Posted by
williamw
15 yrs ago
I understand the current minimum wage is $3,580. If the helper prefers to stay out since she is already sharing a flat with 2 other friends. She will come to our place from 8am-8pm and won't be having dinner with us. Should I pay her differently?
A foreign domestic helper may not live out. It is ILLEGAL.
The "live-in" regulation is there to protect the helpers since housing is so expensive in HK.
If you go ahead, I would not pay her differently. Then again we have always paid more than minimum wage.
mayo
15 yrs ago
Who said the helper was an fdh? I pay my LEGAL filipina domestic helper $70 an hour and give her bonus' as I see fit. She's happy and I'm happy. A lot depends on how many hours you employ them. Shorter/less frequently hours means they lose travel time between jobs during which they could otherwise be earning wage and thus so they might ask more per hour for a one hour appointment than a six hour appointment.
"Who said the helper was an fdh?"
It seemed obvious but maybe I'm assuming too much. Also the OP said the "minimum wage is $3580". That's the FDH minimum and nothing else.
I would say for a legal live-out minimum 50 per hour. 70 would be more appropriate.
Assuming that the OP is in fact talking about an FDH there cannot be any legally-enforceable minimum wage covering an illegal arrangement. There's no real way for the helper to take action against the employer because the helper is acting illegally anyway. OK so she can simply walk away, or she can wait until she has a better offer and then walk away. IF such an illegal arrangement is going to be established then the employer would need to 'protect' him/herself by paying somewhere in the region of $60/hr. But even twice that amount is no protection if Imigration come a-knocking.
mayethrossi, I will assume you are talking about an FDH.
If so, you are admitting to a crime on a public board. You are also admitting to putting evidence of the crime on paper.
madtown, dual residences is indeed a grey area. I don't think it is really a problem if the employer's family is using, say, two adjacent village houses. However if the second house is let out to another family, it is illegal for the FDH to work there regardless of ownership.
"I realize what mayerossi is doing is illegal, but I have to wonder why? As long as she is paying the room and board and things are agreed upon, than I don't see what the problem would be? "
The law (and the standard contract) specifically states that an FDH must live in the employer's residence. The point is to protect helpers against having to pay for their own housing. In this case mayethrossi is willing to pay for the boarding house, but many employers will happily ignore that bit.
"I'm guessing that a FDH can only work at one address and for one "boss"."
Correct. I guess this is to protect against grey importation of cheap labor.
Good info cara. I was thinking more of the case where one family lives all the time in two houses next to each other. Just so they have more space. No "alternate". But as spelled out in the above that would also be illegal.
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