Singapore Maid - Agency Reviews, Maid Procedures, Blog & More…

You know the problem of Chinese New Year and working in the maid industry?

I have too many friends and relatives asking me to recommend a good maid agency to them. As you are probably aware, many of them have problems with their maids, much like you do.

But, truth be told, I dare not recommend any agency to anyone, including the agency I work in. This is a trade involving human beings and there is no perfect human beings. So there is really nothing to recommend.

Then, along comes this friend who is a Life Coach, and she started grilling me with some really tough questions.

“If you were to know which is the best maid agency in Singapore, how would it look like?”

I said I don’t know. As far as I am concerned the best maid agency in Singapore would have 100% matching maids for all their clients without any problems. Maybe a robot maid would do that?!

So, she said, “If you were to guess, it’s just guessing, okay, and you really don’t know, just guess, what would be the best maid agency in Singapore? What do you see on their website? What feedback do they get? Etc.?

Well, I guess, the first thing is that they should have lots and lots of positive feedback. People say good things about them and they should have lots and lots of testimonials. And, they do not appear online to be bashed by tons of people like in a blogspot blog.

Then, she went on to say, “What kind of a good experience would you experience with such an agency? Just imagine it, it is not necessary that you have experienced it. Just imagination will do.”

Okay, I imagine that they are friendly, and they write down my requirements of a maid. I also expect them to screen the potential maids such that they meet my requirements closely.

Moreover, I expect them to be honest with me and provide good after sales service. Even if I want my money back, they are very happy to return the money to me.

They are upfront kind of people and tell me the problems of my maid employment process, if any. They must be the kind that is fair and do not discount me as a customer after I have paid them or asked for a replacement.

And, my friend said, “Well done! Is there a maid agency that you are thinking about when you answered my questions? Note, it is thinking about, you don’t have to know any agency like this.”

I said, as if I will know a maid agency like that.

Then, she changed her tactic, and said, “If you were to take a maid for yourself, which maid agency’s service will you try?”

Of course, it would be my own agency because I can twist my supplier’s arms if it doesn’t work out. Heehee!

“No, no,” she said. “Imagine that you cannot twist any arm whatsoever, where would you go?”

That is a tough question. I will go online and do my research and see what turns up, I guess.

“So, what would be your steps? As in step one, what would you do?”

Right, step one, I will visit the list of accredited maid agencies.
These agencies are accredited by the Consumers Association. So, if their service is not up to par, I can complain about them to the Consumers Association and get my money back. Never lose money to unscrupulous money-faced maid agencies is my motto.

Then, I will go through their websites and evaluate them with my checklist above - lots of positive feedback, testimonials, doing a proper matching of my needs, etc. Just click on the agency names in the list of accredited maid agencies and you will see their websites. I think it is a long list.

“That’s great! Only 2 steps to do? And you can find your maid which won’t give you a headache?” asked my friend.

I said that there is no maid that won’t give you a headache. But, at least, make sure that you can get back your money.

Then, she asked her coaching question again, “based on your gut feel, if you were to try only 1 maid agency out of that long list, which would it be? Remember, it is just a feeling and you are just trying out. No commitment whatsoever. So, there is no risk.”

Okay, okay. You’re still trying to push for a maid agency that I will recommend. Fine!

If I were to get a maid for myself without using my own agency, I will try out the service of the maid agency right at the top of the accreditation list. Their name starts with the number “1″. (It is a weird name I must say.)

“Why is that so?”

Before you even asked me these questions, I was actually doing research and poking my nose around when setting up this blog. I have visited many, many agency websites.

The one I recommended seems to have the “mostest” testimonials of all. And, these are not some flimsy testimonials. These are “industrial” strength kind.

Moreover, I have heard some good things about them. As for bad things, none so far.

Now, I hope you are happy with my recommendation.

“Yes, I am happy,” my friend said with a smile.

Life Coach!  #@$% 

Disclaimer: You use whatever maid agency at your own risk, including my “researched” recommended agency. I am NOT liable for anything. By the way, I’ve never used them before, but, I recommend them based on what I see on their site and what I heard. And, what I heard may be wrong as well. So, you have been duly informed.

With effect from 1 January 2010, the medical insurance coverage of domestic helpers, FDWs or maids will be increased to $15,000, instead of the usual $5,000 coverage.

Needless to say, the insurance premium would also increase to reflect the higher cost of insurance. Across the board, the general increase is in the region of $50 to $100.

This is pretty much in line with the reduction in government assistance for foreign workers in general in terms of medical expenses. At the same time, this also helps reduce the risk of employers of maids. Why do I say so?

In my line of work, I’ve come across some unfortunate cases whereby the employers had to bear substantial cost, in the region of $20,000 to $50,000 depending on what happened to the girl.

One case, in particular, was really unfortunate. A helper had severe stomach pain and was diagnosed with ****. (To protect the privacy of my clients, I will not be revealing any details and I may modify some of the facts. However, the key points and facts will remain as they are.)

But, what was shocking was that the girl had to undergo a major operation and she had to be hospitalised for a significant period of time. The medical bill was estimated to be in the region of $35,000.

To make matters worse, the illness was diagnosed to be a pre-existing medical condition. As such, it was not covered under the insurance plan.

As a side note, so that you understand why a pre-existing medical condition is generally excluded automatically - the rationale is that no insurer will take on anyone, for instance, with cancer. Nor, would anyone with cancer, declare that he has cancer because no insurer will take him up.

So as to reduce the general cost of insurance, the pre-existing medical condition exclusion is instituted across the board for practically all insurance types, including maid insurance. This is because, if the insurer knows that the incumbent has cancer, they will either increase the insurance premium significantly or not take on the case at all.

