Food allowance any Gov. links please

Has anybody got the HK Gove link relating to food allowance? please.

My helper has just 'hoodwinked' our new to HK next door neighbours into employing her daughter. They did not really want a live-in helper fulltime, so she said (my helper) to them that her daughter can live in Boarding house and do her work between 10am and 6pm for them, and stay overnight if she is required for baby sitting.

Our helper was complaing to me that the people next door are only going to pay her daughter 3850 hkd to include food allowance! I said I thought this was correct, AND that it was totally illegal for her daughter to live out anyway, she must reside in the employers home, her answer was Oh! well they want privacy and lots of helpers in DB live out anyway. She must think I came in on a banana Boat.

I have managed to find the relevant pages on Imm web sight, about helpers living in employers home and not working for other people etc, and the wage, but not the food allowance.

I have printed two copies of each off, one for our easily influenced next door neighbour, and one to show our helper to prove our point.

Her daughter arrives direct from Phils on Tuesday am.

Our helper also intends to take yet more time off to chapperone her daughter from the airport and to the various gov offices, on top of time she has already taken off going to agencies with various bits and peices, in our work time.

I have told her if she does that she takes the time off in Leiu of some Sundays she will have to look after our pets while we are on annual leave.

She has had other issues in the past, thinking she could do extra part time work, basically because she has a very easy time here, very good wage, lots of rest, well fed (she is grossely over-weight)

We said absolute NO to the part-time extra work, and quite frankly I am getting a little weary of her wheeling and dealing, she is on a final warning!

Found this on the Immigration Dept website, link is http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/ID(E)989.htm

Quick Guide for the Employment of Domestic Helpers from Abroad (ID 989)

I. Eligibility Criteria

Employers who wish to employ a domestic helper from abroad (Helper) have to satisfy the following criteria:

e. the employer will pay the Helper a salary that is no less than the minimum allowable wage as announced by the HKSAR Government. If no food is provided to the Helper, the agreed amount of food allowance should not be less than HK$300 per month;

Current minimum wage for a FDH is HK$3,580 per month so with $300 food allowance that comes to $3,880.

Hope this helps.

Thankyou jdhk for your reply, very helpfull, I will do copies of this for my DH/and her daughter, and one for our neighbour.

To Snow Rose Yes it is interesting, if you click on Gov. link on the reply I got, it still states 300 hkd per month, I think if they recommend more they should always update these sites immediately. The only reason I requested this information, was to stop my helper, 'wangling' as much out of her daughter's new employers to be, when she may get them in trouble with Imm.office, they have only been in HK for a few months, and as far as I am concerned my helper has told them a few 'untruths' just to get her daughter a job, they are about to sign final contracts confirming they provide accomodation etc, and this isn't true, although if they like her they may consider this in a months to six weeks time, while the new helper will be actually living in a private boarding house! I just wanted all the correct info to give them so that they are fully aware what they are doing, and possible implications after that it is none of my business

Has anyone signed a new contract recently? What's your understanding of the minimum food allowance? Has anyone's agency told them how much to pay? Perhaps the Asiaxpat lady - Evelyn? - can reply?