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| Starting in Singapore: Getting a maid without an agency |
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Getting a maid without an agency
A maid may often be seen as a necessity rather than a luxury in Singapore. As the standard of living rises inexorably higher (as every taxi driver will remind you), the need for one - and often both - parents in a family to work to maintain luxuries such as purpose-built condominiums, Mercedes and the latest DVD gadget becomes ever more pressing. This explains the preponderance of maid agencies islandwide, especially in the shopping centres which have seen better days, such as Bukit Timah Plaza. However, nowadays, there may also be a need to cut out the middleman and avoid the expense associated with an agency. In other words – go it alone and find a maid on your own without lightening your pocket of $1000-$2000 in agency fees. You could find a local maid, which would be easier but more expensive or try and find a foreign maid in the home country – normally one of the Philippines, Sri Lanka or Indonesia. Here is where and how to go about this search: Word of mouth This is obviously more difficult for the newly-arrived expatriate, but for the expat who has been here a while, it is quite feasible to ask colleagues and/or friends if they have any recommendations for full or part-time maids, especially local maids. They can cost up to $300 per month, even part time, but you can expect better english and perhaps better training. Speaking from personal experience, this is how my own household obtained a local part-time maid and for S$180 per month, she and a helper do a great job of cleaning the 3-bedroom condominium I share with two housemates. You could also do a lot worse than try the good old ExpatSingapore Message Board. Notice boards It’s amazing how effective the humble noticeboards in NTUC Fairprice, Cold Storage and Tanglin supermarkets can be. Also try the expatriate clubs (American Club, British club). Taken on average, you are bound to see three or four adverts for maids who are typically seeking a new employer now that the expatriate family they were working for have reached the end of their stay in Singapore. This is an especially attractive option if there is a written reference from the family in question and should not be ignored. Classifieds Try http://www.classads.com.sg - which has to be the biggest collection of online Classifieds in Singapore. At the last count, typing in ‘maid’ to the search engine at this site produced close to 100 results – there should be at least something there of use in your search. http://www.catcha.com.sg may also be useful. Costs Costs vary and any information may well go out of date quickly. However, you can be pretty sure that local maids are more expensive than overseas maids (because they are scarce, and often better-educated), and in turn, Filipino maids are more expensive than Indonesian or Sri Lankan maids. Filipino maids generally speak better English than the other nationalities and this is the reason for their expense. Here is a rough guide to salary levels per month:
Important: It should be emphasised that if you find your own maid locally, on a transfer, via any of the methods above, it is quite legal and possible for you to do the paperwork yourself for free and therefore cut out unnecessary cost. When you go to an agency, they are doing the same thing and you are simply paying for the convenience of having them rush around to the appropriate department. The following page on work permits should be helpful : http://www.gov.sg/mom/wpd/wpd.html. Obtaining the permit will necessitate a trip to the Ministry of Manpower, asking the old employer to fill out part of the form (in the case of a transfer maid) and it is also strongly recommended that you take out an insurance policy to cover the maid for death and disability and for yourself, to cover the $5000 bond. The yellow pages will supply you with appropriate details or fellow expatters will be of help! Finally, make sure you draw up a contract with your maid and agree exactly what the hours of work and conditions will be like - this will avoid any unpleasant scenes later. Embassies / Official bodies It may be worth making contact with the relevant embassy in Singapore once your new maid is arranged – it could be very necessary in the event of any dispute. The Ministry of Manpower meanwhile is the overall body in control. Ministry of Manpower Back to Back to Starting Up |
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