Okay for helper to save up all stat holidays for one long break?

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peainpod

Registered User
My new helper has asked if she can work on ALL of the stat holidays in order for her to take them in one go for a holiday back in the Philippines after one year. Is this common practice? I know we give her a plane ticket back after 2 years (end of the contract) but she would like to go back to see her family sooner (which is of course understandable). On the other hand, the Labour Dpt website says any substitute holidays (to stat hol days) should be taken within 30 days - so I'm not sure if this is considered to be a breach of contract - or how serious a breach it is.

Also she is entitled to 12 stat days a year - which including weekends would add up to 2 full weeks. She says she will take it whenever we go on holiday - but with a new baby coming in March, I'm not sure if we will be going anywhere in the near future - and as a first-time mom, I'm not sure how well I can cope without her. Esp since I'll be returning to work full-time after 3 months mat leave. How long can I reasonably allow her to save her stat days for a holiday before she should use it up?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!
 
yes, it is a breach of contract and illegal. if she wants to take time off when you are not obliged to give it, it can be taken as either paid or unpaid holidays. beware though, if you give them as paid holidays(as i did) then they expect them paid all of the time (as mine now does).
 
I'd say it is not a common practice for a helper to save up all her stat holidays for a long break. To my understanding, a helper is eligible for a 2 week holidays only after she has finished her 2 year contract, and you pay for her air ticket. I have heard cases when a helper need a swap of one stat holiday with another day in a week, but not to save up for a long break. There is one more thing you need to consider, when a helper is back from her country, you'd better take her for a medical check-up which is normally done after her arrival and before she works for you.

Any arrangement/adjustment should meet your own needs, that is what a helper is there for.
 
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barbiegirl said:
There is one more thing you need to consider, when a helper is back from her country, you'd better take her for a medical check-up which is normally done after her arrival and before she works for you.
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Do you mean everytime she goes back to the Philippines, I should arrange for her to have a medical check-up on her return to HK? Why is that? Or do you mean, at the end of each 2-yr contract and after she has come back from her 2-week trip back home, she should have the medical check? (I did have her undergo a DH medical check in the beginning before she started with us.)
 
This DH medical check is not compulsory, but it is done for the sake of your family (esp. your baby). Usually, employer would prefer a DH to do a medical once a DH comes back from her country, it is to make sure they have no threatening disease.

This is just my kind advice.
 
My helper didn't take a few statutory holidays and we just added them to her annual leave. She didn't want all 3 days for CNY, it gets expensive she says. She is tempted to shop/ eat out with friends (sometimes she packs a lunch from home) and transport etc.
 
Thanks everyone for your advice. I sat down and had a quick chat with my helper, explaining my concerns and we basically agreed that for now, she would take the upcoming stat holidays as they occur and after the baby comes (when I would need her more), she could skip maybe work a few of the stat days twoards the end of the year and later take them for a shorter trip home.
 
barbiegirl said:
This DH medical check is not compulsory, but it is done for the sake of your family (esp. your baby). Usually, employer would prefer a DH to do a medical once a DH comes back from her country, it is to make sure they have no threatening disease.

This is just my kind advice.
Click to expand...

But given that most 'threatening disease' wouldn't show up immediately, the check-up is a bit meaningless. Same as the pregnancy test that is generally included in the check-up...
 
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