SINGAPORE: A foreign domestic helper worried that she contravened the Manpower Ministry’s (MOM) regulations took to social media to share her situation with others.
In an anonymous post to a support group for domestic helpers and employers alike, the maid wrote that her job was to care for an elderly man for the past four years. She said she stayed alone with him; he passed away two weeks ago.
“My employer dosent let me go but he bring me to stay in his daughter house.Im just wondering.. Did this condition against (sic) MoM rule or not..?? Becouse (sic) im working at diffrent address… Not same with my WP address”.
The maid’s concerns came about because, according to 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”.
Netizens who commented on the post reassured the maid and said that her employers would probably update the address on her work permit. They also wrote that it was improbable the elderly man was her employer and that it should likely be one of his children that was the actual employer.
Here’s what they wrote:
Earlier this month, an employer who sent her maid on “emergency leave” found out that the helper did not want to come back to work for her.
In an anonymous post to a Facebook support group for helpers and employers alike, the woman explained that her maid went on leave and told her she needed to go as it was an emergency. Trying to be kind, the family sent her back for a month. The woman added that after returning home, the maid asked her to cancel her Work Permit (WP) as “she wants to join another family where she used to work on her off days”.
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