Advice re: new helper. Mistake?

We just signed a contract with a helper in December. Her last day with the previous employer was Dec. 11. and she's due to start with us some time in January. When she was released on Dec. 11, we did not hear from her and we did not contact her.


Then, on Dec. 17, she called and asked me if I needed any help and she would come and help me. I said 'sure' and arranged to meet her at the MTR to pick her up at 9:15 a.m. the next day. We live in Sai Kung so public transportation is not great and she does not know the way because she's only been in HK 7 months.


At the appointed time I called her and asked her where she was, she said 'I'm on my way' then hung up. I called her back to find out exactly where she was because I had not had my breakfast so I wanted to go and get something. No answer even after 4-5 calls. I waited for 45 minutes for her even though she was coming only from Causeway Bay to Hang Hau. When she came, she offered no apologies and I didn't say anything about her lateness even though I was not happy about it.


She then said that she's been staying at a boarding house and working part time since her release. However, she her part time employer went on holidays so she's got nothing to do now. Also, she did not like the boarding house because of the many people, noise, arguments etc... That's why she called to ask whether she can come and stay with us. Upon hearing this, I was surprised that she would tell me, her future employer, that she's been working part time and she's only calling me for free accommodation.


Then, that afternoon around 12:00 she had to go back to Causeway to get her stuff so I drove her to the MTR. I said, I will pick up my husband at 5:00 at the station so if she can meet me there, I'll pick her up as well. I asked her to call around 4:30 and let me know if she'll be there at 5:00 or not. At 5:15 she did not call me so I call her and she said she's still at the boarding house because she had to meet someone.


Anyways, she was at our place for 3 days and I noticed that she did not know how to cook simple food and was on the phone a lot. Was it because she was not officially working for us and just staying as a 'guest'? She stayed on the phone until 1:00 - 2:00 o'clock in the morning even though we go to bed at 10:00.


The day before she was supposed to leave for China for VISA purposes. She said she had to meet the agent. I asked her to let me know how long she'll be in China after she talked to her agent. Then, I drove her to the MTR and said, 'please call me at 1:00' and let me know when you'll be back so I can pick you up. She said "I will call you mam'. She did not call me until 3:45 and I couldn't pick up because I was at work. Then, at 5:30 she texted me and said she has to go to China early the next day and cannot come back. When she left my house I noticed that she carried a few bags with her but I didn't ask why she was carrying so many things just to meet the agent. Afterwards, I realized she was not planning to come back.


We still don't know when she's coming back from China. We can all the agent but I specifically asked her to call me and she seemed reluctant to let me know. Why?


I can put up with her incompetence in the kitchen because I can train her. However, her lack of communication, lateness and elusiveness irritate me already even before she starts working for me. Also, she tends to ignore me when it suits her.


I think we've made a mistake with this helper. Can I get out of this arrangement ?

If you have not signed the final bit of the contract, which has not started yet, you can tell the agent not to proceed. The helper might have had another employer 'lined up' where she thinks the grass is greener. As she appears to be not that competent either don't employ her while you still have a chance.

Too unprofessional, too unreliable. You can back out anytime. I'm not sure how far into the processing your papers are now but I know of agents who pulled out the contracts from the ID 4 weeks after it was submitted. Otherwise, I'm afraid you have to go through the usual termination process.

The agent has received the visa for the helper and just called us today to go in to pay the remaining portion of their 'fee' (about $4500) before they release the VISA to the helper so she can come back to HK from China. I don't know if this is too late to back out. This is our first time hiring a helper so I'm not sure what's the best thing to do is at this point. My husband said he'll delay paying the agent in order to figure out what we should do. I just think dealing with this particular helper is going to add more stress to us.

Well, if you pay the agent the 4500 hkd, then the helper becomes yours whether you like her or not, if you decide after you have got her,she doesn't come up to expectations then you have to pay dismissal fees, eg full months wages, air fare to her home country, some helpers also claim unfair dismissal in order to stay in HK longer and to screw more money out of employers.

I don't think you are legally bound to refuse to take the employment process any further, if you don't want to, the agency will just send this part processed helper to another employer. I would put the agency off as much as possible,don't pay them a cent, or sign anything, and ring the Immigration Dept on Monday morning, but do not let Imm know that you have had the helper stay in your home in the meanwhile, as it is strictly against Imm rules to have a helper under your roof until contracts have been finalised.

Helpers can cause a lot of stress in your home-it is like having a total stranger you don't know any history of sharing your life all at once. Helpers are essential for people where the couple/ or single parent has to work, as there is no nursery type facilities in Hk, but if you are a stay at home mum, and can manage your own house work, then you can get part time helpers through a legal agency without all the hassle of having them living in your home, just for a few hours per week.

Thank you Susie1 and soufflequeen. You've clarified a lot of confusion with regard to the rules and regulations re: helpers for me. We were also afraid of: 1. leaving her in a lurch without an employer and 2. us ending up with an even worse helper. We will both be working full time in Jan. and have two kids who are in school full time so the helper is just to be around in case of school holidays, kids sick and cannot go to school, take care of our little dog when we're away etc... We have no other support at the moment or in the foreseeable future.


