plane asap. For anyone out there that may object to our 'encouraging her to resign', she left happily, probably relieved in the end to be going back home after 12 years of working overseas, has had her baby, has had very pleasant communication with us - even asked us to be godparents, 6 months after having the baby has now returned to HK to work leaving her baby back home. Good Luck & be firm. Your DH was hired to 'help' you in a fair manner, respectful for both employer & employee, not to be a hindrance & certainly not to be a liar if this was the case.