Hiring a helper through direct employment

N

nitalau

Banned
Hi,

I wonder if any of you have experience in hiring a helper through direct employment. I have a good recommendation for a helper who is residing in Phillipines right now. I have spoken to her on the phone and through email. Even though she has no previous working experience in Hong Kong, I would still like to hire her.

The only problem is, the cost for direct employment through an agency seems to be REALLY HIGH because the employer bears all the cost. The helper doesn't have to pay a cent. Any suggestions on how I can cut cost to hire this helper?

nita
 
Hi Nita,

We hired direct from the Philippines. You do have to go through an agency as the consulate only allows Filipinos to hire direct. We paid approx $3,000 which included one way ticket, medical and some other paperwork from the Phillipines. Its very easy. Pick an agency, make sure they have a rep office in Manila. Ask your helper to go to the office to sign the contract. The agency will courier them to HK, for you to sign. You'll need to pay, and provide them with all the supporting documentation (proof of income), they will submit the contract to the consulate (takes 3-4days) and will then submit to immigration (takes 4-6 weeks).

Does your helper have a passport? She can easily apply for it herself. That takes 1-2 weeks to get. Has she worked as a helper before? She will need to give the agency a copy of any reference letters and a cv.

That's about it!

Rani
 
When I spoke to the agency, she discouraged me from direct employment as the package is a lot more expensive and it does not cover medical/ labour insurance and they will not be responsible for sending the maid back if she doesn't work out.

Also, they said that since the maid doesn't have to pay a cent through direct employment, there is a higher chance for them to quit if they don't like working in HK. The total cost is $4600 for a package that doesn't include insurance and medical check-ups at all, only a one-way ticket and admin stuff to get her here.

Am I talking to the wrong agency here?

Nita
 
the fee should include the medical and there is some other exit permit fees as well.

as you've not selected a helper from their database they will not take any responsiblity if things don't work. Which is fair. You are taking a risk.

Try calling a few other agencies. I just checked Overseas Employment and they are charging $2500 for direct hires but it doesn't include medical.

http://www.overseas.com.hk/web/html/eng/services/services_self.htm

I used a company in LKF called J & N ( i think). Their office was in the same building as Al's Diner. They were a bit slow, and I had to call them every few days for an update. Our papers got delayed at the Consulate for 2 weeks cos it was Election time. Once the papers were submitted to immigration I called the case officer to get them expedited. I then collected the Visa and couriered it to the agency in Manila. I called my helper to report to the agency the following day and I called the agency to book her ticket. Within 3 days of receiving the visa she was in HK. In total it took 6 weeks.

Rani
 
I am currently using an agent which charges HK$1500 for the whole direct hire process including one way ticket from the Philippines. Not in a position to recommend its service yet, as the visa is still being processed by the immigration dept.
 
Hi Ms. Hunhun, I think your HK$1500 fee is just OK for your NEW HIRE. It's not a direct hire. For Ms. Nita's case it's a Direct hire because someone recommended the applicant for her to be employed. If I am not mistaken, an agency offered you this kind of service.
 
You can negotiate with the helper to split the cost or she shoulders everything. It turns out to be cheaper for her than paying the full agency fee which is around 110,000 pesos, i think.

I find that if she doesn't pay anything, she might just quit anytime as she got nothing to lose.
 
direct hire

We hired our helper directly from the philippines without going thr an agency. what we did was to get the forms from the HK Immigration Department, filled them out, sent them to the helper and got her filled out her parts, had her sent them back to HK, then submitted the completed forms together with all supporting document listed. after the visa was issued, we had to take it to the philippines consulate to get the employment contract verified. they then issued us a certficate which we then sent to our helper and she had to present it to the immigration in the philippines when she left the country.

the air ticket we got for our helper was an award ticket with AsiaMiles. they let you redeem tickets for people outside your family, which is awesome.
 
Rani, I didn't know you had to go thr an 'appointed' agency to do that. guess i was really lucky that i didn't know. but you know the way they do things is pretty random.
 
Hi Hunhun,

Please let me know how it goes with your agency, the fee is cheap compared to the ones i've inquired.

Do you deduct this fee from the helper when she gets here? i understand they don't pay anything from their end if we direct hire them.

Hi Jessie,

How long did it take you to do the whole processing procedure? how many weeks before the helper arrived hk?
 
Hi mamaS,

It took aroud 6 weeks for the Immigration to issue the visa (we submitted everything they needed so no delay in the visa application). Then my helper had to go to a seminar and a body check up, that took another 2 weeks. So it took 8 weeks in total for her to come out here.
 
I paid a lot less than the agent's quotation in the end as I didn't need her to do much. I did more or less the same thing as what Jessieywl did, and my helpers arrived within 6-7 weeks.

If you potential helper has never worked in HK before, the HK immigration department, after reviewing your application, will return the green contracts back to you and ask you to get them "verified" by the Phillipines consulate, who in turn will ask you to get them stamped by their "approved" agent first. And of course, you'll need to pay some money for the agent's stamp!

Note that your helper will need to pay some fees for the seminar, body check and stuff in the Philippines, and this may be quite hefty for her but it's entirely up to you whether you are prepared to reimburse her or not. (But read the green contract, there are basic items in which you HAVE TO REIMBURSE her regardless.)

You can always call up the Phillippines consulate to ask for more details regarding agents etc. The staff there are really helpful.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!
 
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Hello,

Thanks for your replies. Oh, i didn't know that it can take 8 weeks, have to start searching in advance.
 
Hi Hunhun and Jessie,

I've found a helper that i will direct hire. I have the green contracts from the Hk immigration and will let the helper sign it in.

Can you help me answer a few questions?

1. Should i go first to HK immigration to submit that green contract, and wait for the approval?

2. Then, once approved, i'll bring the documents to Phil. consulate and have it approved too. And have it stamped by their accredited agency? where is that agency? they have a list that i can pick and how much do i pay for that?

3. Then, i'll send the documents to the helper in the Phils, where will she go for seminar, medical in the Phils? From that accredited agency?

4. How much total did it cost you aside from the airfare?

Thanks for your help, i may go to the Phil. embassy tomorrow to ask too. It sounds easy and i have the time to do the leg work so i won't go thru an agency anymore.
 
Mama,

You need to submit the Green Contract to the Consulate first and not immigration.

But before you can do that I guess it needs the agency stamp.

Jessie, which agency did you use?

Rani
 
Hi,

I just called Phil. consulate, they DO NOT allow a direct hire without an agency, i'm getting a helper who will work here first time. IF the helper is ex-hk, then i can do the leg work and just have it stamped by an agent.

It will turn out more expensive for me than just paying for an agency fee to look for a helper for me. As the agency fee for a direct hire is higher.

Can anyone receommend an agency that is reasonably priced?

I called the Overseas employment, Rani, and it will turn out to be around $5,000+.........unbelievable!!!
 
First time direct hire

"Do not allow direct hire without an agency" doesn't mean that you have to pay for the agency to do the ENTIRE process! Get it?

Find an agent and negotiate the fees for JUST stamping your contract and submitting them to the Phil consulate for you or with you, get them stamped by the Phil consulate, and then submit your forms and contracts to the HK immigration yourself, you will then have to wait for a few days up to a few weeks (depends how busy they are) before they assign you with a case number, which they called VSA number. With this number, you can then communicate with them.
 
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Hi Hermoine,

YES, they mean i have to go thru an agency to do the entire process, it's because my helper is FIRST time to be working in Hk, so she has to have an agency. If it's ex-Hk, then i can do the procedure that you've mentioned. I've asked around aside from the consulate and it's correct.
 
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