My husband is of the opinion that we should give her a chance because she's young (26 Yrs. old) and was not officially working for us that's why she was late etc... I am of the opinion that she has an attitude problem. I am leaning towards stopping the process and let her find another employer because I cannot accept her behaviours as a person. I wonder if this will cause problems with immigration in the future when we find a good helper that we want to hire. Will call Immigration on Monday to ask.

Shouldn't be too much of a problem. We had an issue with the first helper we employed. She went back to PH at end of her previous contract and we had her visa ready to send out. However she called from PH asking us to pay her first months wages as she "had her bag stolen in Manila" despite us saying we do not lend money. We stopped the process there and then and luckily found a good helper a week later.

Fourjays


if she's acting like this even BEFORE she begins working for you, can you imagine what she'll be like after working for you for 6 months? trust your intuition. if your gut tells you don't go through with it, then pull the plugs ASAP!!


you won't have a problem with immigration if you just call them and explain to them your situation. i've cancelled on application for 1 helper before and that never stopped them from processing the application on my next helper.


Good luck!!

Evildeeds & Angie C - Thanks for your input. I am so relieved to hear from your previous experiences that we can still back out at this stage. I think you're spot on with the intuition. I was most upset with the fact that she left our house with her belongings yet still gave me the impression that she was just going for an appointment and was coming back. Frankly, I couldn't care less if she came back or not but she looked me straight in the eye and told me she was going to call and let me know when she will be back. That part really bothers me because it was such a small thing and there was no need to lie at all.

I would back out too. If she's proven unreliable now, why take that chance when you have to go back to work and you'll have two kids under her care? It doesn't seem like she values her job that much if she's so slack with calling.


When I was interviewing helpers, one very important thing to me was that the helpers were on time and would call if they were running late.

Fourjays, I'm so sorry for your experience.


I had a friend that had a exact situation and she leaned on the agency to handle the matter and also assist her with filing paperwork for the new helper.


Your gut it right so trust it. Sending you positive thoughts.

Thanks AaliyahM and dolphin455 for your kind comments. My husband called the agent and told him we wanted to cancel. It was not any trouble as the agent mentioned the visa has been approved but my husband was firm on the cancellation. So, we're back to square one with the helper search. Many thanks to all for your input. We value your sharing of insights and experiences. Happy New Year everyone!

Hi Forjays, may I ask if your agency asked you for additional money for the cancellation and to resume with the helper search. We are in the exact same boat as you but my agent has told me that I need to pay extra money if I wanted to cancel (the visa has not even been granted, we only started processing the paper two weeks ago). I don't mind paying extra money to find a good candidate, but I have not been briefed on this before hand and my receipt with the agency (we paid $4380 already to kick start the processing) certainly does not contain this additional clause. I tried calling the agency to argue with them, but they continue to claim that it is their long established policy.

Hi milkmonster - We paid $500 for a deposit to start the process, that's all. We were supposed to pay $4500 to complete the process when the helper comes back from China, but that didn't happen so there were no further fees. We are not using this agency for the next hire. If the agreement does not contain this clause, I don't know how they can force you to pay extra. Is there a clause for refund if they cannot find you a suitable candidate?

Here's an update on the situation - the agent released our visa (after being told by my husband that the processing must stop) and the helper is now back in HK. The agent is coaching the helper (my husband heard the agent on the phone coaching) to say that she'll go to the labour board etc... My husband already called immigration when we decided not to go ahead but they couldn't cancel the visa in time to stop her entry back into HK. Immigration called us when they realized she had already went back in. Anyways, my husband told immigration to go ahead and cancel the visa. I wonder if that's possible. We've been trying to call but have not been able to get through to immigration. What a mess!


Do we have to dismiss her now? Is this a trick to get us to pay her severance + air fare and agent's fee while she's looking for another job? What if we just ignore this matter and hope she'll find another employer soon? Has anyone ever gone to the Labour Board? Lots of questions on my mind right now.

Oh goodness me! What an awful agent to have done this especially when you told them NOT to process. The agent probably did this because the helper will be stranded in China if the visa was not approved and I heard from my helper that when she exited Macau, she had to repay her agent HK$9k for finding her an employer when she started working for me. So there's a real incentive for the agent to ignore your husband's instructions and quickly issue the visa to her.

I agree with Cara. You have to talk to the labour dept and the immigration dept regarding this. DO NOT take her into your home yet because that would mean she's officially started with you.

More than anything, I think it is the agent that's creating trouble.

Cara & AaliyahM - Thanks for your input. We've contacted both Immigration and Labour Dept. The helper has until Jan. 18 to leave HK as our visa has been cancelled. We owe her one month's salary and air fare. I wonder when is the best time to give this to her. Do we leave it until right before Jan. 18 (say Jan. 16) or do it right away? Also, do we buy a ticket for her or give her $ in lieu of? There's also a chance that she'll find another employer before the Visa expired. Do we still owe her the air fare then?


Also, she just called my husband and said she's going to the Labour Dept. so he said 'OK, go ahead'.