Helper has resigned

My helper has just told me she wants to break her contract after just 3 months because she is homesick. She is not willing to give one month's notice and wants me to book her a flight back to the Philippines for Sunday. That is just 2 days notice and the airfares at the moment are so high because of Christmas. Do I have to pay the full cost of an airfare with such short notice? She doesn't care that she has just left me having to find a way of caring for my two kids until I can get another helper.

You absolutely do not owe her a month's salary if she tries to insist you do. The terms of the common employment contract quite explicitly state that termination without serving notice requires the person terminating it to pay one month of pay. If I were you, I would record it on video that she is the one who wants to quit early and break the contract, just in case she turns around later and says that you fired her so that she is given the one month's pay and airfare. I am not sure what your exactobligations are with regards to the airfare but I was of the understanding that you are only required to pay their return airfare at the end of the two year contract? Where are you living and are you working?

Unfortunately that's correct. Just reading through the document from the immigration department, the common contract clearly states;


"The Employer shall provide the Helper with free passage from his/her* place of origin to Hong Kong and on termination or expiry of this contract, free return passage to his/her* place of origin.

(b) A daily food and travelling allowance of HK$100 per day shall be paid to the Helper from the date of his/her*

departure from his/her* place of origin until the date of his/her* arrival at Hong Kong if the travelling is by the most direct route.

The same payment shall be made when the Helper returns to his/her* place of origin upon expiry or termination of this contract."


How did you go with it OP? Were you able to get her to pay one month's wages in lieu? I would do that first before paying for any ticket. If you are near Tsing Yi and have pressing commitments, I could help out a bit until the 21st...