Singapore Expats

Hi all,

I am thinking of getting a part-time maid/domestic help (for cleaning couple hours a week/two weeks), and have received a few suggestions already from friends.

Do I have to register my domestic helper in MOM, or get insurance for these 4-8 hours?

Cheers!

You can only hire a legal Singapore resident, aka citizen or PR, to be a part time maid.

Hire anyone else... and bingo!... you have broken the law.

Do not register your helper with MOM, do not pass GO, go directly to jail if you attempt to hire someone else's maid, or foreign worker, or DP, or EP, for that matter.

PS: She is not "MY" domestic helper. She is a human being, not a piece of baggage to be referred by you as "my domestic helper", like you refer to your coffee pot or vacuum cleaner.

I apologize for the bad English. I certainly did not mean it like that.

So this would be a different scenario than that of part-time tutor, or a baby sitter? Or even in those situations you can only employ Singapore Nationals/Residents only?

That is correct. Foreigners on work visas are ONLY ALLOWED TO WORK FOR ONE EMPLOYER at a time. A foreigner cannot get a work visa for a part time job and things like tuition and masseuses are off limits to them and if they get caught, both of you are in trouble.

The safe way is to use an agency to hire a part time maid. All the proper legal screening (checking whether they are PRs or SCs) has to be done by them. There are many agencies where you pay like $S100-200 one time only administrative fee and have a right to switch to another helper up to 3 times if not happy with the current one.

PS: She is not "MY" domestic helper. She is a human being, not a piece of baggage to be referred by you as "my domestic helper", like you refer to your coffee pot or vacuum cleaner.

You can be an arse SE. That was uncalled for. The OP was using a non-derogatory term and not intended to state that the 'person' was not a human being.

Wake up on the wrong side of the bed did we?

Could someone advise what is the cost or the rate for a part time helper in Singapore? What sort of nationality are these helpers? I hope they can speak English.