Posted by
Sue
15 yrs ago
Hi. My helper of six months resigned on the spot this morning and left despite me asking her to stay and talk. She is live out. She did not give me one month's notice and has just texted me saying I have to give her her plane ticket home, her salary for this month and one month's notice. I am pretty sure this is not the case, but am too shaken up to think straight. I am a single mum and work full time and I can't believe she could let me down like this. Would appreciate advice. I have already been told to write her a letter accepting her resignation and send one copy to immigration
Please support our advertisers:
Sue, :
Sorry to hear this but it happens a lot! Things you must do:
1/ check nothing is missing ie clothes, money, valuables.
2/Send a registered letter to her at your home and keep a record of it being sent and not delivered (Post Office will record undelivered on their web as they have tracking for customers). Do not sign for it yourself and address it to her!!! This letter must state she has failed to work or turn up for X hours/days and you understand that she has therefore voluntarily terminated. You need to list out clearly that you will pay her ticket home and any money owing to her as per regs ie travel money or unpaid wages (but as she resigned and walked out no need to pay additional salary in lieu, don't even mention this).
3/notify Immigration she has terminated her contract.
4/consider changing locks and inform building management
Note Immigration deal with immigration matters(!) and the Labour Dept. any outstanding money, unfair dismissal etc. They do not work together and Labour Dept. are more in favour of employee. Note you have to pay her ticket home by most direct route and any money to cover travel days (see regs). If she tries claim unfair dismissal or you owe her money the Labour Dept. will take note of the registered letter. Do a web search and you will find the money you must pay her for travel.
http://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/wcp/FDHguide.pdf
Did you hire her from agency? Also notify them and ask them help you with new FDH as urgent, they will understand.
Good luck!
Please support our advertisers:
Please support our advertisers:
and also get a non-family member, neutral witness to counter sign.
Please support our advertisers:
Please support our advertisers:
Sue,
Sent you an email. Fact is FDH have a huge free legal support ie consulates, government departments and even their own native language radio programs and newspapers for advice so don't think they are all alone....
Please support our advertisers:
spurs
15 yrs ago
just make sure you then have someone there with you too as a witness.
Please support our advertisers:
Sue,
I have had my fair share of FDH experiences in the last 19 years. I agree with Katana 110%. Sometimes, I think we, employers, should also form a Employers of FDH Union/Association ? I think it's unfair for us employer's to have to foot their return ticket when they are the ones who left us in limbo or when they have already found a new employer within that 14 days extended stay after they complete their contract with you.
Anway, due to my divorce and cost of legal fees, etc., I cant afford a FDH now and will release my full-time Indo FDH on 4 July. Hve sent you an email with some ref on my helper if you are interested.
Eve
Please support our advertisers:
Sue
15 yrs ago
Thanks everyone for your PMs and advice.
Please support our advertisers:
why dont you try to get a resident or legally permitted to work here like me because im looking for job like this because its better than the ofice work just for me
Please support our advertisers:
Living out DH is not illegal as long as you are the one paying for her accomodation.
Sue, as she is the one who resigned so you are not obligated to pay her a month's notice pay. Actually, he should be paying you, I don't know the rules now, but that is what happenedo me a long time ago, the agent told my maid to stay until I get a replacement or paid a month's equivalent if she will leave on the spot. Better to check with Labour department 's website and read carefully the contract.
Please support our advertisers:
Noemi
15 yrs ago
Hi Sue, itf this case is not yet settled, better yet contact her Consulate and seek for assistance. If your helper terminates the contract, right that moment, you should have asked her to give you even just a very simple letter that she is the one who terminates the contract. Because she supposed to stay with you for a month's notice without pay (two weeks prior to that notice can also be settled in lieu>, but air ticket is always be your responsible to send her to her domicile. You should have called the HK labour dept and inform them about what she did, she just left the house. Anyway, sorry for that. Sometimes, FDH must realize this unfair and sillyness act. You mught need these: Indonesian Consulate:2890 4421 ; Phil Consulate: 2823 8500. I hope either one of these consulates can help you. By the way, just for my curiousity, in fairness to the helper, due to my experience working with them for 7 years in a community centre, usually, a helper don't have such "guts" to terminate their contracts even if there is a "very heavy reason" such as , they never been treated well like a human, over-worked, underpaid, etc., but somehow, even though other helpers are experiencing the worst kind of life with their employers, they can still stand and bear the situation for their families back home. I hope you are not one of those "brutal, insensitive employers, cruel, nasty, selfish" employer? :) On the contrary, since she is live-out, maybe she found "someone" that offers her "the heaven & earth" so she lost her mind and only think about herself...Live out! (not in general) but mostly, helpers are always tempting to go far...and this is what happened to you!. So sorry...but I hope you could find someone who will truly understand your situation and will love you & your family. Don't lose hope for the best. Thanks for your time reading my comments.
