i have decided to not renew my helper's contract coming up next april. it's for several reasons but one of the main ones is that her health is not good and i just need someone more robust and reliable especially with 2 young kids in the house, one will be a newborn. so i am going to be very honest with her and tell her just that. as we pay for her ticket back to the phillippines i am going to tell her that its better that she just go back and try to regain her health and she can be with her family etc.
but i'm worried that she will have bad feelings about that decision because she told me that she really wanted to work here and not go back to the phillippines.
my question is how do you make the transistion between two helpers? better to have an overlap or a gap between the two? is it possible to have the new one start the day after the old one finishes?
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since you are going to be honest anyway, tell her at least 3 months before so that she could try find another employer.
an overlap of a week or more would be ideal - so the new one could learn the routine.
it is hard but you have a newborn baby and you have to do what's best for the kids.
ps. have the new helper tested out for tb too.
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well i am worried about the helper's performance after she finds out she is not getting renewed. no matter how nicely i try to put it i'm worried she might have bad feelings about it and then how will she perform? it's just human nature isn't it? same thing for retrenched employees in offices...
you just don't know what will happen after you tell them that they are not getting renewed. meaning how will she react? i'm worried she'll have a bad reaction and then i am stuck with a bad attitude and maybe worse for 3 months...
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that is true.
in that case, there is really no good way to deliver bad news except to give it straight and upfront.
if you get a new one now and overlap with her - the old one might bad mouth you to the new one which is no good either.
why not release the old helper contract earlier ? so you can get a new one soon
http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/faq_fdh.htm#9
Can an employer terminate his helper's contract before it expires?
A43: An employer and his helper alike may terminate the contract prior to its expiry by giving not less than one month's notice in writing or by paying one month's wages to the other party.
An employer who fails to pay the statutory benefits and other payments due to the helper in accordance with the EO and the standard employment contract commits an offence.
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so does "terminate the contract" mean "fire"? or is it a mutual agreement between the two parties? if it is a "firing" don't you need a good reason which does not include sickness. also a "firing" seems so harsh. i merely just don't want to renew her for another 2 years.
and come to think of it, i really want to get the new one BEFORE the new baby arrives. the problem is.... the helper's contract is up in the same month as the baby is due!!! how am i going to handle this one?? i will have to terminate her early but how?
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well as the website says, you can terminate the helper prior to contract expiry. it does not give any restriction as to the reason.
as i said no good way to tell bad news but straight and upfront
as the website says, you need to give one month's notice and pay all that is due to her and a ticket home.
terminate is ending the contract early and it can be initiated by one party.
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Ed
16 yrs ago
You might consider posting an ad for your helper here http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/helpers/
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oh well i had my hopes up that i could terminate early however i have learnt today that you can't fire them if they are sick....
there are actually lots of other reasons i want to let this helper go but it seems that if i terminate her contract early she can turn around and tell the board that she is sick and that i knew that she is sick and then i will get a huge fine for terminating her...
what should i do? i am really reluctant to have to wait till next april to change helpers. i have reached my limit of tolerance for a lot of the things she does, i just want to get rid of her and get a new one asap. but are my hands tied?
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woody - that makes a lot of sense (re the reference). thanks for that....
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You might want to just be honest with her. Tell her that your pregnancy is getting a lot more difficult and you will be expecting a lot more from her in the coming days. (Since you mentioned that there are other problems aside from her health.) And when the baby comes, as the work load doubles, you're really concerned about her ability to keep up with the additional responsibilities.
When she hears this, she may herself not want you to renew her contract. Then tell her that you are telling her this now, for her benefit, so that she can decide whether to look for new employment or take this opportunity to rest. Also, say that you will support her and help her in whatever decision she makes. As for you, you will start looking for someone who can keep up with the increase in demand. Hopefully, she will appreciate your consideration and advance notice.
Also, being pregnant, you don't want to risk being without help even for a day when your baby arrives. I was without help for my first pregnancy because of helper visa complications and it was pure misery for everyone (we don't have any family members nearby.)
It will be nearly impossible to search/interview behind her back and you risk bigger resentment if she suspects. I don't think it's just a bad situation to have an overlap. It might even work out better for you. It will be hard for your new helper to believe you're such a terrible person when you're willing to do all this for your old helper.
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