Live-out helper, good idea?

A

AudreysMom

Registered User
I am new to hiring a helper. I am not used to the lack of privacy that comes with having a helper live-in, but with a husband who travels quite a but, i will need full time help as I have a 19 month old and a newborn coming in November. Has anyone hired a full time live-out helper? Do you pay them the same as a live-in? Should I hire 2 part-timers: one to cook and one to clean? Thanks for your thoughts.
 
Live out is illegal. On immigration paper state clearly that your DH should live with you. But still a lot of people are still doing it for convenience. Most Helpers I have encountered prefer to live-out anyway as they can make extra $$ by doing part-time job. And also, say if she lives with you, who likes to be waking up at night because your baby needs to change diapers...

The cost? If they were to live out, you would need to pay for their boarding apartment and food allowance of 300$/month. The housing price varies from 900hkd to 1800hkd- that was amount I was quoted when I did interview with different DH.

Thing is you want her to stay a more decent place, you don't want her to get sick and bring the bacteria to your home, rite?
 
i've had three helpers. all have lived-in. i have never felt a lack of privacy from any of them. it all comes down to who you hire. the only thing that i can't do now is walk around the house in my underwear.... not a big deal to give it up.

food allowance is NOT $300... it is $740 ( i believe, or it could be $780)...

i never offered any of our helpers the option of living out. i, personally, don't feel comfortable breaking that law (and also opening up the possibility that they will work part-time, also illegal). i NEED my helper. i don't want to risk being banned from hiring one in the future if i get caught breaking the law.
 
I think after the end of June, food allowance went up to 780. We have a live in helper and it's so much more convenient especially if you are expecting a new baby in November. Our helper has been amazing since our second baby was born. Just helps out while you're feeding new baby often to have someone take care of the older baby.
 
definitely have her live-in...especially if you have a new born. i do the night shifts and the morning shifts my helpers does (6am) and if she were to live-out, i just can't imagine having her arrive at my place before then...especially since I'd need her to cook dinner for my older one before you left (say around 8pm) - the day would be too too long and insane for anyone! If you are not picky about food - i would stick with one for now . having 2 would be hard (unless they are relatives like mine) because you don't know if their personalities clash or not. i have an auntie and a niece that work together and that is great because the auntie recommended the niece and there is a certain level of hierarchy already - because of their relationship, rather than because of their individual charactertistics which I personally don't think you should be dealing with now at this point in time....already too much on your plate!
 
Thanks for your input! I guess the benefits of live in outweigh the cons after all.

Missidealist - yes good point about cleanliness if she lived out. With a newborn I'd like my home to be as sterile as possible and if she's coming and going from the HK streets she might be less clean than if she lived in.

I think lesliefu's schedule is good- I can do the night shift and she covers the early morning shift.

What about grocery shopping during the day? Do you usually send the maid? Then expect her to cook? Or do you do market shopping yourself and ask the maid to cook? And does the maid have her own separate fridge or does she share the food that the rest of the family eats?
 
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Banane76- *Thanks for the book recommendation about hiring a domestic helper. I will definitely be on the lookout for it.

Thanks all for your thoughts. I know a lot is common sense but i guess have so many concerns because of all the horror stories I hear from my friends. Like a maid who gave a baby her toes to suck on to calm him down or maids "working" on their days off in wan chai. I know there are good ones and not so good ones... But managing a person who shares your personal living space can definitely be challenging if your personalities don't mesh. Maybe I will consult the Chinese book and make sure we have compatible zodiac signs. HAHA!
 
our helper does the groceries shopping. every morning, we discuss what we would like for meals and she writes them down. she goes off gets the food, comes back and cooks.

our helper is like a housemate. she is welcomed to use everything in our home and eat anything we have. at meals, we eat together like friends do.
and
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We're expecting a baby in less than 2 months, but decided on a live-out helper.
Yes, we know it's not allowed, but it is common practice in HK.
We want our privacy, and so does she We mutually agreed on this in advance before signing papers. We see her more as an individual and childcare employee, than a live-in maid. She does not do outside PT work, and has a set schedule of work hours.
I think she had a bad live-in experience before, and now wants time in her own home, as humble as it is. (She shares an outside flat with 2 other maids. It has 2 bedrooms, with bunk beds, and a small shared kitchen and living room).
I can understand. Personally, I wouldn't want to live in my office!
Here's how much it costs per month, approximately
Salary -- HK 4000
Health insurance -- HK 700
Housing -- HK 1500
Food -- HK 800
Transport -- HK 300
Total -- HK 7300 / mo.

Pros: We have our privacy, and our helper is happy with the arrangement
Cons: It costs more.
She won't be here at night. However, we really want to care for our own child. Plus, we mostly do our own cooking. For us, a helper is to help -- to do housekeeping, or to babysit if my husband and I are not around.
We both grew up in families without helpers. So we're grateful for the 40-50 hours / week we get.

I'm not disparaging people with live-in helpers. I'm just stating what we personally preferred to do.
 
Gracey: i have been thinking having live out maid as well. Thanks for your insight. you mentioned "a set of schedule" can you share what's the like? And what's the 700$transport fee for? Is her boarding apt far from where u live?
 
Miss Idealiste -- The transport fee is HK 300 / month, which is HK 10 a day. Actually, it should cost her a little less than that to get to and from our house (HK 200-250 / month) but sometimes we send her out on errands, so the extra 50-100 is for that. She lives pretty close to our home.

Just a warning -- As Cara often points out here, having a live-out maid is a calculated risk. I don't want to encourage people just because we decided to take that risk. I've personally not heard of anyone being punished for it, but your contract will state that your helper lives at home.

We also agreed to it because
* She's lived in HK before
* She has a network of close family here, who helped her find a decent place to live
* She has a network of church friends here, who do the same
* She seems mature and stable -- she's married with a child back home
* She really seemed keen on living out

Another girl we were considering was much younger and had never lived in HK before. I don't know if I would trust her to live out. After all, if anything happens to her -- she gets sick, pregnant, etc. -- you are responsible.
 
Right now, her set schedule is very light, since the baby is not here yet. But we want to discipline her to work at set times every day, just to make a habit of it.
When the baby comes, we will extend the hours.
And when I go back to work, she will definitely have to be here for all the hours that I am away -- so at least 9-10 hours a day.
 
Hi,
I just hired one few months ago and everything work well. We also felt not comfortable with breaking the law and yes food allowance is 740...
For us everything works well. She starts early and it is definitely good to have someone able to work at 6am when needed extra sleep. I don't have any privacy issues so far. She just closes her door at 8pm unless I asked her to do anything (like looking after my son if we go out). Usually she always works in another room than the one I am...
Good luck!
 
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