Just an update after my post in June on my runaway Phillipine maid. She has since been repatriated on 16 July 2012 and my replacement has arrived 2 weeks after that.
Overall lesson learnt: Be patient.
1. MOM acts fairly quickly once such matters are brought to their attention. As per Employment Act, Employer is responsible for repatriation costs and MOM will set a timeline( not more than 14 days) for agency/employer to repatriate the maid.
2. Before that happens, try to reach an amicable resolution with maid or maid agency for outstanding loans. Coz, once the maid leaves the country, employer lose leverage against the maid agency. MOM gives pressure on Agency to repatriate maid and Agency will in turn "chase" employer to do so. I leveraged on this and refused to cancel the work permit until a resolution is achieved with the agency. NOTE: There is no regulation that states that Employer must repatriate maid within XX days if maid is in custody of embassy (unless abuse or break the law). When MOM officer inform me that I am to cancel work permit and repatriate the maid within 14 days, I responded that I may not do so within 14 days as I am still in the midst of settlement with agency and will only cancel wp when an amicable resolution is achieved. MOM officer did not say I cannot do so and requested me to update her if I am unable to cancel the wp within 14 days.
Outstanding Loan: I managed to reach an agreement with the agency to split the balance loan by 50-50 after issuing them a letter via CASE. Agency was adamant initially that there will be no refund but as I had signed up for a replacement maid before the maid ran away, I "appealed" for amicable settlement via CASE as I am a continuing customer. Lucky for me, the agency however reluctantly they are, had "compromised" in the end and shared the costs.**
MOM:
- Despite numerous emails, I only receive respond from MOM after I left message on MOM fb.
Lesson No. 1: Use fb for fast respond.
- MOM as per SOP couldnt intervene with regards to the balance loan and referred me to AEAS & CASE. However, AEAS being an association for employment agency responded negatively and referred me to CASE.
Lesson No. 2: If maid agency respond negatively, go straight to CASE, pay S$15 and issue request/appeal letter via CASE for faster resolution.
- After MOM took up my case, MOM contacted the Embassy and maid agency. A day later, the runaway maid lodged a complain of abuse against me at MOM!! However as I managed to contact and inform MOM of this matter before that, MOM had some history and investigation took only 1 day. The maid had actually dug her own grave with her "complain" as her complains were found to be "petty and invalid" by the MOM investigation officer.
Lesson No. 3: Keep MOM informed of the dates, events, contacts of embassy, agency for faster resolution.
Refund of Levy: There is an application form at CPF website for refund of maid levy for the duration that maid is not with employer (At embassy, police, etc..) Just obtain letter from embassy to prove that maid is in their custody and attach to the application. I got the refund!
** Maid agency is Labour E***. I would not recommend this agency as they did not attempt to mitigate/intervene at all. They also failed to advise what are the steps I can take to mitigate myself; like visiting embassy personnally. They merely insist that I pay up loan for replacement maid in full before they fly the replacement maid in! Person in charge acted like a gangster on the phone after receipt of letter from CASE. Furthermore they couldnt advise me on levy refunds and I had to search internet to know that I am eligible.
16 comments:
I had bad experience previously with AEAS. Their services were simply lousy. When the maid ran away in 2008, the maid agent claimed that i needed to pay the maid salary of $300 despite she only worked for 9 days. I emailed to AEAS and the staff replied that they would get back to me in a week. One month later, i called to find out the outcome and i was told that the staff that i emailed has resigned. The other staff asked me to re-email the issue and would get their manager to reply. However, each time, i tried calling the manager, the excuses were"he was not in office, went for meeting, on urgent leave etc.." Finally, after few months, they emailed me that the maid's agent was not wrong and I needed to pay for the maid's salary and closed the case. Thanks to Linda, now i am more aware that i can feedback to CASE in the future as i did not thought so previously.
I've to agree fully that AEAS doesn't help employers.
Pushed me out when it was clear the contract that agency used was endorsed by AEAS. Their spokewoman, that time was known as Shirley, simply hack care what they are doing to us.
Aug 2012, they held a member's (employment agency) feedback re: "Singapore Employers bear the cost for recruitment of FDW according to POEA.
Singapore Agencies charge the FDW up to a maximum of two months of service fee
as allowed by MOM Policy for all services rendered to the FDW when in Singapore"
http://www.aeas.org.sg/pdf/Circular_Response_POEA_POLO%20Policy_18%20Aug%202012.pdf
http://www.aeas.org.sg/pdf/Circular_to_members_for_EOGM-13_June_2012_amended.pdf
hi Tamarind! i tried calling some of the transfer maid postings and they are FAKE, aka by agents!! urgghhh thought you should know
lee
Lee,
Thanks for letting me know.
I have been suspicious, but I am not able to verify who is a genuine employer.
Employers,
Please do not use any agency who posted comments here.
Hi,
I am not sure where or who to ask, can i post my question here pls?
I hv a helper who has been with me for 5.5 yrs. recently she told me that she dun want to continue with the contract as she wants to go dubai to work as a nurse, as she previously studied nursing halfway in Phil.
we agreed to stop her contract in March 2013. But she request for us not to send her back to phil, but instead to Dubai. my question is:
1) As employers, are we obliged by MOM contract to send helpers back to their home country after contract ended?
