KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

I am currently on my 3rd transfer maid and things don't seem to be working out. 1st one ask for transfer coz I scolded her for something she did wrong and when she brought my dd to play downstairs she's busy daydreaming instead of watching her. 2nd one sent her back to Indo coz sneak out of house in the midlle of the night. 3rd one talk back like she's the boss.

After the 2nd one, I was determined to get a fresh maid but it just happened that I was 7 months -pregnant with 3rd child and was desperate for a replacement and agent said that the Filipino gov has just imposed a rule stating that employers are to bear the total cost of bringing in fresh maid. So that's how I ended with 3rd transfer maid.

Now I am in a dilemma coz to bring in a fresh maid now cost between $3-4k and we can only deduct pay for 3 months but i have one maid who won't be renewing with her current employer when her contract ends in 2 months. so shes looking for new employer but her asking salary is $600, whivh i think is way too much.

So anyone has gotten new maid recently and whats yr take on this?

Wow $600 I won't pay that amount if the maid got no quality.. Many maid nowadays lazy, always wanna go out, request hp and chit chat more than they do their work. If my boss pay me $600 to dazed I sure take that job. Cleaner in Sg some only take $800-$900 and they work very hard after cpf they only take home $700+ and they work like 9-9pm. If you calculate I rather find SG worker paying them $700+ plus I don't need to pay levy.

Now the price for an in experience Indo maid is $450 + weekly off. My late-grandma ex-maid with 8 years experience is getting $600 + weekly off.

My maid told me that now most of her friend get $500 + weekly off.

I am one who willing to pay experience maid slightly higher than giving high agency fees. (plus giving high agency fees don't mean you can get good maid.)

Maybe you can sourcing around, some experience maid willing to get $550 + 2 week off. (My immediate manager just employed 1. With 6 years experience in Singapore)

I suggest you to set some rules and expectations and write them down, pass them to the maid so that they know how to behave and what to expect from you.

If lucky, they may follow your rule and expectation, then you do not need to change so often.

There is some more information on manage maid, you can take a look.

All the best !

I think that getting a new maid, fresh or transfer, depends greatly on luck.

With a fresh maid, you can train her with your style of cleaning, cooking, etc... Experienced maids tend to have their own style or method, and depending on the individual maid, she may not like to change to your method. Also will compare workload of previous and current employers, etc.

I think when one gets a transfer maid, there is a need to find out why the maid or current employer wants a transfer. Got to be careful here, some agents may sugar-coat the reason. If you can, arrange to speak to the current employer and maid - this way you can find out the reason and ability of the maid (eg What can she cook? Does she go marketing independently? Etc )

My relative's experienced (5 years in SG + a few years in Taiwan) Phil maid drawing $500 with 1 off day per month.

In reality despite common opinion that a maid salary is dirt cheap, if u factor in the levy ($265) and the accommodation, food plus their toiletries etc. well effectively they are costing approximately $1000-1500 monthly.

I have contact for experience Indonesia maid at $450 per month. If you are interested, pm me.

It is possible to get good experienced maids but need to be able to suss out the real reason behind the transfer. It is true that they will compare but they are generally more appreciative if the overall working environment is better.

As some of the experienced maids have gone through the education and enrichment system here, they are not only able to manage the household but also able to guide the children in their school work but their enrichment classes too. I know more than one experienced maid who is able to play the piano and will guide the children in such when the parents are out at work. Others were able to read to the children (flashing Glenn Doman's flashcards), work on jigsaw puzzles, sit with them while they do their homework...... For such value-added maids, they may be worth $600 or more.

Some of my friends have such maids and they are really worth it.

I would prefer fresh maid than transfer maid. To me, 90% of transfer maid are problematic maid, worst if you get those been transferred few times. When I hire my maid last time, the agency always try to give me transfer maid and all the reasons are unreasonable employers or employers decided to stop having maid, I don't hear any reason because the maid can't work well, I recon they won't tell you the truth.
Another reason I prefer fresh maid is they are more willing to learn, you can train them according to your preference, those experienced ones are very stubborn to change.
For salary, I don't suggest salary increment to mark to market, they always compare and no matter how much you increase, if they want to leave they'll still leave. For my maid, she intend to extend her 2 year contract, I told her no salary increment but I'll give her another 1 mth of bonus whenever she renew her contract. She's happy with that. No doubt they are calculative, but they're smart too, my maid totally understand high pay might not equal to better work. And I'm open if she would prefer to work for others who offer her higher pay.

My previous two experiences with maids are bad. Both from Indo, both like to tell different stories to different people.

You treat them well, they climb over your head.

You strict to them, they run to embassy.

Irony is, you leave the most important part of your life to them, your family.