SINGAPORE: An employer recently sought advice on social media about whether she should replace her maid, who she claims has been “pushing boundaries” since she started working a month ago.
In a post on the r/askSingapore subreddit on Thursday (Dec 16), the employer explained that she and her maid had initially agreed on a work schedule that included two Sundays and two weekdays off each month, with time off from 9 am to 7 pm. This arrangement gave the maid one day off per week.
However, the employer said that, from the first month, the maid started requesting more changes to the schedule.
She first requested that her day off start earlier, at 6 am, which the employer granted. This was followed by a request for leave every Sunday, which was also approved. The maid then began asking to be allowed to return home progressively later, first at 9 pm and then at 11 pm.
The maid even asked to “stay out till morning which we rejected outright, because of security reasons,” the employer wrote. “She isn’t supposed to sleep out beyond registered address and pregnancy concerns (she has a husband who she is not talking to but I accidentally saw a call from a guy which she said it isn’t her husband).”
The employer added, “She then pushed boundaries by evading question on what time she will be back, finally saying that she will be back at 3am…”
Unfortunately, despite promising to return home by 3 am, the maid came back only around 5.30 am.
“She said that she slept at her friend’s house with apparently a group of girls, and because she was so drunk, she decided to just stay there and conveniently not inform us,” the employer explained.
Unsure of how to proceed, the employer sought advice from the community.
She wrote, “What should I do? My maid agency only allows free replacement within first three months. Should I go ahead and replace her? It is her first month, so I am torn between giving her a chance and being scared it will be past three months, and I will have to fork out agency fees later if she continues bad behaviour.”
“It only gets worse. Replace.”
In the comments section, many users advised the employer to replace the maid immediately. They pointed out that allowing the maid to continue pushing boundaries without consequences would only lead to more issues in the future.
One user shared, “In my family’s past experience with maids, everytime a maid starts slipping in her behaviour within the first months, it only gets worse. Replace.”
Another commented, “I’d say replace. It’s really, really not worth the stress of having a helper you can’t trust living in your home, and if she’s pushing boundaries this far in the first month, then she’s going to do so much more by the end of her contract.”
Still, there were a few users who came to the helper’s defence, arguing that she should be allowed to spend her day off however she wanted.
One user said, “Are you her mom? Or dad? As long as she is doing her work, how does it matter to you if she sleeps anywhere? As long as she is doing her 8 hours of work, what right do you have over her after those hours?
“Oh, and stop whining about getting one day off per week. I’m pretty sure you at least get 2 days off wherever you work.”
Another asked, “Isn’t day off a full 24 hours off as MOM mentioned?”
Rest days for domestic helpers in Singapore
Domestic helpers in Singapore are entitled to one rest day each week, as per the Ministry of Manpower (MoM). If they work on their rest day, they must be paid one day’s salary in return. Employers must also ensure that helpers get at least one rest day each month that cannot be replaced with compensation.
As for rest day hours, these can vary, but MOM recommends at least eight hours of uninterrupted rest.
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