2) If she is willing to pay for her own ticket to Dubai, can i let her?
3) What is my obligation to her after contract ended?
Sincerely hope to hear from anyone who can advise me.
Thank you.
JT
JT,
MOM is only concerned with the work permit of the maid, the contract is between you and the maid only and MOM does not care about that.
You must cancel the work permit at MOM when you do not want the maid any more. Once the work permit is canceled, you must send the maid back to her home country.
"You should give your FDW reasonable notice of her repatriation to her home country and bear the full cost of her repatriation. To ensure that employers bear full responsibility, a security bond must be executed with MOM’s Work Pass Division. Under the bond, employers are required to post a security deposit of $5,000 per FDW in the form of an insurance or banker's guarantee. This deposit may be forfeited if you breach any of the security bond conditions, including failing to repatriate your FDW upon cancellation of her Work Permit."
You are no longer responsible for the maid only after her work permit is canceled, and she has left Singapore for her home county.
Wow..I 'm overwhelmed by some of the stories shared here! I guess Im one of the luckier ones but would like to get some feedback from my experience. I hired a helper 21 months ago. We treated her like part of the family but still maintain an employer/ employee relationship.(no, she doesn't call me ma'am). She wanted to go on home leave after her first year and we let her go on a paid 3 weeks leave but she paid for her ticket home. ( naively also gave 1 month advance pay!) She came back, was distracted for the first two weeks she was back and then she was ok. She continued her work but think we 'spoiled' her with hp for her birthday, extra spending money, off days.. A few months ago, she changed. She was no longer as hardworking, became sloppy and moody to the extend of answering back rudely. Out of the blue she requested for a week's home leave asap claiming she has problems back home. We suggested to wait till the end of the year so she can take 6 weeks off as we were intending to renew her contract. It would be a hassle for us if we were to let her go earlier because of work commitment. She refused so we made a deal that she has to pay for her ticket home (two way) and we would refund it back when she comes back. Also reminding her that she has to change her work attitude for the better before we decide to renew her contract. We figured the problems back home is affecting her work..she refuse to tell her problems although we suspected she just wants to quit. The day before she's due to fly back here, she called to say she decided not to continue to work. I said ok and hang up the phone. I haven't heard from her since then and I hope I never will. Pissed off at her for leaving us scrambling around for help but sad to have parted on a bad way. Right now I'm feeling guilty for short changing her on her air ticket! So now I begin a new journey, in search of a helper who hopefully will fit in happily with my family..
why bothered to be sad. she never intended to come back and she waited til a day before to inform you. she has gotten lots.of benefits from you including her pay while doing sloppy work, being rude and leaving you.scrambling for help. you should write to MOM and inform them that this maid of yours promised to come back then just changed her mind and request to blacklist her, especially if you have kids. afterall, government is encouraging parents to have children. ask them how? leave your kids to take care of themselves or you use your precious leave for maid matters and affect company's productivity. maybe with more feedback like this, MOM officers will start coming up with policies.that will help employers. even the new biodata rule is just kind of bullshit to me. biodatas have been around for so long, unless MOM will allow employers to view comments of previous employers on why maid left on their.website, biodata can still be a lie.
J Tan Tan --> Dubai
Inform the Controller of Work Passes
Login to Work Permit Online to apply for the
cancellation of the work permit.
Under the cancellation page, there is an option
for you to declare that you are repatriating your worker to a destination other
than his/her home country, and that mutual agreement has been reached
between you and your worker.
To play safe, get your FDW to write herself and sign.
"after her first year and we let her go on a paid 3 weeks leave but she paid for her ticket home. ( naively also gave 1 month advance pay!)
Right now I'm feeling guilty for short changing her on her air ticket!"
huh??
A lot of FDWs would look forward to work for such cash rich employers like you, super nice, giving out money, phone, Leave with no strings attached.
You are responsible for creating such a bad FDW! It doesn't pay to be extremely nice and kind to FDW, just the standard, the usual is best for them.
You're not obliged to pay her home leave or home air-ticket since she hasn't complete 2 years but you did! By law, she can get a free one way ticket as a form of repatration.... this is something I don't understand why MOM is so unfair to us. Imagine sending off a pregnant FDW, thief or child abuser, how would you feel?
You've spolit the market by making FDWs looking forward to more juicy employers to sponge on.
need help here
My maid informed on Feb CNY 13 that she wishes to go back home, I agreed and contacted agency. But agency informed replacement maid will only be in singapore ready in 1 mth.
I then informed my maid she can only go home somewhere in end march or early april.
Maid ran away the next day to HOME,
Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics.
Now agent tells me to pay maid's way home and outstanding salary.
I am fine to pay outstanding, but am I liable for her ticket home?
She has only been with us for 3 mths, starting Nov 2012
Hi
My maid has been with me since May 2012. She is intelligent, cook well n household chores ok. In my presence, she has excellent attitude.
But she has forgotten or choose not to remember that I told her that her main job is to take care of my daughter and be with her as she is the only child n I'm a single mum ( who is making ends meet).
