The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has deemed it compulsory for all first-time employer of a domestic helper/nanny to attend an orientation program.
Named the Employers Orientation Programme (EOP), which can be found on-line at; http://www.gmcs.com.sg/employers-orientation-programme-eop/
The Orientation programme is an on line training course aimed at new employers of Domestic Helpers in Singapore. This has to be completed and passed before a family can take on a new helper. A Singpass is required together with a password to be able to access the government training session
If you are new to Singapore a Singpass (just a password linked to your permit) can be obtained by visiting your nearest Community Centre. You can order by post but that can delay things a little.
It is pretty difficult to decide, especially if most of the shortlisted candidates are close to your requirements and you are pretty comfortable with them. One way to go about it is to ask yourself how do you feel about each girl. How do your spouse and your children feel about each girl? You may also wish to consider the reaction of your pet dog or cat to the candidates, if applicable. 🙂
Invite them to your house to see their working environment and ask them whether they would like working there. Another point to consider is why do you need a helper in the first place? What is the most important task that you need her for, and whether each candidate can satisfy your needs?Another way is to assign a number from 1 to 10 on each girl such that 10 is the perfect girl that you would want to employ immediately and 1 is the girl you wouldn’t even consider in the first place. This would help you gauge the girls in a “concrete” manner as how good each girl is can be represented by a number. Hence, the higher the number of the girl, the better she suits you.
Yet another way is to go by elimination. That is, comparing girl A to girl B, you decide to take girl A. And girl B is out. Comparing girl A to girl C, you decide to take girl C, and so on and so forth, until one girl is left. She is likely to be the best girl for the job.
All in all, there is no hard and fast rule, and these are just some ideas to consider
There can be many reasons for this, please bare in mind that domestic helpers are just like you, looking for the best employer or working terms possible for themselves.
You are choosing them just like they are choosing you.
Do not scold her or verbally abuse her. This is an offence under Singapore regulations. Of course, physical abuse is even worse.
Generally, experienced helpers are looking for all Sundays off and all public holidays off.(with flexibility of course!)
Sometimes, the candidate you choose cannot work with you because of timing issues like her ex-employer cannot release her to you earlier when you need her urgently, or her ex-employer wants to transfer her immediately, but you are not ready to take her in yet.
Another reason can be some of the candidates have a deadline for the transfer and would accept the best possible offer as soon as possible. If an employer takes too long to ponder and consider and think whether a candidate is right for her, the candidate may have already found a job with someone else.
I guess its fair to say that as human beings, we make mistakes, and nobody is perfect.
The best way is to talk to her and explain to her what you need of her and get her to perform accordingly. Give her a chance to prove herself.
Do not scold her or verbally abuse her. This is an offence under Singapore regulations. Of course, physical abuse is even worse.
As a guide line, allow the girl 3 months to get used to the work (3 months is also the general probation period of many companies).
Even though she is experienced, your working style and her previous employer’s working style may be different, and she would need some time to pick up.
Your MDW’s employment must comply with the Work Permit regulatory conditions. As an employer, you will be penalised if you illegally deploy her to work at another residential address or perform non-domestic chores.
Penalties
As an employer, you remain responsible for your helper’s upkeep and maintenance, which include providing acceptable accommodation, adequate food and medical treatment.
Please check out MOM web-site address below for more information;
https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/work-permit-for-foreign-domestic-worker/employers-guide/fdw-interview
Whether the girl is “spoilt” is really up to the girl. This is pretty much like the good people and the bad people in this world. So, who’s good, or who’s bad? It is difficult to judge what is “spoilt” as it depends on how you perceive it.
We would advocate interviewing both helpers who have worked in an expatriate family and those who have worked with the local family. This would allow you to have a better comparison.
We have quite a number of clients who decided later that helpers with experience working with local families actually fit them better.
There are two issues here. One, if you only give 0,1 or 2 day-offs per month, you are not likely to attract strong candidates. These performers generally want to have a good rest during weekends. Going to church, catching up with friends, having an enjoyable time are important to them.
Two, whether the helper turns bad really depends on her. If she is self-disciplined and she is clear about her priority here, she will know what to do. After all, they are all adults.
Some agencies charge unreasonable fees for conducting the business of supplying a helper or nanny.
At Maids R Us we focus on fair pricing linked to the quality of helpers and service we are looking to provide.
Its key to measure as “apples for apples “ as some will give a price but it excludes some pricing elements and therefore looks attractive when at the end it’s more expensive.
That kind of scam will never happen with us and we have a published price, which includes everything & no hidden extras.
Being fair with what we do & how we operate is key to who we are and that includes our fees too.
Having been in the industry for over 14 years and with 2500+ clients we have a great reputation with the helper community because they know we will treat them correctly and place them with the right family.
They also make the decision which employer they prefer to go with.
Many we have placed before, they bring in their good friends who are well proven and who we are happy & keen to place with a new employer.
People see us on social media & word of mouth spreads quickly through the helper community.
However, we don’t take all, we have to make sure they will suit our clients and us and not tarnish our good name.
Basically were are sourcing “good people for good families”
Our job satisfaction is making sure we match correctly and both parties are happy to go ahead and work together!