Maid apply to work in Italy -- triple the pay of HK

This is true paenme but living out is a better option for a helper as they will not be on call and will do allot less hours and be able to have a normal life like the rest of us who work for a living. Most EU countries will have labour laws that apply to all employees and there will not be different ones for people who look after your kids or home. So they will get the same protection, holidays, sick leave and pay etc that everyone else does and will not put up with working long hours when they can find another employer who will treat them better.

By the way ceeh, your friend is able to command higher salaries in Australia mainly because of this tight labour/immigration policy in Australia. If the country ever opens up its foreign labour market to DHs like HK has, I guarantee you her salary will take a nose dive.

Can't blame her for wanting to work for more money and less hours if the jobs are available, who wouldn't??? All you can do is wait and see what happens or find someone to replace her so your not left without a helper.

The most reliable way to get the answers you want is to contact the agency and ask them about the process and timetable. This is what I did with my helper's application to Canada. Of course, my helper has been open about her wish to move to Canada so this has been straight-forward and easy to resolve. If your helper's application is a secret, how do you know about it? If you can, tell her that you understand her wish to improve her situation and will support her application but would like to co-ordinate it with your own need for a replacement helper. Once you know the likely time-table you can start looking for a replacement helper. In our case, we can tell the agency the release date we have agreed with our helper and they will start work now to find an employer who needs someone after that date. It is apparently a routine procedure.

Paenme i guess if your DH thinks that then it must be the case.... this is why we end up with miss informed people in the world because people who know nothing about a subject offer advise.

To Moppet: Yes, we agree that it's true that everyone wants to work for more money. To smallfry: Thanks for your tips. We know it from other people she talked to. We didn't do it intentionally. It's those people who knew the news wanted to inform us to allow us to get prepared. all i understand is, she apply the application not through any agent in HK. She applied via someone she knew who works there. So, it seems difficult for us to get a timeframe at the moment. i have been thinking of giving her more salary. but i dont' think i'll give as much as a double. plus i worried that it will then means she may get more and more greedy.

You need to accept that, if your helper has applied for a new job (whether in HK or elsewhere), the chances of her staying happily in her current job are small, even if you offer her more money or other contract sweeteners. If it were me, I'd cut my losses and work out an exit strategy for her which causes minimum disruption to my household. I would talk to her - tell her that you have heard that she has applied for this job and ask her what she expects to happen adn when. If she believes that you do support her application, she should give you the information you need to work out the time table and get yourself organised for a new helper. At the very least, ask for the name of the agency and contact them yourself (my helper's agency is in toronto - she gave me the email and I corresponded directly). If you cannot get this information directly from the agent, do an internet search for "foreign domestic help in Italy" and do your own research - contact the agents you find and ask them how it works and how long it takes. This obviously involves more work for you but you can at least get a general idea of what is involved. It might be a good idea to do this research before talking to your helper so you both have a better idea about what is involved.

Thanks to you smallfry! I'll try to do that.

Dear all, what you say it is true, I live part of the yar in HK and 7 months in Italy, I have a Filipino maid and she gets over 10.000 HKD per month, she does not live with us and she does not work on saturday and sundday unless requested and she is paid additional money. Her contract is legal and registered since she is legally here in Italy. Just be informed that Italy is very hard to reach fro Filipino workers as they need visa to fly here and the only option they have is to buy "travel packages" worth more than 30.000 HKD just to fly here as turist and later on "disappear" becoming illegal. With the new laws people without a permit to stay released by the police cannot rent flats or work, landlords or people hiring illegal can be arrested as well... I suggest to tell your maid to be vary careful in making the decision...she might be sent back to Philippines the same day she arrives in Italy...

Employers in any industry have to deal with employees sometimes leaving. As advised by some above, make a contingency plan and if necessary talk to your helper. If an employee wants to leave there is no point stopping them.

Monthly salary of HK$10,000 sounds great, but how much of that is going to rent/housing? Also what is the Italian labour law for domestic helpers in terms of benefits, insurance and home leave? It is easy to forget that an HK employer's actual costs in hiring a dh quickly add up to a lot more than the monthly min wage of HK$3,580.

My friend's ex helper wants to return from Canada to work again for my friend after 1 year of working there as a legal helper. She said that initially she was attracted by a higher salary. Later she realized that she has to pay rent, electricity, water and other bills, buy her own food as it was not included in the contract, pay for own transportation, etc.. Transportation was costly because she had to rent a tiny room in the outskirts of the city while her employer's house was in the city centre. Not to mention time spent on traveling. Besides, she hoped to do part-time during the weekends as some of her friends do illegally but she could not find an employer who'd agree to break the law. Anyways, that is her story. She asked my friend if she could employ her again. She said that HK$4000 per month in HK was much more than what she had at the end of the month in Canada. I am not sure what is true and what is not but it all sounds logical.

