Singapore Maid Blog
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.
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Hi there,
Please help us me to solve this matter or give us some advise as our agency wants us to pay them extra $970 for a replacement maid.
Let me tell you what had happened.
My new maid no.1 came around 24-Oct-2010. She only worked for 2 months.(her last day was 23 Dec 2010)
Agency agreement doc says we are entitled to replacement maid with no limit.
We waited for the other replacement maid no.2 to reach my house only on 25-Jan-2011.
For 1 month, we struggled without a maid and my kids had to shuttle between my mum place because me and my husband need to work and worse part my mum was also not well herself.
Maid no.1 owns agency loan amt of $2640 which I had already paid full to the agency in 2nd of Oct 2011
I cleared $660(2mths) as maid no. 1 salary was $330.
Maid no.2(replacement)debt was $2950. (which they say already waived off $588 agency fee)
Now the agency says we need to pay them $970
(reason the agency breakdown this to us : $2640(maid no. 1) - $660(cleared loan/pay) = $1980.
$2950(maid 2 debt) - $1980(bal maid no. 1 loan)= $970.
can agency waive off the $970 or deduct as we waited for a month for the replacement.
Why we need to pay another $970?
Why this maid 2(indonesian) loan so much at $2980 ?
Does the agency got the right to take back this 2nd maid(replacement)from us ?
sorry to trouble you but I know you are the best person to answer this for us.
I really appreciate your help. Thank you.
Valerie
[contact number removed by admin]
recently, i employed a maid on behalf of my parents to assist them in household chores. The maid agent that we engaged got us an indonesian maid and we paid to the agent 9 mths of her salary in advance. subsequently, after 2 months of training her, she ran away and have been found. We asked for a replacement from the same agent as we were told we are unable to cancel the contract with the agent, and after several weeks, we got another maid. Upon collection of the maid, we were told we have to topup $1000 as loan to this new maid who had again taken 9 months of advance pay and our previous maid had worked for 2 months, so we need to top up. My worry is if this maid doesnt complete the 9 mths of work and again left after 2 or 3 mths, am i always having to top up for the next maid’s loan…this is a neverending circle and do we have any rights to cancel the contract with the maid agent and retrieve the balance we have paid them (after subtracting the exp incurred?) Please advise as it is becoming extremely frustrating to deal with the maid agent who doesnt explain in details what will happen if the maid doesnt finish the 9 mths? We felt like we are being treated like their maid training ground, after teaching, their maid get to transfer to other employers who get to pay less advance loan and get to train less..(the 1st few months is always the most difficult to train). The agency is located at lucky plaza, [agency name was removed by admin]. Thank you.
Hi Valerie,
Sorry for the late reply.
The difference in the maid’s loan between Maid no.1 and no.2 is probably due to a different supplier. Other possible reasons are different experience level or a price increase.
The topup of $970 is to make up the amount to fulfil Maid no.2’s maid’s loan since she is starting afresh with you from month 1 and the agency has to pay the supplier of Maid no.2. This is separate from Maid no.1’s case. On the other hand, the new employer of Maid no.1, only has to pay a maid’s loan of $1,980 since she has cleared 2 months.
You may wish to negotiate with your agency to see if they are willing to waive the $970 or reduce it since you have to wait a month for the replacement. The agency does not have a right to take back the 2nd maid unless you breach the agency contract. You may also wish to refer to the contract on the replacement period, meaning is 1 month too long a wait for you.
I hope this helps.
Hi Chee Kin,
I hope my reply is timely. I have a few points for your consideration.
1. You may wish to check whether the agency is accredited by CASE or AEAs. I don’t think that you cannot cancel the contract with the agent. You may wish to check your agency contract though. Generally, you are allowed to cancel the contract and get a refund - to what extent, would depend on your agreement. If the agency does not allow, you may wish to bring it up to CASE or AEAs, whichever is their accreditation body.
2. If your old maid has worked for 2 months and you have to topup $1000 for the 2nd maid, I would assume that the monthly pay for the 2nd maid is $500. If this is incorrect, then you would have been overcharged for your topup. You may wish to check with your agency on this. I am also assuming that your replacement is free, and that there is no agency fee involved.
3. It is true that you would have to topup for each replacement maid. However, effective 1 April 2011, the maid’s loan would be capped at 2 months. Having said this, there will still be other charges like overseas training, overseas recruitment/lodging, etc. which may still be charged to you, and you can only deduct 2 month’s salary from the maid’s loan. So, you may wish to resolve this matter as soon as possible so that you do not incur high expenses for getting a maid. This is a new EA regulation by the MOM to reduce the burden on the maid, but it may increase the burden for the employers.
I hope this helps. Thank you.