SINGAPORE: A foreign domestic worker took to social media asking other maids and helpers for advice.
In her post to Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), she wanted to know if her employer still needed to pay her salary when she went on leave. The maid explained that she was going for a month-long vacation to her hometown.
Netizens who commented on the post had varying answers for her. Other Filipino helpers said that according to their embassy’s contract, the employer would have to pay her salary when she went on leave. But another helper countered and said that only the employment contract signed in Singapore would be valid.
Here’s what they said:
The Manpower Ministry (MOM) website states: “Must the employer pay the salary of their MDW when she is on overseas leave? No, the employer need not do so unless this is provided for in the employment contract”.
Earlier this year, another 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.