Please support our advertisers:
jcatague...
there's always two side of the story...and it seems that you have easily listened, believed and sided with one party without speaking with the other party involved
instead of shouting and ranting over there about the other party, why not have a dialogue with both sides before jumping to conclusions.
and if she says is true that she is not given enough food, why did she not discuss this when clearly the employer was open to a talk and discussion.
who are you to judge based on one side of the story?
Please support our advertisers:
Hee Wong....found this...
"Hong Kong Employers of Overseas Domestic Helpers Association"
Can't seem to find English web page...but the link below has some telephone numbers?
http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr02-03/english/panels/mp/papers/mp0312-1492-1e-scan.pdf
Please support our advertisers:
hi,
as far as the airfare goes, get onto Cebu pacific's website ASAP and book a flight on the day 1 month after she quit or where there is still a el-cheapo fare......but don't pay for it) print out the booking and use it as proof as to how much you will pay for her flight home.
What happens as these fares get really expensive the closer you get to departure date and you may find she will try and claim more money from you, then she stay in hk for a couple of weeks and catch a cheap flight home
worth knowing
Please support our advertisers:
Cara, could you please provide link where it says Live-Out DH is always completely illegal? Unless the rules have changed in recent years; my old boss had a Live-Out DH and all arrangement was approved by the Immigration.
I know this because I handled some of the documents for my boss and the DH while boss was out of HK. There was a letter where he explained to Immigration that as he regularly has family members and business associates from Europe staying over in his apartment, he needs the spare room to accommodate them and therefore cannot let the DH live in that room. He had arranged a boarding house room for the helper and paid the rent. There was no problem renewing this Filipina's contract several times over under such arrangement.
Please support our advertisers:
http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/faq_fdh.htm
Q29: Can an FDH live away from his/her employer's home?
A29: No. An FDH should work and reside in the employer's residence in accordance with Clause 3 of the Standard Employment Contract (ID407). The employer is required to provide the FDH with free accommodation as per the standard specified in the "Schedule of Accommodation and Domestic Duties" of the employment contract.
(Employers who have obtained the Director of Immigration's approval before 1 April 2003 to let their FDHs live out can continue to do so, so long as they continue to employ FDHs without a break of more than 6 months.)
Please support our advertisers:
here we go again cara( i hope you still remember me) we know all the img rules not only you... Please tell me you don't break these rules with your helper if you have any especially filipinoes.. I'm sure you yourself don't live by the rules, thats ok nobody's perfect... this is only FYI...
Please support our advertisers:
"A29: No. An FDH should work and reside in the employer's residence..."
Note that it is "should" rather than the more definitive "shall". One should really refer to the relevant Ordinance to see whether it is law or simply Dept of Immigration policy.
Please support our advertisers:
Lululemon, the wording may be a bit ambiguous but the fact remains that a helper must reside in the employer's home. The only exception is if there is a previously approved live-out arrangement as explained by cara earlier.
"One should really refer to the relevant Ordinance to see whether it is law or simply Dept of Immigration policy."
If memory serves the verbiage is in the immigration paperwork, which the helper and the employer have both signed. I'm not a lawyer but as I figure it that is a binding contract with the Immigration Dept.
Please support our advertisers:
lululemon...actually, the first sentence in the answer, "No." is not ambiguous at all. You can play with semantics all you want (shall v. should). The bottom line is (as Cara stated along with others) as of April 2003, you are no longer permitted to employ a live out FDH...but please feel free to confirm this for yourself via
http://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/enquiry/enq_com.htm
Please support our advertisers:
Hi Sue, sorry this answer might be too late for you but I can truly understand how you feel because my philippino helper walked away after working for me for only two weeks without giving any notice! The reality is she broke the contract so you can:
1) either demand one month salary from her in lieu of notice, based on the contract, pay her outstanding salary and buy her an air ticket back home; or
2) just buy her a ticket without paying her anything
I've been to police station, labor dept, immigration, lawyer, filippino consulate... everywhere for this matter because she was even worse than your ex-helper - she called police twice to come to my apartment!
Please understand the purpose of those maids' walking away (which is not uncommon) is
1) they want easier job
2) they want "nicer" employer
3) they want to leave without any liability (ie one month notice according to contract)
In terms of live-out- it's totally illegal, according to both immigration and labor department that I've spoken to. Your ex-maid can no longer work in hk if the immigration knows she was live-out. You can also file a complaint against her at labor department for her breaching the contract... but please be careful not to do so if you did allow her to live out.
The reality is there are too many laws out there protecting the interest of FDH because they are the "weaker party"? There are too few laws to protect the safety, property and interest of employers, said both police and labor dept to me.
Please support our advertisers:
You must be logged in to be able to reply.
Login now
Copy Link
Facebook
Gmail
Mail