How much do you pay your helper?

AndyNZ,

What sort of courses do you let your helper take pls?

Besides Town Gas, anyone knows/recommends any Chinese food cooking course for helpers pls?

A new helper is coming in Feb 2008. She is supposed to be an experienced cook and helper. Been around HK for 18 yrs. Tried her food once, OK but not fantastic. Have a picky 4 yo eater, so would like to send the helper to some courses to improve her skills.

Back to the captioned topic. My current helper, honest and patient with my son but quite slow with work and careless (eg once closed the car door on my 4 yo son's fingers and very often I find fish bones in the fish fillets my son consumes!!) and I pay $3700 (she is entitled to $3280). I treat the $420 as bonus and I did take it away a few times when she smashed or lost some expensive items around the flat.

Tks

Rgds

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It is interesting to see someone will consider a helper good when she asks employer for loans even when she has been overpaid with higher salary, bonus, expensive presents, extra money at festival, and extra trips to home country every year.

Anyway, hope everyone here will treat their helper fair but at the same time be a smart employer.
 
Barbiegirl, I find your comments interesting. Being in the unfortunate position of having to ask for a loan does not mean that someone is not a 'good' helper or that an employer is being taken advantage of. I used to nanny in Italy and regularly got advances from my family. For me the money was for pretty trivial things as new clothes etc. When my helper asks for a loan I know it is because someone in her family back in the Philippines really needs it. The petty wrangling I regularly hear in HK over small amounts of money, holiday, 'spoiling' your helper etc. is frankly incredible. Performance based bonuses, perks and travel are a component of many jobs - no reason why it shouldn't be a feature of domestic help also.
 
LeahH, my comment is based on experiences from friends and warning from dh agencies. Not to go thru every case here, one of my friends has a helper, and she thought her helper was honest. Once her helper cried and asked my friend for money because her mother died back in her home country and need money desperately, so my friend shown sympathy to her and lent her a sum of money. But some weeks later, someone called her helper over the phone, and it was her mother!! My friend was shocked and asked her helper for an explanation, then her helper just admitted that it was just a lie and she just wanted some more money to spend. You know, this is not just a matter of money, but it really ruins my friend's trust on her helper! We have been told by some dh agents that some helpers (not ALL of them) make up stories like family members died or seriously ill or accidents back in their country and then ask for money...,etc. and told us not to lend them money.

Again, I am not saying ALL dh do that, but it sounds not uncommon. And actually, dh agencies have given guidelines to the dh to follow, and one of those is that dh shall not ask for loans from employers. All dh should understand and follow these guidelines. When you work in a company, there are also guidelines and rules for employees to follow, and I think this also applies to dhs too.

I agree that if you think your helper's performance is good, then you can show your appreciation by giving her some encouragements like higher salary, bonus or lai see or gifts. As an employer, I also give my helper some extra money on special days because she is good one, but she never ask me for loans, and our relationship is good too. I just want to say that I don't encourage the idea of loans especially those initiated by the dh or dh constantly ask for this.

This is just my kind-hearted advice to the employers and don't mean to offend.
 
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