SINGAPORE: A maid took to social media complaining that she was not given any notice before being asked to pack her things and return to the agency.
In an anonymous post to Facebook page FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the maid wrote: “My boss asked me to pack my things this morning because she hired another helper”.
She said that she was in the agency looking for another employer as her current employer planned to cancel her work permit in two days and buy her a return ticket to her home country.
“Is it fair?” the maid asked.
Netizens who commented on the post wrote that the employer should give her maid at least one month’s notice per the contract or compensate her with one month’s salary. They urged her to check her employment contract and read the fine print.
Here’s what they said:
Earlier this year, a foreign domestic helper who recently went on emergency leave back home realised that she might need to break her employment contract because of her family situation. However, she was worried that she would be blacklisted by her employers or have to pay a fine.
In an anonymous post to Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the maid wrote that this was her first time working in Singapore and that she would have been working for a year coming March. When her mother passed away in December 2022, she took emergency leave for a week and returned home. Her employers paid for her ticket.
The maid explained that “My mother she is the one who look after mt (sic) kids when she is still alive. Now me and my husband are having a hard time to have someone to look after them. We have 3 kids. My youngest is 3. And I know all of them need a supervision of parents. My husband is also an OFW. Sonas of this moment only my aunt is looking after them bec my father is also old and sick”.
She added that she was planning to leave and return home soon as no one else could look after her children properly. In her post, the helper asked netizens if she would have to pay her employer a month’s salary since she would be breaking her contract. She was also worried that she would be blacklisted for breaking the contract.
“Lastly, I can advise them atleast 1 month before I leave to be able to look for a replacement. Thank you so much for your time. I hope some mums here will understand me and I want an advice”, she wrote.