So, coming back to the case. Basically, my client had to bear all the medical cost of the maid since it is one of the MOM conditions of employment for the maid.

Needless to say, if the case wasn’t that of a pre-existing condition, there will be a coverage of $5,000 under the old insurance scheme. With the new scheme, the coverage will be $15,000.

At least, my client will be covered for $15,000 under the new scheme.

However, there are also insurance plans with higher coverage which she could have opted for under the new insurance plans which may well cover all her exposure to her maid being sick.

All in all, the new insurance scheme seeks to reduce the risk of employers of maids. However, it also increases the cost of employing a maid. Unfortunately, if the maid has a pre-existing medical condition, no amount of insurance can help.

Perhaps, to reduce their risk significantly, employers should consider having their maids undergo a full body checkup before employment and not the current partial checkup. Now, that may be something to think about if a few hundred dollars of expenses maybe able to prevent tens of thousands of dollars of heartache later on…

The Singapore maid levy or Foreign Domestic Worker levy is a necessary "evil" to control the influx of foreign workers into Singapore.

Generally,  the levy is $265 per month. However, due to the government’s push for working mothers and other social reasons, a concessionary levy of $170 per month is also given.

The collecting agent is the CPF Board which makes some employers confused. The levy has nothing to do with your CPF. Since the CPF Board has an established "collecting system", they are just tasked with collecting the maid levy.

Here are some conditions you need to satisfy in order to qualify for a concessionary levy:

1. Your child has to be below 12 and is a Singapore citizen; or

2.  Your parent(s) or grandparent(s) is above 65 and is living with you. He/ she must be a citizen; or

3.  You are above 65; or

4.  You or your family members have disabilities.

Other than the above, you are likely to pay the full normal Singapore maid levy of $265.

Actually, I’ve done a Singapore maid agency review already. However, I think I need to make it more complete by providing even more information. There are also questions about using new unaccreditated agencies which I have some thoughts on.

Personally, I have a preference for CASE accreditated agencies because it is accreditated by a third party consumers protection agency which is "government linked".

However, equally recognised are the AEAs accreditated agencies which you can also take into consideration. These are agencies accreditated by the Association of Employment Agencies which is a self governing body of maid agencies.

In addition, here is a list of agencies which have their accreditation revoked by the AEAs. Stay away from them.

Yet another list to check is whether the agencies are accreditated and do they have any demerit points or not.

Here is the MOM list of agencies…

A few points to note about the list:

1. New agencies do not have to be accreditated in their first year of operation. In their second year, they have to be accreditated to continue operations.

2. Demerit points are issued when the agency infringes the rules and regulations of MOM. Any agency with 12 points are placed under MOM’s surveillance. The demerit points are "reset" after 6 months for the particular infringement. However, if there is a severe infringement like maid abuse, illegal worker, etc., the license will be revoked immediately.

3. Many agencies do not have accreditation in this MOM list because they are non maid agencies. They can be HR consultancies, HR placement companies and so on. Do take note.

A question has also been raised about trying the services of new agencies. There are 3 points to note here.

Firstly, the agency may not be new. It can be a way for "old" and "bad" agencies to circumvent the demerit points system. The old agency’s license may be revoked, but the management wanted to get back into business, so they applied for a new license under a new name. However, the MOM will have checks in place to prevent this. So, are these "recalcitrant" agencies worth trying? I think you know the answer to this.

Secondly, an unaccreditated new agency is a "new kid on the block". In other words, there is no track record. My philosophy is this: let them be successful, and once they’ve proven themselves, then put your money in there. I would not let them risk my family’s well-being as they build their business by me taking a risk with them. But, that’s just me. You can always give a new agency a shot.

Thirdly, there are "new" agencies which are actually old, established agencies doing a conversion in corporate structures. You see, a long time ago many agencies are run by individuals in the form of sole proprietors or partnerships. However, over the years, they’ve grown bigger and better. As such, it makes sense for them to corporatize and become a private limited company.

I think this is the only category of "new" agencies which I will go to because they have already proven themselves from growing from a sole proprietor or partnership into a private limited company. They must be doing a good job to be able to progress to the next level of growth.

I hope this helps.

Finally, I’ve got the Singapore maid blog up and running!

I’m quite excited to share some of the information and experience that I’ve had in this industry.

Personally, I’m an executive in this industry for about 7 years and I’m also an employer of about 5 maids over a period of 6 years. So, I’m able to share with you my thoughts, feelings and different point of views on various matters. Most importantly, I hope this information is useful to you, my reader.

In case you’re thinking that this is a commercial blog, it is not. It is a "passion" blog - it is simply a place for me to express my opinions and have a "voice" on the Internet.

I’ll be covering various topics like how to choose the right maid, singapore maid agency reviews, details on the employment process, singapore maid levy and so on.

While it is common for people to rant or complain about various agencies online, I have no intention in taking part in this because this is not a "complaints" blog. It is an "information" blog.

So, please do not post any "complaint" comments here. If you must, complain to the MOM or CASE.

Neither would I be recommending any agencies because this is a people business. People do change over time, and people are the hardest creature on earth to fathom. (Even young children - see how they throw out one old doll after another!)

So how can I be sure that any good agencies that I recommend to you would work out? I don’t. I can only tell you the factors to watch for to increase the likelihood of success when employing a maid.

Without further ado, here’s my writeup on Singapore maid agency recommendations.

With this first post, I hope you’ll enjoy the blog posts that are coming soon.

Thank you for reading.