SINGAPORE: An employer took to social media wondering if her maid would be upset if she left a list of chores for her to do while the family went overseas on holiday.
In an anonymous post, the employer asked: “Can I give my helper a list of tasks to complete when I go on holiday?” She explained that these tasks would be difficult to complete when the family was around, and they included chores such as clearing the store room, dusting walls and washing curtains.
“Will she be angry that I’m going to enjoy my holiday while she has to work? How to make her understand that she is supposed to work because we are still paying her salary? How to make her feel better?” the employer wrote.
Other helpers who commented on the post said it was a good idea for the employer to give her maid a list of tasks. Some suggested that she be mindful not to give her dangerous work so that she did not injure herself.
Here’s what they wrote:
Earlier this year, another foreign domestic helper who refused to stay at home alone while her employers went overseas got to go on her own holiday as well.
In an anonymous post to Facebook page FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the maid’s employer wrote that she and her family had planned to go overseas on a short family trip. However, she added that her helper did not want to stay in their house alone, so “we will treat her to a holiday at a place of her interest somewhere else”.
She also wrote that she would be giving her maid paid leave and covering the cost of her flight tickets as well. “Any idea if we should also cover her accommodation? This is on top of her fully paid home leave which we have already approved. What is your arrangement for helper when employer goes overseas for holiday?” the woman asked netizens in her post.