Would you hire this helper if you were me...

H

HK2008

Registered User
Dear all,
I'm new to HK with two kids. The other day I took the kids to a playground and met a philipina maid. She is great with kids(from my own observation), and from what she said I can tell she's also pretty hardworking. She didn't complain much about her employer but seeing me as a pretty nice person and my two kids being much easier to look after, she asked me whether I could hire her. She would love to work for me. I also like her a lot. Do you think it's ethical to do so? She'd have to break her current contract, of course. If I do hire her, what is the procedure to get her to work for me? Does she need to go back to her country first? Do I need to go through an agency?
Your thoughts and advice are very much appreciated.
 
Just in my opinion, I wouldn't hire her, as I feel sorry for her current employer.

However, if you decide to hire her, the procedure is not too complicated, you don't need to go through an agency. Since that helper is so smart, she must know all the procedure, just ask her to go and collect all the documents and let you sign. But she must go back to Philippines first before beginning to work for you.
 
hi hk2008
i think zoey has a good point, but then again, in the workforce, people leave their jobs all the time if they are offered a better one. i would however, ask to see this lady's former references, and call them, as any potential employer would.
good luck, let us know how it turns out.
 
Dear Zoey and dimsum mum,
Thank you both for your prompt reply. And thank you most of all for not being judgmental of me. Being new here and trying to find someone good have really prompted me to take a short cut. This lady did tell me that she didn't feel being appreciated and was often criticised even she's working very hard. She said she sometimes cried as her employer quite often hurt her feelings and being very harsh on her. I saw tears coming down her eyes when she thanked God for meeting me there on that day, as it was her first time being in that park. I honestly don't believe she was acting to get my sympathy. So I've decided to interview her very soon to find out more about her.
I have my fingers crossed that I would find a good helper as soon as possible. I have so much adjustment to do myself as I had to quit my job of seven years to accompany my husband to this new place. With the economy downturn, I don't think it's easy for me to get a job here. Sorry for getting a bit off topic, but just trying to talk to someone who can understand.
:thanks
 
Always ask for references. DO NOT take her word on the matter.
She knows that you are new and probably presumed that you are new to the games helpers play. Quite a common occurrence.
If her current job is her first and she can't work through her first contract, I'd not bother considering her at all. I honestly wouldn't take her word on the matter. We've had nasty experiences and have learned to NEVER take anything that comes out of a seemingly wonderful helper for granted.
 
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Hi spockey,
Thanks for the advice. I really don't know the best way to get a really good helper quickly without going through much trial and error. Plus I cannot tell easily whether someone is good or not.
A lady who works for my previous serviced apartment highly recommended her sister-in-law who's still in Philipines and without much experience, but who's excellent with kids and very clean and hard-working. I'm not sure whether I should consider to employ her. Again I haven't even seen her or talked to her yet. Can someone please share with me where and how you got your GOOD helper?
 
HI hk 2008, If i were in yr place i would also feel very happy to be so lucky to find a new helper just like that so soon.....but i have had bad experiences with very innocent-looking, smiley helpers before....who we instantly want to trust but honestly they r not worthy of our trust at all....i am not saying the lady u met should not be hired....but pls. be careful, check her current and previous employer's refernces...do a very detailed interview with her and look for loopholes in her story if any...ask her how has she tried to resolve her probs with her employer....ask her if u can spk to her employer posing as her sister or something just to work things out for them.....BUT at teh same time pls. visit geoexpat or asiaexpat.com and start looking for a helper....it is not too tedious of u focus on the kind of helper u want and call them in order, fixing interviews within the next 2 weeks.....remember they all will be ready to sign the contract so when u think u ahve found the right one, just grab hera nd sign the contract within 3-4 days...the good ones else shall be taken away.
 
also look for finish contarct helpers when u check the websites....they r much easier to hire i.e. the process involved at their agency and the immigration is shorter and involves not much paper-work....hiring from philippines would require atleast 2 months and would require u to hire an agency.
 
