A foreign domestic helper found herself at a loss for what to do when her employer extended her work permit for two years instead of the one year she wanted.
In a post to Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum) another woman, a netizen by the name of Devi Balbuena Sadang Abad, asked the question on behalf of her friend.
Ms Devi wrote that her friend extended working with her employer for another year, having it end in December. However, her employer extended her work permit for 2 years instead of the year that she wanted.
“They agreed that she work[s] only till december.No written agreement”, Ms Devi wrote. Ms Devi then asked if the helper would need to ask permission from her employer should she want to find a new employer in December.
Other helpers who commented on the post said that they experienced similar situations and were stuck working for their employers because they did not have a written agreement.
Jasmine Breeze, an administrator of the group, replied: “To transfer is not an entitlement. We need employer’s consent. No consent, no transfer. 1 year or 2 years,regardless of how long the wp was renewed, it is irrelevant to the transfer. Whether helper leave after 1 or after 2 years, she can not transfer at will. She will need employer’s consent to be able to transfer to new employer. Too bad for her, they don’t have any written agreement so if employer will not allow her to transfer and send her home instead, there’s nothing much she can do. Since she decided to stay on for another year, then I wish her Goodluck. Hopefully, she will be able to transfer with ease when the time comes”.
Last week, a foreign domestic helper asked other helpers and employers for their advice on what to do when she had already returned home, but her work permit had not been cancelled.
In an anonymous post to Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the helper wrote on Friday (Jul 22) that she had already returned to her hometown two weeks ago and was trying to find a new employer with another agency. She explained that she was not comfortable with her current employer and agency.
However, because her current employer had not yet cancelled her work permit, she wrote that she was not able to find a new employer.
In her post, she added that though she had messaged her current employers many times, there was no response from them. When she had called her agent as well, she said they did not care.