helper with hearing problem

My helper is with us for 1 month and a half now. She works hard and nice however I just discovered that she has this ear problem from her childhood.


She is good at daily house keepings but there has always been problems her doing what I told her to do new things.

Now she admits that she cannot hear well.


The problem is that I cannot trust her taking after my 3-years old son. Few weeks ago, my son told me several times "Aunti is not listening to me" before I discovered that my helper has hearing problem. And it's been few weeks that my son does not want to play or go to clubhouse with my helper.

And he calls me when I am out to take my evening course crying crying..... I cannot leave the house without my son.


My helper and I sat down and talked about it and she wants me to write down thing everyday!!!!


I really feel sorry for her but I guess I need to move on.


Please advice me

1. Is the helper's hearing problem can be a reason to fire her? If so what's the procedure and the expenses occured?


2. do you think I can ask the agency for replacement? After all it is their job to check the medical issue. (Though she told me that she passed the medical chek up).


ps. It is my first time hiring a helper and also it is my helper's first time working abroad.

Why not take her to the public hospital and have a hearing aid fitted for her? Millions of people use them...wouldn't you if you needed one?

This is a difficult problem. I believe "disability discrimination" is against the law in Hong Kong, but I don't think that you're firing your DH because she has a hearing problem - you're releasing her because she cannot perform the duties you hired her to perform. So if you release her, that's what you need to make clear. But definitely contact the Labour Department before you do anything, explain the whole situation and tell them the reason you plan to give for releasing the DH (like "communication problem") and ask them if that's acceptable. Actually, legally, you don't need to give your helper a reason for firing her, but in this case you will want to protect yourself from a possible accusation of discrimination.


Of course, apart from replacing your helper, you could solve the problem by arranging alternative childcare and having the DH responsible only for housework, laundry & cooking. You could decide to look after your child yourself, or with the help of a part-time nanny / babysitter. If that is not practical in your situation then I suppose you will have to look for a new DH.


As for finding a replacement, some agencies do offer a "free replacement" or "half price replacement" if the helper they provided doesn't work out for whatever reason. Check the papers they gave you when you hired your present DH. But anyway, I don't think you can actually hold them responsible for not uncovering her hearing problem, because the health check only covers certain things. There are lots of problems that could (and do) go unnoticed, only to become an issue later on.


As regards expenses incurred, replacing your DH can be costly. First of all there is the levy payment to consider, and then you may wish to give your helper a month's salary in lieu of notice (if that is your preference). You'll need to pay her airfare back to her place of origin, travel allowance & cash for annual leave days accrued. And if your agency doesn't offer a "free replacement" and you want to use agency services again, you'll have to pay an agency fee when you hire the new helper.


Finally, you'll need to allow plenty of time to find a new helper. If direct hire, it may take 2-4 months, if local hire anything from 3-8 weeks, depending on how quickly you are able to find one who suits you. But it's better to take your time and find someone really suitable, rather than hire someone you're not really happy with only to find yourself obliged to go through the whole process again 12mths later.

I agree with silopanna, if you're otherwise happy with everything she does, you could have her fitted for a hearing aid and hopefully that would solve all the problems.

"She works hard and nice"


you are 1/2 way there alerady - those two attributes are not necessarily all that easily met, and you must feel comfortable with her and trust her to an extent (again not that easy to get always).


Her family probably couldn't afford to have a hearing aid for her, and she got by in the past, and accepted it.


Really, get an audiologist to check her out, get an appropriate hearing aid fitted (it wont cost too much)


REMEMBER! It will take some getting used to by her, and she may feel uncomfortable/embarassed with it for awhile.


Explain to your son that she has a hearing disability, and that we to understand and accomodate, and not everyone is as lucky as you to have 100% good health - if he's a well adjusted kid he'll understand. We all had kids in our classes at school with such things - no big deal

It's against the law to terminate the employment because of her medical condition. I totally second maxis' opinion. If you have comprehensive insurance for her, you can check with the insurers whether the insurance will cover the hearing aid. Try approaching The Hong Kong Society for the Deaf. Their services are very affordable. http://www.deaf.org.hk. A good helper is a bliss to her employer's household. I would treasure a helper who is nice and works hard and is good at housekeeping.

Thanks isonoawabi,


if it is pre-existnig (which it is) I am not sure if it would be covered by insurance (you'd need to check).


But even if it isn't, just fork out the cash - it is chicken feed really in the scheme of things - I also would treasure a helper who is nice and works hard and is good at housekeeping (these are actually sme of the main complaints) You are home and hosed if the hearing thing works out! (and you will feel very good that you have improved the quality of someone's life too - you are looking at a win/win here, don't pass it up!)