Posted by
MichaelF
15 yrs ago
Our helper signed a contract before she joined us, at the minimum wage of $3580. I understand that at the beginning of September the minimum wage was raised to $3670.
Do we pay our helper the wage (she only started at the end of August, so I am not inclined to pay more than the minimum, until she has proven herself) as per her contract or the higher amount?
Any advice is appreciated.
Thank you
Michael
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I would pay her the new minimum from the start. It's only 90 more anyway.
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melta
15 yrs ago
does anyone know of the government website which states this new minimum wage? I was looking for this online and couldn't find it anywhere. I could only find http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/faq_fdh.htm#4 which states the wage as still being $3580. I was going to give our new helper a raise anyway this Christmas but of course will do it now if the minimum has been increased.
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melta
15 yrs ago
Ok, I finally found the official information! It's at http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200909/02/P200909020128.htm
The minimum salary is still $3580, but for all contracts signed on or after 3rd September where free food is NOT provided, the minimum food allowance must be at least $740.
The previous minimum food allowance was $300, which would have been impossibly low since a long time ago.
What's strange is that the government has not made the new allowance widely known or even readily accessible online. e.g. there was nothing about it on the home page of the labour deparment website. What good is it finally correcting a defunct standard when people don't know about the new improved standard? Just my 2 cents...
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I agree with melta about the information not being widely disseminated. However I assume the employer would find out when processing a new contract.
I also want to add that if you can afford it, paying more than the minimum wage, even a little more, is a good idea. It makes the helper feel a bit more appreciated.
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But you may massively resent it if there turn out to be any problems with the helper.
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I'm inclined to agree with kittycat2. I posted the initial query not because I'm looking to save a few coppers, but rather because until an employee has proven herself, one doesn't want to set a potentially difficult precedent.
If the helper proves herself over the coming months, then increasing her income and making her feel more appreciated is much more beneficial.
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You would seriously resent paying her an extra $90 per month?
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I agree with not giving her extra before she proves herself, but 340 per month? Seriously?
For the record, our helper makes twice the minimum wage. We started her at 4500.
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When ours started, minimum wage was $3,480, and we rounded it up to $3,500. Told her if after 1 year and we were happy, we would give her an increase and we did. She now gets 4500.
I do not agree with paying a new helper too much more than minimum at the begining, they should have to prove themselves.
axptguy38, if yours makes twice the minimum, are you saying she makes over $7000 ? Wow, that is alot for A helper. Your family must be making alot than, cause I know we sure would not even be able to give ours that if we wanted to
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Yes she does make that much. She deserves it. And yes, of course it is dependent on our salaries.
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I paid quite a lot more than the minimum, mainly due to a rather tricky helper not being entirely honest about her previous salary, and me being rubbish and not checking with previous employer. I did resent it, a lot. And I also learnt that trickiness at the start of a contract rarely improves.
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We pay more than the minimum because we feel that she does an excellent job. Just like any employer of a good employee, we want to foster retention and morale. Thus higher salary. Paying more than minimum because the employee had such a salary previously is only a good reason for a few months. It is better to start low with a promise to review her salary and increase it if her performance warrants it.
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axptguy38, that is great if yours deserves it. Wish we could all find the best of helpers. Mine is good, but sure doesn't deserve a high salary, plus we could not afford it.
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As far as I know, the minimum wage is still HK$3580. I just signed on a new helper yesterday and the agent did not tell me otherwise and I think they would know if it had been increased.
My suggestion is that even if you want to pay more than the minimum, on the contract, you should still write HK$3580 and tell the helper that if she performs, you will pay her more. Otherwise, you are contractually obliged to pay her more whether her job performance is good or otherwise. In this way, she will not lose the incentive to perform better CONSISTENTLY.
A new university graduate will be lucky to find a job that pays HK$6000-7000. And he/she has to foot costs for accomodation, transportantion, utilities, food, etc. So I do agree that a helper who gets the same HK$6000-7000 better be well worth the money.
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