Helpers can still get better terms and conditions in the west as the labour laws are stricter, they can live in but not work the long hours that they have to in HK and often with higher pay better holidays and time off. I speak from experience as a children's Nanny.

A Nanny/Au Pair job may be a great temporary gig for a student or someone in a career transition, who may only care about having more time to party/study than to accumulate savings/money to send home. However each individual's situation, goal and personality are different, what you consider "better" or important may not mean as much to someone else as to have more money to send to their loved ones back home at the end of the month. A live-in arrangement in HK may actually be the preferred deal for most helpers in that case. After all HK does pay the highest dh wages in Asia.

I agree with optimistic in regard to a career as a Nanny. I opted to have a career in management and my good friend decided on childcare. She has worked all over the globe as a Nanny and now married for 20+ years, settled in Austalia and still works as a Nanny and I must add a very highly paid one at that. She does not 'live in' anymore but will if the family requests now and again. Laws in Australia have a minumum wage and depending on experience the Nanyy can demand quite a high salary. no, not just for students and travellers on a working holiday. A bit out of touch paenme!

Out of touch? Sounds a bit arrogant and judgemental there, after all I only lived in US and Australia most of my life :) All I was saying is that whether you choose to be a live-in DH in HK or a typical nanny in the West depends on what your primary goals are. The HK$10,000 in Italy as indicated in the original post just does not work out being too much left at the end of the day after housing, food, transportation, etc. which may not suit many DHs who may prefer to be able to send home more money to support their loved ones. Now Australia is a bit different story. It does have a much higher minimum wage than HK, but then Australia also has a very tight/strict foreign labour immigration policy. Comparing with the relative "open" policy in HK there are just not that many opportunities available in Aus, unless you are one of the "skilled labour" that Australia is trying to attract (as a foreigner). Unfortunately Aussie gov't does not consider nannies as highly skilled labour.

I have had helpers both in HK and the West for years and most of them prefer live-ins as the rent/housing costs are so high and they would eat away a big chunk of their wages. Some helpers may like live-out if they have relatives locally, but that is more the exception, rather than the norm. In the end it is a toss up between a little big of long hours v. higher accumulated earnings. It is up to each individual helper as to what is more important to him/her. I highly doubt a helper can find an equivalent HK$50 room and board per night easily in Italy.

in asia maybe but not in the world paenme, why would you think being a nanny would only be suitable for a student or someone in transition? many many nannies choose this as there career and those who are trained/qualified or experienced can demand high wages for there services. They are not considered maids or servants but an important addition to the household wether live in or live out after all what could be more important that looking after our children.

thanks optimistic. you just argued my case. It was not me who put the highly educated childcare "professionals" in the same category as the typical domestic helpers. I understand from my own dh that UK pays 3 times the amount of salaries than HK (what you referred to as "high salary"), but that is about the same $10,000 amount that we have been talking about, and UK has the one of the highest living costs in the world! I rest my case. beancurd is right, if they have friends/relatives that can help out with food and housing there (if the friends/relatives are in a position to do so), that may be a different story.

My dh has a friend in UK who knows the going rate there. If you bothered to look up the UK minimum wage guide, you will learn that it is not required there that the domestic helpers be paid the minimum wage (ie the pay would be much lower). In this case my dh appears to know something you don't and the 3x of the dh wages in HK appears credible. Now instead of acting insecurly and talking down on others please next time enlighten us with facts and supportable information. I would do more research myself but I do have a real job and do not have the luxury to be a full-time blogger on this forum like some people.

paenme,the UK does not have such a tight immigration policy but a nanny would still command a high salary. The problem is through lack of knowledge on the subject you have put trained/qualified/ experienced nannies in the same skills set as a domestic helper. Many helpers have little experience or qualifications in childcare and are hired as a general helper not as a skilled person in a particular area. Helpers are often expected to cook too but you wouldn't say that being a chef was a gap year profession.

I'm sure that may be true however we where talking about Nannies (that you brought up) not helpers so your helpers knowledge on what a friend earns in a different job is kinda irrelevant. your condescending post below highlights the fact that you have no idea about nannies and there working life or terms and conditions. As i previously stated you really shouldn't comment on things you know nothing about. "A Nanny/Au Pair job may be a great temporary gig for a student or someone in a career transition, who may only care about having more time to party/study than to accumulate savings/money to send home. However each individual's situation, goal and personality are different, what you consider "better" or important may not mean as much to someone else as to have more money to send to their loved ones back home at the end of the month."

i just want to ask if i will apply for italy as nanny what are the requirements i need to secure?

Hi, do you have any idea if it is actually easy to apply for a job in Italy? Thanks