Posted by
nat2011
13 yrs ago
Hi all,
My helper just called me to inform that she will stay out for 4 days and 3 nights (Sun, Mon, Tue, and Wed).
While I do not mind generally, this came as a surprise as she has been with me for three years and never stayed out/ asked to stay out.
What are my responsibilities as an employer? If she stays out and, say, gets in trouble, am I going to be held responsiible that I did not observe the rule "helper must live in the employer's premises" or something like that, that is stated in the contract?
Constructive advise please.
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So long as she habitually lives with you and is taking a little break, it shouldn't be a problem. My helper pushed off to Macao this morning with a friend and said she will be back wednesday night. If she's not home thursday morning then I'll start to worry and will call her but she's 32, an adult and as far as I'm concerned she's an employee, so so long as she does her job well, she's welcome to enjoy her time off..
Perhaps your helper could have worded it a little more elegantly and perhaps told you earlier in the week that she plans to be out but beyond that it's her time off.
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Thanks for the reply, adele. I think I was mostly annoyed by the matter-of-fact phonecall. She can saty out, but I guess it is just nice to infor earlier, you are right.
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I understand your point of view Cara. However, maybe it helps to clarify my position: my helper always asks me to actually stay at home on public holidays and she wants to save her money and to get paid HK$350 for staying at the empty home (the whole family is out for the whole day as a rule). I don't need her help on public holidays, but I gladly pay her for staying at my home in the empty house. She also insisted that I pay her for the annual leave and airfare because she does not want to go back to her hometown. So, it feels wrong that I keep on accomodating her requests, to the extent that I feel somewhat bullyied by her and I find it difficult to say no. I guess that I am just generally annoyed with her and this is sort of venting out. I probably should just make it clear that during public holidays and her days off she should go out and she should take her annual leave no matter what?
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Hi Cara, thank you for your reply. Now I am concerned: if it is illegal to pay for her annual leave, it seems that I can get in trouble? What if I ask her to sign a document that would state that she refused to take her anual leave and asked to be reimbursed?
I understand that she does not want to the Phil because she does not want to spend her savings. So, I would like to help her and I would feel bad that I must push her to take the leave. At the same time, I don't need any potential issues because I did not give her the leave. Any thoughts, please?
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"if it is illegal to pay for her annual leave, it seems that I can get in trouble? What if I ask her to sign a document that would state that she refused to take her anual leave and asked to be reimbursed? "
As long as it stays between you and your helper, I doubt you would get in trouble. Especially since you are not taking advantage but in fact paying "extra".
She may stay in your home for annual leave (it is her leave after all) but you should technically not pay her for it. Nothing stops you from paying a bonus at some other time however...
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My helper didn't want to go home to Indonesia either as see doesn't have close family, stays with her uncle and is expected to be their helper when there...and bring gifts, pay for everything. Last year she went to Sri Lanka for 2 weeks for her holiday and actually enjoyed her holiday!
Also, if your helper wants to stay in the house on her day off, that's her prerogative. If she choses to wash dishes, do ironing, etc, that's her choice. You can just inform her that that's her day off and you want her to enjoy it and not pay her anything for it. If she say's it's OK and she doesn't mind and wants to continue, then that's up to her but I doubt she would if you didn't pay her. Sometimes on a Sunday morning, we'll pop out before out helper does and when we come back any mugs and small things that were in the sink have been washed and put on the rack. It's not major work but is her showing initiative. If I ever ask her to work on a sunday because I have to work, I ask her to pick a day off in lieu but sometimes she asks to just get paid so I add $200 to her pay that month.
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navi
13 yrs ago
http://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/wcp/PointToNotesForEmployersOnEmployment%28FDH%29.pdf
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