Maid reveals she was asked to clean a second house, says she knows it is illegal but worries she will be repatriated if she refuses

SINGAPORE: A foreign domestic worker took to social media asking what she should do because her employer had taken her to clean another house. She added that she knew it was illegal but was afraid her employer would send her back to her own country if she refused.

In an anonymous post to Facebook page FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the maid wrote that this was her first time in Singapore. She added that she was 25 years old and single. The maid also said that she did not have any experience working as a maid.

She added that when she came to Singapore and was interviewed, she tried to select a home with working conditions that matched her capabilities as a first timer. The maid then wrote: “when i come here all the condition that my employer give to me at interview not same with reality, but its okay i still can adapt all with the work here”.

However, the maid then added: “what make me concern that my employer before give me “code” saying that she know some Fdw in here work as part timer in another house which is i know that illegal in here and i just listen to her bcs i take care elderly and i dont want to argue with her. But TODAY she told me to clean different house that adress not at my WP.. im flustered i dont know is it okay to say No bcs i affraid that i’ll be sent back to my country if i dont do it”.

The maid wrote that her employer hinted to her that she knew of other maids who worked part-time in other homes. Adding that she knew this was illegal, the maid said she kept quiet nonetheless because she did not want to argue with her employer. The maid’s main job was to take care of the elderly in her employer’s house. However, when her employer took her to another house to clean she wrote that she got flustered because she did not know if it was okay to refuse doing so. She was worried that if she declined to clean another home, her employer would send her back to her home country.

Here’s what others in the group said:

According to the Manpower Ministry (MOM),

“A helper:

• Requires a valid Work Permit.
• Can only work for her employer at the residential address declared to MOM.
• Can only perform domestic chores.
• Cannot take on work with other employers.

Penalties

• For illegally deploying helpers, employers may be liable to pay a financial penalty of up to $10,000. Errant employers may also be banned from employing helpers.
• For employing a helper without a valid Work Permit, employers may be fined between $5,000 and $30,000, imprisoned for up to 1 year, or both. For subsequent convictions, offenders face mandatory imprisonment.

We understand that employers may need their helpers to take care of their child or parent at a relative’s house.

You must notify MOM before you can proceed with this arrangement. To notify MOM, you must first ensure all of the following:

• You have already obtained your helper’s written agreement to take care of your child or parent at the relative’s house.
• Your helper does not perform the full load of housework in both households.
• If the helper needs to stay overnight to take care of your child or parent at your relative’s house, her accommodation meets the requirements.”

Last year, a foreign domestic helper who had more work thrust upon her than she signed up for took to social media to ask if it was worth it to remain in that household.

The domestic helper, who went by the name of Shi E Ra, posted on Facebook that her employer’s eldest daughter’s family would come to the house she was working at almost daily, doubling the helper’s work.

In her post to Facebook page FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum) on Thursday (May 19) the maid wrote: “My employer has 3 children. The eldest daughter is married already & having 3 children(6yr old, 4 yr old& 1 yr old) and one more thing is she is pregnant in their 4th child”. 

She added that despite her employer’s daughter having her own home, the latter, her husband and three children are “always in the house of my employer”.

Because of their constant presence, she added that she would often have much more work to do, even causing her work to double. “They also come during breakfast,lunch & dinner. I don’t understand why the eldest daughter don[‘]t want to hired (sic) a helper on their own when she has a lot of children”, the maid wrote. 

Other helpers who responded to the post were divided but told her that at the end of the day, it was a choice she had to make.

Maid workload doubled after employer’s daughter, son-in-law & 3 grandchildren come daily for 3 meals, asks: “Is it worth renewing (contract) or not?”