SINGAPORE — 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 that she might 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 there was no one else to 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.
Here’s what netizens said:
Last week, 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 would 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.