Posted by
woods99
15 yrs ago
Why not ask your helper what she thinks?
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As woods99 says, ask what she thinks. While many who share are either married, sisters or some other kind of relative, it is not unusual to have two non-related helpers. They do need to agree to it though. A good idea is to ask the first helper if she can recommend someone she could live and work with.
As cara says, bunk beds are the normal solution. You can easily get a custom/semi-custom bed for your room from a place like Modern House (60 Java Rd, North Point).
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I assumed that reference to Chinese family by beancurd means non-expat/locals without the luxury of havin a flat with helper quarters.
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Perhaps you could just get a set of shelves from Ikea, and make them curl up on those. You could use the leftover shelves for extra storage, books, etc.
Or, you could ask how you would hope to be treated in their position, and perhaps conclude that one very tiny room is probably big enough for only one person. Of course, that may mean you need to look at other options re a 2nd helper, but sometimes that's just how it goes.
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"Including: "he/she will provide the helper with decent accommodation and suitable privacy; ""
This is true. However note that this doesn't actually mean they need a "real" room. Our friends have their driver in the helper's room and their helper in a converted walk-in closet.
Unless they want to share a room, I am sure most helpers prefer a large closet of their own compared to a fold out bed in a hallway. Also as beancurd indicates, think vertically if your apartment has high ceilings.
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Dadda,
In the "real world" some people treat their helpers as fellow human beings - some others treat them as cardboard cutouts. Perhaps if you asked your helper what her "ideals" are you would be surprised. Why don't you at least try, or have you decided in advance that your helper is either stupid or venal? All the helpers I have employed have been decent, practical, people - perhaps I have just been lucky.
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Islandhopper is correct about sharing the room. "Opposite sex" is forbidden by law. At least a large closet I would say. I think, however, that you should consider giving up a bedroom or hiring a helper who can stay in the same room (sister, cousin, good friend).
As for the IKEA shelving, much better to get proper plywood. More durable.
dadda, I don't really understand where your comments are coming from.
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Yes, there are plenty who put two helpers in one maid's room.
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another option (not really an answer to your question) might be to hire a local live-out helper as your second, to split the daily workload...
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Instead of hiring a sardine, why not hire a local maid who already has accommodation?
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Agreed with cara. You just cannot compare with the US. The prices per square foot are way higher here. It is quite possible your typical helper gets more space as a live-in than her live-out colleague in a boarding house. For that salary, that's more or less what you get in HK, even if you are resident and work in another profession.
"I still have to ask this, how many of you comfortable income earners would be willing to live like that?"
Well, since our salaries are higher we can afford larger. Available standard of accommodation is largely based on salary. If our family made what a helper does we could hardly expect larger than she has in Hong Kong (US is another matter).
As mentioned before, ask the helper(s). Many are happy to share a maid's room. In fact "back home" they may have shared a room that size when living in the family home.
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these topics have been covered many times in the past and yet it is a sure fire way to get the pageviews up.
if you need to hire two helpers then you will find a way to make do with what you have. not everyone has the luxury of multiple bedrooms or the luxury of not hiring a second helper.
rents in Hong Kong are very expensive. if you see how locals live (as in the family of 7 living in a 700 sq ft HOS apartment as featured in yesterday's SCMP), then the new expats here or the legacy ones who still manage have housing allowances that support 2000 or 3000 sq ft apartments would understand that two helpers sharing a typical helpers room is just not a big deal. it happens all the time. it is not ideal, but we don't always get to choose
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In the contract when you hired the first maid you did need to declare her space if she would be sharing or have her own room...I think you need make sure that your first maid is okay to share otherwise you put it in the contract and there could be trouble...but generally yes two maids in a room is fine, my maid now coming used to share a room with 2 other maids (didn't like it though of course, but then I don't like paying a fortune for a tiny flat in Hk when I could be paying the same for a massive house in a western country either!).
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