Maid says her employer sent her back to the agency without any notice, wants to know if she will be paid for the 3 weeks she worked

SINGAPORE — A foreign domestic worker who spent three weeks working for an employer, only to be unceremoniously sent back to the agency, took to social media asking if she would be compensated for the time she worked.

In an anonymous post to Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the maid wrote that her employer sent her back to her agency without prior notice. On the same day, they told her to pack her things and dropped her off at her agency.

“Am I entitled to get my worked days from them?” she asked, adding that she had only worked for three weeks before they said she was not suitable for them. In her post, she asked others for ideas or suggestions on what to do.

In the comments section, the maid also wrote that she had already found a new employer but had not yet started work with that family. Her concern was just about her salary as she was too shy to ask her agency about it, she wrote.

Here’s what netizens in the group said:

Last year, a foreign domestic worker whose 2-year contract will end in February next year wanted an additional day off to stay on and continue working for her current employers.

In an anonymous post to Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the helper’s employer asked what she could offer the maid instead of an additional day off. The employer wrote that she was keen on keeping her maid after the contract ended. “I understand that she is looking at 2 days off per month instead of 1 and she’s keen to attend English lessons on weekends. However, my hubby is self-employed and work freelance hence he will usually need to work on weekends whenever he is called to”.

She also explained that she had to send her older daughter for enrichment classes on the weekends next year, which is why she could not afford to give her helper the two days off.

According to the Manpower Ministry (MOM), “From 1 January 2023, all employers must provide their migrant domestic workers (MDWs)¹ at least one rest day a month that cannot be compensated away².  This is part of the measures announced by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) last year to allow MDWs to rest and recharge from work, as well as form networks of support outside the household”.