SINGAPORE: A foreign domestic helper took to social media after she found that her employer had started deducting her salary for expenses they should bear.
In a post to a Facebook support group for helpers and employers alike, a maid wrote that she was unsure what the regulations were. The maid said that her employer would deduct the amount from her salary whenever she fell sick and visited the clinic or went for a medical check-up.
She asked: “is that the right thing my bos(s) do?”
The helper added that her employer also deducted the money for her air ticket, even when she did not go home.
She asked others in the group for help and advice on what to do.
Here’s what they said:
According to the Manpower Ministry (MOM), “As employers of migrant domestic workers (MDWs) directly benefit from hiring them, they must bear all the costs of maintaining their MDWs. This includes any medical costs necessary for her health. Hence, you are not allowed to make your MDW pay for her medical expenses. This includes medical expenses that are part of, or above what the insurance pays”.
The MOM also added on their website: “Before you send your helper home:
- Settle all outstanding employment issues that she may raise, including salary payment.
- Ensure she has a valid passport.
- Discuss with her and agree on the following in writing before buying an air ticket:
- Transit arrangement, such as connecting flights and layover hours
- Allowance needed to sustain her during the transit
- Buy her an air ticket and pay for any connecting transport costs to the international port of entry in her home country/region nearest to her hometown. Her departure date must be within 2 weeks from the Work Permit cancellation.
You must pay for her air ticket and it must include check-in luggage. To avoid disputes, please get her to acknowledge the transport payment from you in writing”.
In March, another foreign domestic worker who needed to return home urgently because of her family situation sought advice on social media. She had a question because she had already gone on home leave two months earlier when her employer had paid her airfare.
In a post to the Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the maid wrote that if she continued working, in one more month, she would have worked for her employer for one whole year. But, she added: “Unfortunately, I need to go back home because of my 3kids. 15y/o, 7y/o and 3y/o. During my stay with my employer, my mum and my husband is looking after my kids. But my husband got approved on his application in Taiwan. So he ask me to go back home because my mum can’t take care of my kids alone as she is already senior”.
Read the full article here:
https://theindependent.sg/maid-says-that-she-needs-to-go-back-home-urgently-again-after-2-months-asks-if-her-employer-will-still-pay-for-her-flight-ticket/