A lot of local families hire DH because both parents need to work to make ends meet, not because they have extra buck to hire a cleaner/baby sitter. The parents usually work long hours, some work 6 days a week, some work shifts, so naturally the DH who work for these families work long hours too. I don't mean to say employers should make their DH work unreasonable hours, but I just want to point out that there are families who aren't as fortunate as many of us in this forum.
helper hours?
- Thread starter jamesandsimo
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probably true too, ELT.
i think if the DH comes directly from the filipines to HK, it's just pure luck what kind of family & job nature they land on. of course, then there is the mentally disturbed who thru corrosive liquids in the DH's face (it was in the news yesterday)! & the wealthy lady who burn her maids arm with a iron several years ago & got away with it!
i think if the DH comes directly from the filipines to HK, it's just pure luck what kind of family & job nature they land on. of course, then there is the mentally disturbed who thru corrosive liquids in the DH's face (it was in the news yesterday)! & the wealthy lady who burn her maids arm with a iron several years ago & got away with it!
(written from my husband's account)
my helper gets up around 7.00am and helps supervise dressing and the clearing up of it.
she has a proper sit down breakfast (albeit a short one) after the kids are out the door and i expect a one hour lunch when the kids are napping/still at school, and her work day ends at 7.30pm.
there are mornings where the kids suddenly decide to get up at 6.15am and our helper hears the commotion and gets up as well.
we are expats, and our helper is moving to canada in september (without us, as a nanny). she didn't take the job hoping we would move and take her with us (although that may be some helpers modus operandi), i think she took the job because the fit was good. i don't think it had to do with us being "western", it was because she was who she was, and we were who we are, if that makes sense.
my helper gets up around 7.00am and helps supervise dressing and the clearing up of it.
she has a proper sit down breakfast (albeit a short one) after the kids are out the door and i expect a one hour lunch when the kids are napping/still at school, and her work day ends at 7.30pm.
there are mornings where the kids suddenly decide to get up at 6.15am and our helper hears the commotion and gets up as well.
we are expats, and our helper is moving to canada in september (without us, as a nanny). she didn't take the job hoping we would move and take her with us (although that may be some helpers modus operandi), i think she took the job because the fit was good. i don't think it had to do with us being "western", it was because she was who she was, and we were who we are, if that makes sense.
I don't think our helper works with us because we will take her back to our home country. Australia doesn't allow it. If I had the opportunity I'd love to bring her back with us, but I doubt she'd go. She is 43, so when we leave HK she'll be over 50. I believe she wants to retire to the Philippines with her family when we leave.
Interesting discussion !
Interesting discussion !
our DH flew to HK on same flight with another filipina, who was also first time working outside Philippines. She saw her again after ~2 months, at parknshop... she was shopping with a western guy, who had his arm around her. If he's the employer, I hope he doesn't have a wife!
joannesk - why do you think there are such differences between locals and westerners?
(BTW - I count myself very firmly as both Westerner and local.....)
I think a lot of it comes down to not only what we expect when we emply someone, but wat we expect when we are employed ourselves.
(BTW - I count myself very firmly as both Westerner and local.....)
I think a lot of it comes down to not only what we expect when we emply someone, but wat we expect when we are employed ourselves.
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