Helper's off day

[jools]

We've never given our helper a curfew and never had any problems. The way I look at it, working for us is her job, just like anyone elses job. Would an office worker be asked to go into the office on their day off (well maybe occassionally, but not on a regular basis)? So we don't ask our helper to come home, to her place of work, early on her day off.

I agree with Cara, helpers are adults and 7.30pm is very early for an adult to be expected to come in. My curfew when I lived with my parents at home, at 18 years old, was midnight. If a helper comes in so late that they can't do their job the next day, then that's a different issue and needs to be addressed in terms of them not being fit for work. Your helper is probably agreeing to the time as she doesn't want to upset you and wants to give you the answer she thinks you want to hear. If you feel that you must have a curfew then I agree with the others who suggested you move it to a later time. Maybe get your helper to suggest a time that she is more comfortable with, then she is more likely to stick to it if she suggested it.

 

[Wai-Mei Ho]

Our curfew is 10pm. She has her own keys so she doesn't disturb anybody. I think having to come back before 8pm is a bit early. She would have to eat her dinner earlier and leave straight away to get home on time. If that's the only day off I had to spend w/ my friends and relatives I would definitely like to spend my time having a relaxing dinner w/ them without having to keep looking at my watch!

 

[aldougie]

I agree that 7.30/8.00 is early especially if your helper were to be eating with friends, going to the pictures or even out on one of the islands which ours used to do regularly. We didn't have a curfew but just told her that we expected her to be fresh for Monday morning and in 3 yrs we never had a problem and she had her own keys so could come and go as she pleased so never disturbed us. In terms of cleaning we never left any dishes or washing to be done on Sundays as this is her day off and I wouldn't have been comfortable for her to come back and find dishes/washing etc. to be done. However, I know a lot of people do and it's up to the individual helper how she deals with this.

In terms of holiday my belief was that all employees are entitled to the stat holidays but under three months you don't have to pay them.

This is the link to the website and what it says:

(http://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/news/latest_holidays2007.htm) and this is what it says:

All employees are entitled to the above statutory holidays. If the statutory holiday falls on a rest day, a holiday should be granted on the day following the rest day which is not a statutory holiday or an alternative holiday or a substituted holiday or a rest day. An employee having been employed under a continuous contract for not less than 3 months is entitled to the holiday pay which is equivalent to the normal wages which the employee would have earned if he had worked on a full working day.

*According to the Employment Ordinance, if the Lunar New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, then the day immediately preceding the Lunar New Year's Day will be designated as a statutory holiday.

 

[esque]

Regardless of the legal requirements for the first 3 months, don't you think it's a bit cheap to be considering not paying your helper for these public holidays?

 

[geiboyi]

About the curfew - if you set it at 8pm (or whatever) you legally need to let your helper finish by 8pm the night before, to give her the full 24-hr rest period she is entited to.
Also, if you trust someone to look after your children, you really ought to trust her with a house key...

 

[wandasmart]

yes, the laws regarding statutory holidays does say if your helper has been with you for not yet 3 months, you don't need to give them paid public holidays.

personally i think if you'v employed someone to take care of your children and trust them to be in your home to work for you, a few paid public days of rest is a small price to pay for her to be happy and want to work hard for you. if you started a job recently, you wouldn't be happy if your boss said you can take the cny days off but you'r not being paid for them. you may feel a bit resentful ?

 

[joannek]

well, i choose to still pay them at the end of the contract, when i'm calculating all these other holiday compensation, and giving her bonus. this 8pm curfew was suggested by my agent.

i think chinese ppl who are used to having amahs in the old days are more strict with their DHs. these amahs didn't used to take their days off & was treated like maids. when they have worked for a extented period of time (say more than 5 yrs) then they are treated as part of the family. these amahs were ladies who "combed up" at a young age & will never get married. hence they have no homes to go to & not much friends.

 

[slamdunk]

Agree with Pinemarten that it's a little bit cheap not to pay the statutory holidays given that this individual is working in your home and should be making your life easier (however early in the contract).

Re curfew, we suggested midnight but our helper is usually back around 10-11pm (and she does light "clearing up" chores, unasked) and has only been out later a few times. Unless late nights are regularly impairing her abilities, I would respect the helper as a responsible adult and let her enjoy her day off properly (i.e. allowing dinner, evening movie, island trip without prior permission).

I'm sure we've all gone into work a little worse for wear before :smile: (of course this does depend on whether your helper is the main child carer or not and how early she starts in the morning).

p.s. i'm baffled about helpers without their own key - does it mean they can't leave home?

 

[jools]

Here, here Slamdunk. I'm with you on the key issue. When we talk with the children about our helper, we refer to our home as her home. When they ask where she is on Sundays, we say she doesn't work on Sundays-she's out with her friends and she will be coming home later.It never entered out heads that our helper wouldn't have a key, this is her home too.

 

[barbwong_130]

?These amahs were ladies who "combed up" at a young age & will never get married, hence they have no homes to go to & not much friends.?

I don?t think the above is an accurate description of these women who served as maids in the last generation. Our family had such a maid when my children were younger. She was very devoted to our family but she still enjoyed visiting her friends and her own family during her time off. She was very proud of the fact that she had her own living quarters even though she also had a place to sleep in our home. And every year she wanted her annual holidays at Chinese New Year in order to visit family in China.

And just for the record she never has a curfew and, of course, had her own set of keys. How else would she have managed taking the children out for din sum, to the park, etc.?