I would feel uncomfortable if a helper approached me like that and sweet talked me by saying, "Oh, your kids look so much easier to take care of." To me, the hidden message is, "You look like a easy, pushover type person and I want a smoother job that demands less of me." That might me just reading more into it than there is. But I have also been approached by really nice-seeming helpers at random (at a park, on the street) and it always feels to me like that person is "hawking" something.
With helpers, you really don't want a "quick job" that gets botched--take your time and really investigate, interview several people, check their references, have them come to your house and work for a day or two for a trial run, talk with them, get to know about their life, and trust your intuition. If you just jump into a contract with a nice-seeming person, you are bound to get burned--and this is the person you are trusting with the run of your home and the care of your children--it's a big deal.
 
Agree with MLBW, you should take your time finding a new helper. One very good way is to ask around friends who perhaps know some friends who are leaving HKG. Many expats are leaving right now and their helpers are probably looking for jobs. Then you can meet them, interview them and ask their current employers for references.
Good luck.
 
I second this and also want to point out to you, take time to get used to everything here before you leave your children to a helpers to care about and go out to work. Yes, it is a hard time to look for a job, if you are not careful enough on hiring helpers, you may end up having more trouble than just not having a job. Depend on how old your children are, you need time to find right schools for them--big headache for a lot of people, get familiar with your building guards, a few neighbours, school teachers, other parents, even other people's helpers, you can ask them later how your helper perfom when you are not around, if you do get a helper later. Also get familiar with where you can get things that your family needs and how much they cost, so it will be easier for you to find out if your helper are playing games with you.

I was in your shoes and are looking for a job now. I am a slow learner so it took me 6 months to get ready to go out and work. Hope you don't need this much time. But be careful as you do want peace and love at home.
 
val23 said:
Agree with MLBW, you should take your time finding a new helper. One very good way is to ask around friends who perhaps know some friends who are leaving HKG. Many expats are leaving right now and their helpers are probably looking for jobs. Then you can meet them, interview them and ask their current employers for references.
Good luck.
Click to expand...

I agree with Val that it is much better to get introduced to a helper through people you already know. It was really a nightmare when we were on the lookout for one and had to go to the agencies--we actually ended up not even hiring a foreign domestic helper for the short time we used one (3-4 months because I had back problems)--instead we hired a local woman who came during the day (10 am to 5:30 pm). That worked so much better for our lifestyle.

If you are interested in hiring a local person there are several non-profit organizations that run training schools for displaced homemakers in the city. Our helper was from Mainland China and married to a local HK man--in a lower income bracket and looking for a job. She was certified through the Lutheran Ministry that we contacted and she ended up being a total dream to have work for us. She was very savvy--and always lecturing me about "not being wasteful"--meaning that she would go out of her way to get a bargain for our family--she has a young boy who was in school so she was familiar with babies and my son totally adored her--she would sing Chinese lullabies and songs to him and he loved it--she could get him to nap when I couldn't. I learned a lot from her--just practical mommy things because I am a first-time mom. If she didn't know how to do something (get a stain out of something or clean something) she would call other ladies who also took the course with her and ask for tips. Even though she doesn't work for us now, I still meet up with her fairly often--now she has a newborn. Anyway, that is also an option.
 
wow, mlbw, i din know there were such organizations! may i ask what's the paying rates like? and can they work flexi hours?

i do second what mlbw says. this is my experience. i have been approached by a helper ard my block and it starts with how cute and healthy my child is vs how malnutrition her employer's daughter is. and then it worms into some sad story abt her current employer and then asking if i need a helper and she'd love to work for me. i felt very uncomfortable, thanked her and walked away. a few days later, i was chatting with another mum downstairs, and she came along totally ignored me, and did the exact same thing to the other mum!

please be careful. and check all the references carefully.
 
pixelelf said:
wow, mlbw, i din know there were such organizations! may i ask what's the paying rates like? and can they work flexi hours?
Click to expand...

I will look for the business card of the organization we worked with. My husband, who is from Hong Kong, did the research to find the organization. The fee varies but it is more expensive usually than having a foreign helper--If the person only works for you a few hours a week (say, Mon, Wed, Fri, 2-3 hours/day--or light cleaning etc.) then the going rate is 50 HKD/hour. In our case, our helper worked Mon-Fri 10 am-5:30 pm and sometimes would come earlier or stay later depending on what our specific need was and we paid her a monthly salary of about $5000 HKD--we actually agreed on a lower price but because she was so excellent, gave her a small raise after about 2 months of work.