My 9 year old daughter and I treated her like own family, even my own family treated her well. For her birthday in July, I bought her a citizen watch as she does not hv a watch. My daughter planned a surprise mini party for her, we bought pizza, chicken wings, bought a movie DVD to watch at home with her I even went to the cake shop to get her a cake. When we went batam and Malaysia for hols, we brought her along too.
What we eat, she eats too. My mum also brought her to a Chinese restaurant to buy her bday dinner.
During first 2 months of employment, She was impatient with my girl at first as my girl was prob too talkative then I spoke to my helper why I hire her in the first place.
She knows that she was getting a good deal as my household only hs one adult, one child n a puppy in a small 2 bedroom Hdb. She always tell me she is so lucky that we are generous with our food and treat her with respect like dinner is always put aside for her and not give her only what is left after dinner and she gets to go out of the HSE every day to fetch my daughter...
I realised that she's unappreciative and greedy after a few instances and took my generosity and kindness for granted:
1) after I bought gifts and loads of stuff for her to ship home for Christmas, she also took 3 more pencil cases which I ready told her n my girl that they are intended for my nieces. When I confronted her, She said my girl told her she cud have them. I gave her a piece of my mind as I had given specific instructions.
2) when I was not in Singapore, she refused to go and buy supper (at 9pm) fr downstairs, telling my mum she is tired and sleepy. So my poor mum n daughter braved the rain to get their supper as they had dinner very early that day. My helper was not even doing anything in the day as she brought my girl to my bro hse to play with his kids and I specifically told them not to make her work in their HSE. So she rested and napped in their kitchen!
3) when came bk fr my overseas trip, I brought helper and girl out shopping, sampling Japanese food and even brought then to cinema to watch movies in the evening. We return home for dinner which was already cooked before we left our home for our r & r. I even arranged for the supermarket to deliver my shopping to my home Si that my helper didn't need to carry as we shopped.
During movies, I even bought burgers for my girl n helper so that they will not be too hungry by time movie is over. Upon reaching Hm, after dinner, I brought my dog out for walk while my girl still continue with dinner. Helper told girl that if she finished dinner fast, she wud cut fruit for her. After eating up, girl ask helper for what was promised, helper replied that it was 10pm n past her bedtime. But girl said that she had enjoyed herself for more than 8 hrs of leisure but helper replied with a "so?" Girl reminded her of her self initiated promise but helper said that promises are meant to be broken!
4) when maid send girl to school when I was sick ( usually I send her myself) she kept on telling my daughter sarcastically that " u see those kids... they are younger than you or your age... They can carry their own bags..." Girl got fed up n carried own heavy school bag. Helper got whAt she wanted... When she was informed before that girl not supposed to carry her own heavy bag as much as possible as she is not growing tall as compared to her peers where my ex hb n myself are considered tall.
5) in morning, supposed to plait my girl's hair but again hinted to her that she should tie herself since she is so big already.
6) the list goes on for all the things she said to my girl...
I told helper off for point 4 and 5 n explained again why she had to carried out her tasks for pt 4 n 5 due to obvious reasons. My girl can tie her own hair well since young like 6 year old even plait but takes long long time.
I am even kind enuff that I have helped her to be transferred to my friend who does not need a helper to give similar attention to her kids as they are older. She needs someone who can do hsechores n cook. my friend, She is a good person but will not spoil her helper like I did. For my next helper who has yet to arrive, I have learnt my lesson to draw a line.
Hi I have a situation here and I do not know what's my rights and what can I do. My indo maid ran off and surrender herself at agency. I couldnt go to work without a maid looking after my 3yo. I lose my job. Can I ask my agency to bear for my loss of income? Or how long should the agency gives me a replacement? Helpless. ..
Quote:
"I couldnt go to work without a maid looking after my 3yo. I lose my job. Can I ask my agency to bear for my loss of income? Or how long should the agency gives me a replacement? Helpless. .."
Hi honey swee,
The agency will never bear your loss of income. Even if you get a lawyer to sue the agency, they will not be held responsible since the problem is with the maid.
It can take up to 2 months for the agency to get you a new maid. Your best bet is to find a transfer maid who is already in Singapore, the processing time is shorter. Make sure that you check her employment history on MOM website, and do not take any maids who worked less than 2 years for one employer.
Hi,
My Indonesia maid ran away and headed to the embassy.
When we went to make a police report, the police mentioned that there is no need to file a report since she's at the embassy. Is it true? However, I want to safeguard ourselves in case she accuses us for anything that we have not done. Like many employers in this forum, we treated her well too. But it's useless to claim anything as no one will listen to us.
Second. Refund of levy. Since there's no report recorded, how do i secure the refund? Will the embassy bother to issue any letter to the employer?
Third, should I contact the embassy directly or leave it to the agent? Since there is no outstanding loan and current agent refuses to honor us a replacement maid, I see nothing much in letting the agent handle this matter.
Lastly, should I need to send her back, should i purchase the air ticket and hand it over to the embassy directly? Can I decide her date of departure? Do I have to chauffeur her to the airport?
Thank you.
Post a Comment