where will she stay during month notice if we are traveling

Our helper gave us the written month notice (after a conversation about spending nights out without telling us and also when we had said "no") that she wanted to terminate the contract.

That would be effective in July. We are leaving HK at the end of June for summer holidays. I, obviously, don't want a person who has resigned to stay in my house if I am not there.

I called the Enquiry Hotline of the Labour Department and the answer was not clear.

Apparently, she HAS to stay in my house until the end of the month of notice. When I insisted about not wanting her in my house while I was gone and asked if I had to pay for her accommodation (she would go to a cousin's place, anyway, where she spends many nights already and she does not pay anything), they insisted she HAS to stay in our house and only if she agrees (?), she can move out when we leave; but they refused to answer whether we have to pay for her accommodation because according to them it is not contemplated she lives anywhere else but in our house.

I need some advice.

One thing is that she agrees and the issue would be solved, but if not, are we really stuck? Is that right?

Just give her pay in lieu of her notice and an air ticket(dated from 2 weeks after she leaves your house) and expenses door to door, plus any holiday pay owed, then she can leave immediately.

Make sure you write everything down that you give her, and have a witness present when you let her go, and sign for everything,keep documents safe. Get her to sign a document that she has resigned after having a conversation with her about staying out when she shouldn't have done, send copies of all this to immigration, online, and by registered post to them immediately as she goes.

Take any door keys off her, have your locks changed before you go away.

She sounds like she is a little bit of a 'cheeky madam', so be careful in all things and really do have witness's.

Make sure any references are honest, but truthful, so that any future employers know what they are up against.

Thanks Susie1.

The thing is that she gave us the written notice, that we accepted and signed, a few days ago. We decided to keep her in the house until we had to travel.

My doubt now is that we want her to leave our house in the middle of this month-notice and that is what I don't know if we can do. We will be paying her the rest of the month and all the other amounts (untaken annual leave, travel allowance, amount for air ticket (in lieu of the ticket itself, etc...), but can she say she wants to stay in our home until the end? I hope not, if the "payment in lieu of notice" exists, but also, are we supposed to pay for her accommodation for those days?

Thanks again for your replies.

Hi Doanni,

http://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/wcp/FDHguide.pdf

This should help, in theory section Q7.3 applies to her as she has been willfully dismisfull of her duties, by staying out against your will and turning up at 10am fo work, however proving she has been staying out and not turning up for work is not easy with Immig. So have a look at section Q7.6 that should answer your question.

Now she says she wants to stay in your house till she leaves, sounds like she is playing some game!! after wanting to stay out frequently, be carefull she doesn't accuse you of anything, always get things at this stage signed and witnessed.

Keep an eye on the valuables in your house while she is around working notice. Have you sent her written notice to immigration yet? I would also send them a letter stating that she has been staying out against your will and turning up for work at 10am, so they have that for their record.

Good luck.

Thanks Susie1, I did not send the written notice, as I thought it was only after termination is effective that you need to report to Immigration. She did. She sent it to Immigration even though we told her it was not necessary.

I was going to inform them after termination. I will add a letter explaining what she has been doing lately, regarding insubordination issues.

Thanks again for your replies.

Just change your agreement, just pay her in lieu, settle all your obligations like ticket etc. if you don't want her in your home while you're in holiday, sometimes helpers are very tricky i heard a lot of stories here that after the helper left they turn to the labour dept and made up stories.if you pay her in lieu she can leave your house same day you pay her..

You must inform Imm with 7 days of termination notice by either party.

Thanks, Alexismith, I was not sure if that was possible: to pay her in lieu and ask her to leave that same day.


Susie1, I know you had to inform of the termination of the contract, but what I don't think it is necessary is to inform of the written month notice, which my helper did (even though we told her it was not needed, but she thinks her Philippino friends know better and listened to them and ignored us).

I think Imm wants to know about terminations, not about month-notices.


Thanks for your replies.

The laws are in force to protect a foreign worker against being put out in the street . By her own actions , this helper has proven she will be not without somewhere to stay . So this , along with the fact that she is the one who requested the termination is all in your favour . Once you have paid her entiltlements , and once she has signed all requirements , you are protected against any future wrongful actions by her .

Q41: Do I need to report to the Director of Immigration if my contract with an FDH is terminated prematurely?



A41: Yes. Clause 12 of the Standard Employment Contract (ID407) states that in the event of termination of the contract, both the employer and the FDH shall give the Director of Immigration notice in writing within seven days of the date of termination. A copy of the other party's written acknowledgement of the termination shall also be forwarded to the Director of Immigration. It is essential to state the exact date of termination and information such as the reason of termination will be useful.


Termination and writing a letter of resignation = same things, ie she is terminating you as her employer by breaking contract


Doanni, if you haven't yet informed Imm yourself, about her letter of termination,which I presume she dated, then I think you need to do so, this should be done within 7 days of you recieving the letter, by either party, with your acknowledgement to IMM you reicieved her letter and accepted her notice. Also include a letter of your own to Imm informing them about her staying out against your will, and turning up for work late=disobeidience etc, so they have a record, and that after talking to her about this she handed in her written notice.

Just pay her everything she is due till the end of the notice period and let her go straight away, make her sign and get a reliable witness to sign also--not one of her friends!

and keep all witnessed things in a safe place.