Basically, they train women in the same sort of course that domestic helpers from Indonesia or the Philippines receive--basic cleaning techniques, how to bathe, change, dress and feed a baby...things like that. I think it's something like 10-12-week course that the women have to take. Then they are certified through that organization. When you contact the organization they give you the contact number of the people that are available that fit your criteria (number of hours a week you need, language ability--most only speak Cantonese and Mandarin but a few speak Indonesian etc.). Then you contact that person and broker the deal yourself. The organization charges no fee to you or that person. You set up their work schedule the way that works for you and them--after you meet and interview them--you can ask them to come for a "trial run" in your house etc. There are a few things that you may need to do additionally--it's a good idea to have some sort of insurance option for them in your plan--so if they get injured while working for you things are covered. Because they generally do not work full-time there is no insurance or wage benefits of the job for them. They don't require a visa or work permit or any of the other rigamarole that you have to go through with a foreign helper. That was the most attractive thing for us actually because I felt by hiring a foreign helper that it was almost like adopting another child into the family--you really have to take on a lot of responsibility for that person and open your home to them--and that didn't fit our lifestyle at all.

I'll see if I can find the number.
 
My experience...

Were almost stooged when we were looking for a helper earlier this year. We went to an agency and interviewed a Filipino. She came over to do some house cleaning and cooking as a trial run and she seemed very good. She could speak some cantonese and bargain with the market women, could choose a fresh fish to steam, handled the dinner well, and could feed my baby. Then I asked for her ex-employers number, which she happily gave. At this point, I thought she was the one. I rang but the employer refused to go into detail and was a little rude too. The next day I asked the agency to start processing papers for her coz we were pretty happy with her. Then the ex-employer rang me on the same day and told be that the maid came home and said she'd found a new employer and then the cat had been let out of the bag. Apparently she was very rude and half hearted about her job. This was enough for me to tell the agent to stop processing the papers (luckily I'd forgotten to give them some info so the papers had not gone through yet!)

Anyway, what I'm saying is that a lot of these helpers are sweet talkers and being an expat, we sometimes take things for face value. Just remember, they're a lot more informed and experienced at the 'game' than we are so as employers, do shop around. You shop around for everything else! BTW, we eventually found our present maid, who we're very happy with so far, on asiaxpat. We interviewed a few and asked them over for a trial. Like everyone else here says, it's your gut feeling and talk to the ex-employer!

Good luck!
 
Like many of the other posters I would recommend you speak to her previus employers. It might be that this maid is not being treated well by her current employer or it might be that she is lazy and gets upset when her employers calls her on this fact. You need to speak to previous employers to determine what the truth is.

The other thing to bear in mind is that if she breaks her contract you need to factor in 6-8 weeks to send her home, do the paperwork and get her back in HK.

I would recommend you look on geoexpat.com and interview at least 4 helpers before making a decision.
 
I've hired three wonderful helpers in my 14 years in HK.
My current helper advertised herself on a website and I selected her initiailly based on 2 main criteria:

- Christian
- completed at least 2 contracts with the same employer

The first criterion should function as a filter to weed out the dishonest, lazy ones. Not guaranteed, I admit!
The second carries more weight. The longer a helper has served with a previous employer, the more it convinces me. Our current helper had done 6 years with one family and another 6 years with another family. She's an absolute gem.

Hope it helps.
 
Hi,

I want to be able to talk to the ex-employer, if terminated, i don't want it, i will terminate my helper soon and i have all the reasons to do that, but i'm sure this helper will backfire me later once she finds another employer.

NOBODY will terminate a helper and pays one month's salary if helper is OKAY.

Do not believe in her sweet words, check her background. I talked to one terminated helper, all is well, she's kind, sweet talker, etc.......then i ask for her employers number and told me she doesn't know! I'm not stupid to believe her, she takes care of a kid so definetely the employer will give their contact in case of emergency.

Get a finished contract helper, BUT you should still talk with ex-employer for reference.

Good luck! I've found mine from geoxpat, the employer was the one who contacted me.
 
Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and giving me your advice. I have decided not to hire this helper and didn't even interview her. I'll definitely keep in mind all the good points while looking for the helper who can get along with us and be a real help for us.
 
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