Posted by
singarama
16 yrs ago
Hi, our helper says her mother is gravely ill, possibly dying and she wants to go home (to cut a long story short).
She says her passport is with the Chinese embassy to get a visa and she only has a copy and has asked for the day off to sort that out, which of course we have no problem with.
She has been with us just under 2 months. What are our obligations? I know if we terminate her contract we'd pay her fare back home but what happens in this scenario? I couldn't find any help from the immigration website, any help from others who've had similar situations would be appreciated, thanks.
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The fact she has only been with you such a short time would play a role in how i would handle it. You can of course help out with flight etc but you are under no obligation to do so.
I would recommend if you do want to help that you say nothing to your helper and just give her the agreed time off then when she returns you can give her the money for the ticket if you choose too.
2 months is too soon to know your helper properly so i would be careful that it's not just a case of home sickness or wanting a holiday.
If she had been with me over a year i would help with ticket etc up front but not for a helper i had only known for that short time.
Just my opinion
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i don't think it's homesickness as she has been in hong kong and previously singapore for a while. as long as we aren't obligated to pay anything, i'll wait and see what happens, thanks for your advice
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Just wondering why your DH who is under contract with you has her passport at IMD for a China visa? She can travel easily with her own HKID card and her passport.
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Bob!
16 yrs ago
We had a DH who had a 'sick dying mother' who needed urgent medical care. We stupidly gave her a LARGE sum of money to help her out as she promised to pay it back. It never got paid back. I really hope she's not playing games with you. Sorry to sound negative. There are a lot of frauds out there. Hope it goes well.
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MayC
16 yrs ago
I am applying for a 3 year China visa and I've given my passport and HKID to my travel agent for verification. I did this yesterday and I won't get them back until next Monday. She could be telling the truth.
I would just give her time off to go back. After all, you owe her 2 weeks within the 2 year contract so why not?
If she asks for a loan, just tell her that because she's only worked with you for such a short time, you're not comfortable lending. She'll understand.
To Bob, so sorry to hear her debt never got paid. I think you can deduct from her salary each month as long as it doesn't exceed a certain amount of her salary, right? I wonder if the lump sum of the loan is immediately payable once the contract is terminated? Eg. so you deduct off the final salary payment? My previous helper borrowed twice from me and I was always scared she wouldn't repay but fortunately she did.
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I'm curious to know how it turned out? Was her passport where she said it was? Was it being held by a loan shark? Did she leave? Did she come back? Did you pay for the ticket? Did you give her cash? Did she take leave without pay? did she collect a salary while she was gone? So many questions!
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