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First-Time Maid Employers: Important Factors To Consider

By: Author Jeff Campbell

Posted on Last updated:

Categories Guest Posts

Imagine going home to your clean house after a hard day at work, where toys of your children are stored, and a cosy, home-cooked meal is prepared at the table. Sounds like a dream, right? Well, with the right help at home, you’ll surely experience this. Since most parents are busy working every day, a maid is their only hope when they need help at home. But, being an employer still has its responsibilities. If you plan to hire a maid, you should know how much is the salary of your maid.

Here’s an informative post about maid salaries of different nationalities which will surely help you throughout the maid hiring process.

There are several practical reasons why it would be beneficial to have an extra hand at home. In addition to coping with stress at work, it can be difficult to take care of the children and perform homework simultaneously. So much so that in Singapore there were 250,000 FDWs. And the numbers continue to increase annually.

It is no wonder that you have considered recruiting one to assist you, as many people from Singapore work hard to balance their busy times. Sadly, some people employ someone without knowing the household and domestic workers’ expertise and well-being.

Here are three simple questions to ask oneself before hiring a maid:

What Are The Costs Associated with Hiring a Maid?

The cost of hiring any maid is the next thing to consider.

Employers must pay between $500 and $2,600 in advance depending on which maid agency they hire their maid. Every month you will have to pay your maid between $400 and $500. Before hitting the maid agency’s office, make sure it is within your budget. It’s best you avoid cheap agencies as they might scam you or most likely their services have hidden charges.

Also, they might not be licensed, and you wouldn’t want to get caught in any trouble associated with them.

Believe it or not, but one of the best big cities in the US in terms of low cost for housecleaning is Houston, Texas. So if you’re lucky enough to live there, take advantage of the low costs for Houston house cleaning.

Is a Maid Necessary?

First, ask yourself if you need a maid. When time is changing in life, most families agree to employ a maid. Popular examples of moments of life change include:

  • A new addition to the family has arrived, and both mom and dad need extra help to take care of the baby. Especially since work can get in the way, a maid will surely be a great choice.
  • You have elderly parents that need assistance, but you’re too busy to accompany them. A family maid will be there to assist your parents while they exercise or do their errands.

Does Your House Have an Extra Room?

The next question is whether you can accommodate your maid in your home. Your house will be the place of work for the maid.

You need basic facilities like:

  • A proper room
  • Security and Privacy
  • Cushion, towel, pillow
  • Food

Ways to Choose Your Maid

There are some important tips here that will help you minimize the risk of choosing the wrong maid, as there are no ways of making sure that your maid is perfect:

Employment History

New maids without a work background or experience as maids are less costly than skilled maids. You’ll have to take longer to train them, though. New maids may also be uncommon in Singapore. You are also at risk of getting her work terminated prematurely.

Experienced maids, on the other hand, are more costly.

Although you don’t have the problem of a maid who doesn’t live in Singapore, you have a different problem-why did the maid leave her former employer? Consult the MOM with your maid’s employment history to know if she’s been employed several times for short periods (which is a bad sign) or if she has good feedback.

Skills to Expect

You may select a maid with the appropriate experience if you need your maid to take care of your baby or your parents. In regards to the cleaning capabilities, a maid should know the proper ways of cleaning certain parts of the house.

Here’s an amazing article about ways to clean your house that you can show your maid in case she needs more training. Cooking is another common issue for maids. If you’re expecting your servant to cook, ask if she can cook during the interview.

Make sure also that you have time to prepare the dishes you love and this way you can also train your maid to do it. Don’t expect the first time your maid gets it right.

You must be careful with your maid’s training before you are pleased with her cooking. 

Day-Off and Phone Usage

You must give your maid one day off a week.

You will need to offer a day’s pay or reimburse her for the month for an extra day off when you need the maid to work on an off day. Since the only way to stay in contact with family members miles away is through the internet, banning your maid from using her phone is quite inhumane.

If you want your maid to avoid slacking off at work or getting distracted, you can set a schedule for phone usage during her work shift. Emergencies can happen anytime, and they may need their phones when the time comes.

Their Nationality

Always make sure your maid at least speaks decent English.

That’s a bonus, especially if you need them to look after your parents if they can speak your mother tongue. Maids from the Philippines are known to speak well in English. So if the language is your main concern, it’s best to go for a Filipino maid.

To check that your maid has good English, prepare questions for your interview, and ask questions. Watch how the maid addresses you to test her communication skills during the interview.

They don’t need to be fluent, and their pronunciation does not have to be perfect.

Jeff Campbell
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