Posted by
hongkonger
19 yrs ago
Could someone pls clarify if an employer is required to pay for their DH's flight home for xmas or is it discretionary? My helper has been employed for 5 mths.
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That's what i thought but when she told me different (and she has been working here 16 years) I thought i must have misunderstood my obligations. Thanks.
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You are not required to pay for her christmas flight, I had a DH once who needed to go back but at that time could not afford it. I paid half the fare - made a contract in writing, and she repaid the amount over a few months work through pay deductions. (mutually agreed amounts) I told her I preferred her to borrow from me than someone else.
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I offered to pay half her flight and she told me I HAD to pay the whole fare. Since going over my legal obligations with her, and explaining i dont even have to pay half, she seems miffed i'm not paying the whole lot! I've given her many extra holidays already and now a full 20 days off though she is only entitled to about 7. She knows she is my first maid and seems really to be taking advantage. Thanks for your replies i WAS feeling guilty.
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hongkonger, personally, after a conversation like that, I would seriously consider letting this particular helper go. I think your case illustrates why some employers don't want someone who has too much experience or who has only worked for expat families.
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I think what happens is they know you earn much more than them and so assume that you have unlimited cash to spend on whatever you want - including them, not understanding the cost of living in HK or even why you wouldn't want to share more of your money with them and planning for the future ie retirment or lack of job security is not part of their equation for you.
So they feel becasue they do so much for you that you owe them...(it is the way their culture seems to work)
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Sounds disturbingly familiar. Our EX dh pulled a similar stunt. I feel my blood boiling at the thought of it.... I would let her go too. If I had the benefit of hindsight, the writing was on the wall behind all the lies to receive additional benefits. Your dh is entitled to one week as described above. 20 days is incredibly generous (unpaid, I presume??!!). How deceitful. Go to the hk labour website and get it in B & W and show her. You are not responsible for sending her home at Xmas. By the way, the snootyness that you describe was just like my EX helper and it stayed and was very unpleasant. By the way, to give an eg., my dh told me that she was entitled to easter off (Good Fri thru Easter Mon) and stupidly, I gave it to her. My husband was away and both my child and I were rather unwell. No offer to work the days or even pop in. Oh the thought of it....save yourself the trouble and get a new helper. Our new one is delightful and not snooty and never takes advantage....quite the opposite. Refreshing. All the best. Keep us posted!!!!
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Hi Wendy? No the 20 days, as with all her extra holidays, will be fully paid, She'll probably get at least 6 weeks paid leave a year. When i signed her on i said to her that we could'nt afford to pay her alot but would instead give her additional holidays. Mind you we still pay her above the minimum.
I did show her the website and said to her i couldn't beleive she didn't know and she burst in to tears. I am frustrated because she is great with our baby and very caring. Her cleaning however is quite poor ( I discovered that she wasn't vacuuming or mopping the floor but merely spot cleaning it with a cloth!). At the same time, except for this occasion where i saw a completely different side to her, she has been very sweet. But your right Wendy? i have a feeling this is a sign and i will regret keeping her on. The question is whether i'll have the courage to let her go. She is 50 yrs old and probably wouldn't get another job. I didn't realise there would be such emotional turmoil in having a maid. i hate feeling resposible for her and i know she is taking advantage. I believe it is not malacious but merely her "survival mechanism" if you know what i mean.
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Yes the emotional stuff - this isn't in the contract, much prefer to pay more for legal part time worker than have to put up with the emotional baggage that comes with a FT helper.
You are being very generous paying for her leave as well - have you pointed this out to her, that she is not entitled to this time being paid - so all together the extra days through the year would add up to more than an airfare.
And if you are not happy with her cleaning - then tell her to move on - even if she is 50 - my last helper was 52 - she still found another employer when I terminated her for a number of reasons - the official one was that I couldn't afford to keep her anymore...
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Zapi
19 yrs ago
I checked with Immigration- if the DH has not gone back to her home country on completion of her last contract, when she goes back for "home leave" the new employer is responsible for one half of the fare ie the Phil to HK portion. The old employer will pay the HK to Phil portion. I've checked this so I'm pretty sure.
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hongkonger, you are already paying your helper above the minimum, giving her extra paid days off, and are not very demanding, especially with respect to the cleaning. I really hope she is really GREAT with your kid, because that would be her only saving grace in my opinion. I agree that you can overlook a lot of flaws if you have a good caregiver. On the other hand, if she is just acceptable, not great, then well, it's time to start looking for someone else.
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