Maid says she is finally going on leave after 6 years without a day off, asks if she should be paid

SINGAPORE: A foreign domestic worker took to social media asking about the leave that she was about to go on.

The helper wrote that she wanted to return home to the Philippines for a month and added that she did not have a day off for the past six years. In her post to Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the maid also wrote that she would be renewing her contract in April.

She asked: “my question is do i still get paid when im on home leave? or shud i disscuss to my employer too?”

The Manpower Ministry (MOM) website states: “Who should pay for an FDW’s air ticket if she goes on overseas leave? Employers and foreign domestic workers are encouraged to discuss and agree on the terms and conditions of employment at the start of the employment relationship. This includes overseas leave arrangements, such as who pays for travel expenses. If it is not stated in the employment contract, you can come to a mutual agreement with your FDW on who should pay. To minimise disputes, this agreement should be in writing”.

However, according to many maid websites, it is stated that “There is no compulsory home leave for foreign domestic workers and an employer is not responsible or obligated to buy their foreign domestic worker a plane ticket for home leave. As such, all travelling expenses and home leave arrangements should be discussed carefully between the domestic worker and the employer and agreed on, preferably at the beginning of the contract”.

Another helper who commented on the post asked: “for 6 yrs of ur stay here, my understanding is you never have ur vacation,only now..did your boss give you in cash ur return ticket 3 times or in short compensated you? You mentioned also never take off, i guess u r paid off”.

To this, the helper replied: “yes they did give all.. theyre very kind employer thats why even i diddnt go outside for off day its fine i dont mind coz they treat me like part of their family”.

Earlier this year, a foreign domestic worker took to social media asking about the discrepancy in the number of days of leave she had.

In a post to Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the maid wrote that the standard contract from her embassy stated that helpers were entitled to no less than 15 days of leave a year which will only be given after she finishes her contract, which means a months’ leave after a two-year contract.

However, she added that as per the standard contract, it was stated that helpers were only entitled to 14 days of leave after a 2-year contract.

She asked other netizens why there was a difference in the amount of leave given in the two contracts. /TISG

Maid asks how many days of leave she’s entitled to as her embassy’s contract states 15 days a year, but she only gets 14 days after two years of work