Thunderbird
New Member
[h=2]Hi All, sorry I'm re-posting this as a new thread as I do need urgent advice on this coz my maid is going back in 3 weeks time.
Re: First time getting maid - need advice!![/h]
Re: First time getting maid - need advice!![/h]
Hi everyone, hope everyone had a fantastic Lunar New Year. I didnt realised my last posting was ages ago!
Time really flies and my maid has already been with us for 20 months now. Her contract is expiring in July and I have already told her I would like to renew her contract for another 2 years to which she said ok. Over these 20 months, I am generally happy with her performance most of the time. If there is anything to "complain" about, it's sometimes she will show us black face if she's not happy (eg, she has a tendency to overcook and end up with a lot of leftovers to which we once jokingly said she had to finish all the food up and her face became black.) But even with the occasional black face, she is on the whole quite attentive towards my kids and thus I decided to renew her contract. However I dont't know if it is a Filipino thingy. You see, in the first contract it is stated that she gets to go out 9am - 6pm on her off days, meaning she has to come back latest by 6pm. This one time, because it was her birthday and she said her friends wanted to celebrate for her, she asked if she could come back at 7pm and I said YES. To my surprise, thereafter every off-day she comes by at 7pm! I was a bit annoyed by it but after thinking about it, 7pm doesn't seem too unreasonable as well so I left it at that.
But anyways, my real problems/dilemmas are:
Home trips
I understand they usually get a home trip after a 2-year completion of their contract. She has requested to go back earlier in March to attend her eldest son graduating ceremony. Naturally being a mother myself, I couldn't say no to that so I agreed to let her go back before her contract finishes. She is going back mid March and only coming back in early April. My questions are,
1) does she get her march salary before she leaves or after she comes back?
2) Are they (FDWs) usually entitled to salary during their leave back home?
Salary advances
This is the BIG DILEMMA I'm facing right now because she has written me a letter "begging" me for 5 months of advanced salary from March to July - salary she has not even earned!!! Her reason is that she wants to bring her two kids on a holiday to "star city" (the legoland of Philippines) and buy some new clothes and presents for them when she's back, since this is the first time in a long time she's seeing her kids. By right, my friend has advised me that I should withhold her March salary in case she goes back and doesn't return (since there are many cases of maids doing that and my friend is a victim herself. Her maid promised and assured her that she will come back but in the end, she didn't board the return flight back to Singapore). If I give her the advance salary, there is a chance she will not come back and I will lose 5 months of salary. If I dont't give her, she's like very "poor thing" and I feel sorry for her. I do not want to give her the advance salary but dont't know how to put it across to her without looking heartless.
I NEED ADVICE. SHOULD I GIVE OR SHOULD I NOT?
Appreciate all your advices.
Thanks!
Time really flies and my maid has already been with us for 20 months now. Her contract is expiring in July and I have already told her I would like to renew her contract for another 2 years to which she said ok. Over these 20 months, I am generally happy with her performance most of the time. If there is anything to "complain" about, it's sometimes she will show us black face if she's not happy (eg, she has a tendency to overcook and end up with a lot of leftovers to which we once jokingly said she had to finish all the food up and her face became black.) But even with the occasional black face, she is on the whole quite attentive towards my kids and thus I decided to renew her contract. However I dont't know if it is a Filipino thingy. You see, in the first contract it is stated that she gets to go out 9am - 6pm on her off days, meaning she has to come back latest by 6pm. This one time, because it was her birthday and she said her friends wanted to celebrate for her, she asked if she could come back at 7pm and I said YES. To my surprise, thereafter every off-day she comes by at 7pm! I was a bit annoyed by it but after thinking about it, 7pm doesn't seem too unreasonable as well so I left it at that.
But anyways, my real problems/dilemmas are:
Home trips
I understand they usually get a home trip after a 2-year completion of their contract. She has requested to go back earlier in March to attend her eldest son graduating ceremony. Naturally being a mother myself, I couldn't say no to that so I agreed to let her go back before her contract finishes. She is going back mid March and only coming back in early April. My questions are,
1) does she get her march salary before she leaves or after she comes back?
2) Are they (FDWs) usually entitled to salary during their leave back home?
Salary advances
This is the BIG DILEMMA I'm facing right now because she has written me a letter "begging" me for 5 months of advanced salary from March to July - salary she has not even earned!!! Her reason is that she wants to bring her two kids on a holiday to "star city" (the legoland of Philippines) and buy some new clothes and presents for them when she's back, since this is the first time in a long time she's seeing her kids. By right, my friend has advised me that I should withhold her March salary in case she goes back and doesn't return (since there are many cases of maids doing that and my friend is a victim herself. Her maid promised and assured her that she will come back but in the end, she didn't board the return flight back to Singapore). If I give her the advance salary, there is a chance she will not come back and I will lose 5 months of salary. If I dont't give her, she's like very "poor thing" and I feel sorry for her. I do not want to give her the advance salary but dont't know how to put it across to her without looking heartless.
I NEED ADVICE. SHOULD I GIVE OR SHOULD I NOT?
Appreciate all your advices.
Thanks!