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Help Lost Purse Employer Charges Her

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ORIGINAL POST
Posted by Shane 15 yrs ago
I have read and hear of fees charged to helpers.


Today a helper had her purse stolen at a market. Yes she was careless but her employer charged her for lost shopping money and octopus card. Over $500 hk.


Is this legal in any way?


Seems cruel and very picky from employer to do so. You take a risk asking someone to come work for you and things happen. Thats life - just like having kids.


Helper burns her arm cooking for you - do you offer compensation? No but if they break a cheap glass you'll chearge them a fee.

Your kids break a vase- do you charge them?

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COMMENTS
souffleQueen 15 yrs ago
That's a sad thing to happen. I do not know whether it's legal or not, but I believe it should be a matter of consideration and understanding from the employer. It's a bit harsh to have her pay for it, but on the other hand, we were also reminded to be extra careful from thieves/pick pocketers/snatchers.


I have experienced my own money stolen from the market before, it was a whole month salary as I went to the market first before going to the bank as it was still close.


Also had my bag stolen with an over 1000 marketing money in it, my platinum card (work), my own credit cards etc, plus the HK ID. That was an awful experience, going home without your purse, letting a cab wait as you went to get some money home. The only nice thing about it was the fact that my boss was understanding enough NOT to charge me for the money lost.


BTW, I hope future responses would stick to the topic, and not go round questioning the helper's honesty, character and the likes.

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KoMo 15 yrs ago
I believe the technical answer to this is an employer can deduct $300 per month for damaged or lost goods. But whether it is moral or fair to do so is a judgement call. Assuming this was a one off occasion, I would personally think this was bad luck and would be more concerned whether the helper was mistreated or affected mentally by the circumstance. Was she pushed for example? It can be quite upsetting to have something stolen from you, even if it is not yours. If it was carelessness and first time, I would give the helper a friendly reminder (not a warning as such) the importance of being careful and respectful of other peoples property.



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Shane 15 yrs ago
Helper is someone I know. She told me her employer was angry and just said she has to pay the employer for lost money and how inconvenient it was for employer now that helper needed time to get documents again.


I just dont understand how Hong Kong people can do things like this and sleep well at night. I had a helper for one year and she cried when she left. I treated her like a mature adult. Paid her well, gave her freedom and she worked her butt off for me. I often told her to relax and let a little dust settle on the furniture. Too bad her family needed her back in Phil.

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axptguy38 15 yrs ago
Shane, you are a good person. It also goes to show how treating a helper with respect typically pays off big time.

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Philly Cheese 15 yrs ago
I could understand if this happened repeatedly, but if this was the first time, I think a verbal reprimand is sufficient. Treat your helper with respect and you'd be surprised at the return you get.

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hellokittyhk 15 yrs ago
Sorry, I have to say it: verbal reprimand?


I think some empathy would go further - she has just been robbed!


I'd reckon that the process, inconvenience and cost of having to replace stolen documents would be lesson enough (in regards to being cautious with your belongings in public), without you having to 'verbally reprimand' the person.


Poor lady - it is never nice to have things stolen from you, regardless of what you are carrying, it's a violation.

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Philly Cheese 15 yrs ago
Yes verbal reprimand, something like "Please be careful with your purse next time you go out. Try not to let it happen again."

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Shane 15 yrs ago
Thank you for all the understanding replies. When I origionally posted this I was worried about recieving crazy comments or the like. Very pleased to know there are actually people in Hong Kong who know how to treat others properly. I see things here in HK all the time that make me shake my head.

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Thames 15 yrs ago
Too true, Shane. My neighbours have the luxury of three - from what I can see - highly effective and diligent helpers who work really hard for them all hours. They're paid the minimum wage with no food allowance and are constantly hungry because, like most helpers, they try not to spend much money on themselves as they each have a large family back home to where they send their dosh each month. For sustenance they are allowed the leftovers, if any, from my neighbours' meals, and when my neighbours are away on holiday there is literally nothing for them to eat. They don't want to report them.

[These employers bask in the delusion they're in the higher echelons of civilized society, but to me they're nothing more than a bunch of savages. Come the revolution!]

I don't have a helper myself but I can't bear to see these people going without food so I slide a carrier bag of fish, meat, fruit, bread, biscuits and coffee etc. each week and thus they get two decent meals each from it. They are really grateful and try to do things for me but I don't need anything doing, and without trying to sound like Mother Teresa it gives me pleasure to treat them as equals and to help them out a bit. They never take advantage.

BTW, the previous helpers were treated exactly the same and all left as soon as their contracts were up. Anyway, I think that's coming up soon for the male helper. So if anyone is looking for a good all round helper, who's also a driver, he's your man.

