All About Full-Time Maids

[LOLMum]

If you are getting her a foldable mattress, get her a good one. Don’t buy those thin mattress. Check out sea horse brand.


Don’t know the current rate but if this agency said it supplies quality maids then why is there a need for unlimited replacements.

Getting a good maid really really depends on luck. I hope yours is a good one.

[peapot]

Don’t think there’s anymore $88 agency fees around. Actually the fees you pay may be the new fees hike reported recently in the papers.

[DesertWind]

I just paid almost SGD1,100 (including insurance) for my mother’s new maid under the old contract term. But replacement after May got to pay a fee of a few hundred dollars because going forward under new rules more expensive already. Today went to fetch her, seems ok, pleasant enough.

[autumnbronze]

DesertWind:

I just paid almost SGD1,100 (including insurance) for my mother's new maid under the old contract term. But replacement after May got to pay a fee of a few hundred dollars because going forward under new rules more expensive already. Today went to fetch her, seems ok, pleasant enough.

Best of luck to your mom, DesertWind :xedfingers:

[POA Teacher]

In late 90s, some agents were charging $0 or $1 for agency fee including insurance etc.

The maids were paying $1,000+ in fees.
Those were the days.

[LOLMum]

DesertWind:

I just paid almost SGD1,100 (including insurance) for my mother's new maid under the old contract term. But replacement after May got to pay a fee of a few hundred dollars because going forward under new rules more expensive already. Today went to fetch her, seems ok, pleasant enough.

all the best ! but watch that window.......watch that window.......

[Karl12]

Oh fee hikes?

Wrong timing for me…
Seems that everything has inflation, now even agency fees.

Thanks. I will check out seahorse.

[moonee]

Karl12:

Oh fee hikes?

Wrong timing for me...
Seems that everything has inflation, now even agency fees.

Thanks. I will check out seahorse.

yeah, I bot mine frm seahorse...plaza spore and tiong bahru plaza, mine cost 39, they hv different prices.... rather hard n heavy.

[Dnls_mum]

moonee:

MyFriend:

[quote=\"dooelsie\"]I do not take jam, peanut butter, etc, since the doctor says I have to control my sugar intake. That means I buy my maid her own spreads. But even if I could take sweet stuff, I will still buy my maid her own jam, etc. It is up to each employer to set the house rules and it has absolutely nothing to do with treating your maid as a 'pariah'. Employers should not be made to feel guilty for not embracing their maids into their family's bosom just because she works in their household. Let's be very clear - a maid is an employee, not your blood relative. So long as she is fairly and respectfully treated, it is up to individual employers to decide for themselves how close a working relationship they want with their maid. To avoid any misunderstanding, I prefer to draw the line and keep things on a 'professional' level. That is not to say that we do not share a few jokes now and then, and my maid knows that she can always turn to me for help and advice if she has any problems. This has worked very well for both of us and my maid is into her third contract with me.

Well said. Absolutely agree.

\"Employers should not be made to feel guilty for not embracing their maids into their family's bosom just because she works in their household. Let's be very clear - a maid is an employee, not your blood relative. So long as she is fairly and respectfully treated, it is up to individual employers to decide for themselves how close a working relationship they want with their maid......It is up to each employer to set the house rules and it has absolutely nothing to do with treating your maid as a 'pariah'\"

yup, well said! I agree tat employers shld not feel bad about setting their own house rules. After all, we set rules for our childrens behaviour and a maid is an employee here under work permit to do a job. No one has the right to impose their personal preferences on us and tell us how to run our households.[/quote]
The word \" pariah\" was used because Moonee asked abt supplying separate jam butter and spread to the maid. I cannot see why jam butter and spread needs to be separated. One spreads their bread with a butter knife not hand. There is no contamination. So frankly, I did not see the need to separate. Be it President butter or Crabtree and Evelyn Jam that we eat, my maid eat those too. Again remember the original question is abt jam and spreads.

Next my statement of maid being treated like part of the family is pertaining to the issue and discussion on food here. She eats like one of the family. Off course she knows who is the boss and is not embraced in the bosom.

What I have overlooked is that not very employer can afford to feed their maids as well as they feed their family, thus now i understand why the differentiation is necessary.

[autumnbronze]

Dnls_mum:

The word \" pariah\" was used because Moonee asked abt supplying separate jam butter and spread to the maid. I cannot see why jam butter and spread needs to be separated. One spreads their bread with a butter knife not hand. There is no contamination. So frankly, I did not see the need to separate. Be it President butter or Crabtree and Evelyn Jam that we eat, my maid eat those too. Again remember the original question is abt jam and spreads.

Next my statement of maid being treated like part of the family is pertaining to the issue and discussion on food here. She eats like one of the family. Off course she knows who is the boss and is not embraced in the bosom.

What I have overlooked is that not very employer can afford to feed their maids as well as they feed their family, thus now i understand why the differentiation is necessary.

Your reply surprises me. It surprises me because you clearly DO NOT understand when you CLAIM that you do. No where is it mentioned that the
posters CANNOT afford to feed their maids as well as their family. The issue is about differing tastes and the fact that some maids are not able to
exercise control over their intake of the food, hence the word \"afford\" being used in the context. For instance, both my ex helper and current one first started out consuming like 3 to 4 heaped tsps of sugar per drink. The ex learned to control this after living with us for some time. The current one is working on it. So until I see some effort in her part to control her intake (anyway it's not good for her health and teeth), I will segregate my
purchases.

Another example, not related to food, is that I only allowed myself to leave
my son with my helper alone to run errands after she had been with us for
two years due to trust issues. So really, as another poster mentioned earlier, it's different strokes for different folks when it comes to setting boundaries for our helpers.

Please refrain using sarcasm here. It's an insensitive act because many have had very negative experiences with their maids, which may have
compelled them to set certain restrictions on them. You may have had \"good luck\" with your maids, just like me, but that doesn't warrant one to gloat or inject sarcasm in one's post.

BTW, you should familiarize yourself with the definition of the word \"pariah\" before using it freely. This might help.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pariah