Travel expense for rest days

Hi,


I am wondering if HK employers are supposed to pay travel expense for helpers during the rest days. My helper told me that travel allowance is required by law. However, I cannot seem to find it.


I gave her an Octopus card as where we live (clearwater bay) is a bit far away from supermakrets. I never track the the expense on the card but notice she has been loading it relatively frequently.


Thanks!

New employer

It is not required by law. It is her free time. If she wants to stay in or go out is her choice.


Since she has this "idea", I suggest that you give her cash for "business travel" such as supermarkets and make her sign for it. Alternatively include it in petty accounts and again, make her sign for it.

Agree with axpatguy, never heard of any employer in any industry paying for anything but work related travel, keep tighter reigns on your helper, she may be trying to 'pull a fast one', remember octapus cards can be used to buy other things in shops as well,

She sounds like bad news to me......and I would start monitoring her Octopus card from now on...How much money do you load on the card ??


Her quoting a regulation that "travel allowance is required by law", if in fact it is not, is absurd..You need to put her in line, so she has a clear understanding of what rights/benefits she is entitled to under the law. Making such a statement, if it is NOT in any DH contracts/regulations in Hong Kong, is equivalent to dishonesty and deceit !!

Thanks so much! This is the trouble I have with this new helper. She pulled the same tricks with me last time on statutory holidays. She took it without telling us that we didn't have to pay her. I guess I will read the HK contract much more carefully from now on!

I had the same issue that my helper said all the employers do that and I ended up giving travel allowance. But when I look back, I think it was a bad idea because it made it seem like she was entitle to it.

I had the same problem when I first hired my first helper. She had some 14 years experience in this field and I had none. She even asked me to pay her by the hour in the evenings when I go out to dinner with my husband and she has to stay keep an eye on the kids.


Regarding the octopus card, i once gave mine to my helper with an auto-load system in place. Well, after a few times used she told me she had lost it when i had some $500 dollars on it. I now give cash for and keep a record of all transactions of all things she purchases for me, she presents me with the receipts and we keep a tap on the expenses. This is a better way as it keeps things a lot more clear.


Boundaries must be set by you as employers clearly so that your helper knows what you expect and what you accept and what you won't. Otherwise, when disputes arise or when she does something you don't like, it is not easy to argue because you may have very different opinion to the same matter.


It is all a learning curve hiring and managing domestic help.


Good luck!!!!


Read all information on what employers have to pay so you are well informed. Of course if you think she is worth it then you can pay her more than the statutory minimum but it would be wise not to be guided solely by your helper.


check out this site:

http://www.gov.hk/en/residents/employment/recruitment/domestichelper.htm

My helper tried the same thing to me just on her 2nd day of her employment with us! She claimed that the employers should pay helpers travel expenses ob her rest days. I knew it wasn't the case but we paid her anyways and said it was an exception. We told her that we would normally give such incentive following satisfactory performance. On top of that she gets phone allowance, eats the same food as us, with extra perks - her own choice or breakfast ( her choice of coffee, jam, tea) and toiletries provided for on her very first week of her employment. With all these stuff, her performance was only marginally acceptable. LEsson learned is that to start strict and be more lenient over time.. It's hard to revoke all these now..

We hired a helper at the beginning of the year and gave her a little notebook to write down her expenses and we would reimburse her at the end of each month. The 1st 2 months my husband just looked at the sum and added it to her pay but then the 3rd month (which for other reasons including incompetence and very poor attitude was her last month in our employ) I thought her expenses seemed a bit high as I knew I had only asked her to pick up my toddler from preschool by bus three times -the sum was a few hundred dollars, did I notice we were paying for her Sunday public transport and get this....her accommodation during CNY when we gave her the 4 days off with pay even though she had been with us for only a month at the time! She was given a very nice opportunity to have a comfortable and easier than most job but had to blow it by being lazy and greedy. Our current helper even buys ingredients she uses to cook food for us when she's on her day off and it's like pulling teeth trying to ask her how much we need to reimburse her! Total polar opposite!