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Shane 15 yrs ago
I have heard so many stories from helpers who do not get food. Have to buy thier own. Its an embarassment to Hong Kong, the Chinese people, and the leadership here to turn a blind eye to it. No incentives for helpers to report human rights violations. Only two things I dislike about HK. 1. Pollution 2. Domestic Helper system. Other than that I truely love this city.


There should be public service announcement about these situations. Fair treatment, food, proper pay, proper contracts. TV commericals but it will never happen - too easy to ignore it.

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axptguy38 15 yrs ago
I assume you mean neither food nor food allowance. It is ok for helpers to buy their own food as long as they are paid a food allowance of min. $740/month.


I love having a helper, but I hate how many people treat their helpers.


You are so right about public service announcements. Apparently people aren't competent enough not to fall over on the MTR escalators but managing a helper is perfectly clear to everyone.


By the way, there has just been a book published on the subject: Read More


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spurtio 15 yrs ago
Talking about Public Service Announcements, there are loads on RTHK about litter, drugs, gambling, driving etc (don't think I have heard any about DHs) which all make me laugh as they sound like something out of the sixties. What really makes me cringe though is that they are all in English, and I am not sure that that is the right language for the target audience (if you get my drift).

I suppose if they did them about DHs they would end up being in English too!!!

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viper342 15 yrs ago
Quote from Shane:

'I have heard so many stories from helpers who do not get food'.

Stories? So it's hearsay.

Could anyone survive without food?

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anna_b 15 yrs ago
Shane you are a wonderful person. I am a helper and know a lot of helpers working mostly for chinese families that didn't get enough food or even eat nothing but work long hours. they are not just stories, they are true stories.

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paenme 15 yrs ago
How long has she worked for the employer and did this ever happen before? If the employment has lasted a while and this never happened before, I feel the employer's action is harsh. If the relationship is fairly new, or if this has happened before then the employer may cast a doubt about whether the incident truly occurred or the helper's ability to carry on tasks responsibly.

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slimboyinhk 15 yrs ago
There are 2 sides to every story! There's no doubt many domestic helpers get "mistreated unfairly" and there are just as many cases where DH's take advantage of the employer, or try to. So to classify how "Hong Kong people" can do these kind of things is stereotyping. Treat things on a case to case basis please! There are also rules about deducting pay....the DH does have rights under the law. You should check them out for her if you're really concerned.

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Shane 15 yrs ago
I heard stories directly from helpers at church. I see stuff all the time especially when shopping at wellcome on caine rd in Central. I once saw a guy 'training' his new helper in the store. he was pushing her, shouting Chinese which she did not understand. Then when she picked up eggs to look at them he scolded her. I was so furious I walked over and said "She is a lady and if you cant be nice I will make you. So talk nice or I'm gonna teach you how to talk to a lady." He said sorry and she was super embarassed.




Employers struggling for $500 dollars per day? No excuse. If you cant really afford a helper then dont get one and make her suffer because you cant make smart financial decisions. Thats horrible logic. Flat out silly.


Over Chinese New Year I was hiking and a helper who was with us told me she gets table scraps to eat. Thats a basic human rights violation but the HK gov't ignores it.


So imagine that if your starving helper maybe did steal money from you. I just get sick of people complaining about helpers. Then when you question the same people how much they pay or how many hours on sunday the helper really gets they defend themselves saying "I spend alot of money each month paying them." While they stand there with a $10,000 handbag, $3000 shoes and $2000 outfit but cant afford and extra 1$ for thier helper. Craziness. I wot do business with people like that or be friends with them.

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slimboyinhk 15 yrs ago
I don't disagree with what you're saying but you need to hear the other side once in a while. I know several expats who have had negative experiences and vowed to change how they treat their DH's in future. I'm sure there are endless stories from both sides and it's not a problem that can be universally fixed.

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cowleyp 15 yrs ago
The morality of DH's aside look at this as a general workplace issue. If your employee is robbed of company goods or moneys in general, say an office assistant or shop assistand doing the banking, as is common practice, are they made to repay the sum? I once had my company laptop stolen from my hotel room and it was never an issue that the company would ask me for reimbersment they just provided a replacement. In this instance petty is too small a word for the employers actions.

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axptguy38 15 yrs ago
"! There's no doubt many domestic helpers get "mistreated unfairly" and there are just as many cases where DH's take advantage of the employer, or try to. "


Certainly there are helpers who take advantage in big and small ways.


However helpers are far more exposed to abuse due to their subservient position and dependence on the employer. This does not of course make it right for them to take advantage.

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