What do you all pay your helpers
- Thread starter lalila
- Start date
My point exactly.
I put the word greedy in quotation marks. It was more of a sarcastic comment than anything.
hi every one thank you for your comments i agree someone on minimum may be just as good or even better actually than someone asking for 6000. i just wanted to know if it was normal for helpers who had the western experience with small children to be on this kind of money and seems its not very normal thank you all very much xx also if anyone does or has head of a good helper please please can you pm me i havent seemed to have much luck on the agency side i have two very young children and obvioulsy need someone who can manage the two from time to time so i can pop out when needed thank you all
Just to give one more point of view.......As of January, our helper will be in that range. We hired her at the minimum and increased her wages pretty substantially last January and will do so again this year (and next year etc). When we hired her, she had been out of HK for a while to take care of family in the Philippines so (my guess is) she didn't feel she was in a position to ask for more than the minimum, even though she has loads of experience/skills.
Initially, it was my husband who suggested the large increase (our helper didn't request it) and I was wary because I thought it might set a precedent that we would feel compelled to stick to. We talked it through and decided that even if it did, the value that our helper provides to us still far and away exceeds what we pay her. We continue to feel that the higher pay could be really meaningful to her and her family and is not going to break the bank for us. In our home country only the truly wealthy (i.e., not doctors, lawyers, mid-level bankers and the like) have live-in help, so that probably makes us appreciate her all the more.
To cut a long story short, whenever it is we leave HK, our helper will be back in the market and I would think that she would at least tell potential employers what she is making and hope they can match it. So, if helpers quote you those figures, they are not necessarily being greedy or unreasonable. That said, just like when any of us moves jobs (particularly when we are forced to), the opening salary request may be just that and the helpers you are talking to may be willing to accept less if they feel they can't find the right situation otherwise.
Initially, it was my husband who suggested the large increase (our helper didn't request it) and I was wary because I thought it might set a precedent that we would feel compelled to stick to. We talked it through and decided that even if it did, the value that our helper provides to us still far and away exceeds what we pay her. We continue to feel that the higher pay could be really meaningful to her and her family and is not going to break the bank for us. In our home country only the truly wealthy (i.e., not doctors, lawyers, mid-level bankers and the like) have live-in help, so that probably makes us appreciate her all the more.
To cut a long story short, whenever it is we leave HK, our helper will be back in the market and I would think that she would at least tell potential employers what she is making and hope they can match it. So, if helpers quote you those figures, they are not necessarily being greedy or unreasonable. That said, just like when any of us moves jobs (particularly when we are forced to), the opening salary request may be just that and the helpers you are talking to may be willing to accept less if they feel they can't find the right situation otherwise.
I am a westerner with young children and I pay similar to what you have quoted, as do most of my friends in similar situations. From my point of view, I work and my helper takes care of my precious children. I have a good one and once I knew she was good and someone I wanted to keep for a long time, I paid her a lot, gave her lots of time off, treated her well in other ways and hoped she stay. She did ! This is so important for me as a working mum. I think that people who terminate their helper to avoid long service leave are bonkers.
The difference between the minimum wage and what I pay is frankly not material to me, but makes a big difference to my helper and her family.
We are leaving HK in a few weeks and my helper has found another position on slightly better wages, due largely I guess to my glowing endorsement (fully warranted). So there is most definitely a market for helpers with the right skills, experience and attitude.
Just sharing my experience, not judging others.
The difference between the minimum wage and what I pay is frankly not material to me, but makes a big difference to my helper and her family.
We are leaving HK in a few weeks and my helper has found another position on slightly better wages, due largely I guess to my glowing endorsement (fully warranted). So there is most definitely a market for helpers with the right skills, experience and attitude.
Just sharing my experience, not judging others.
I would like to add that we hired a helper who had 12 years of experience working for families with children in Hong Kong. She had glowing reviews from everyone we spoke with and within five months we were forced to terminate her contract because she was not a good fit for our family and did not do the job we required her to do up to our standard. Most of our friends said we should have terminated her long before then but she was our first hire and we were trying to work something out and hope that she would be a suitable candidate. Years and years of experience and glowing recommendations still don't guarantee that you'll be wanting to pay your helper a huge sum up front--if you have in mind to pay them a rate higher than minimum wage, I would wait first and see how they do in their first contract and then talk about it--unless you have the money to spend and it isn't material to you. Sadly, I have to say, that we cannot afford to pay our helper what she is worth at this point but she still does an amazing job taking care of my precious child--whom she treats as her own and we have a fantastic working relationship. When I win the Mark 6 she will be reimbursed fully for her duties. 
We put the minimum amount HK$3,580 in the contract, but we prefer to pay her extra bonuses throughout the year. She eats with us, so there's no separate food allowance, but we do make the effort to eat more Indonesian food as a family. We usually pay her bonuses during Ramadan and Chinese New Year, and will give her presents for Christmas. We also send her back home once a year, as she has three sons, two of whom (twins) she had hardly seen as she started working as a helper when they were about a year old and her former employer of seven years sent her back only every other year for seven years.
agree- i pay minimum wage but give bonuses / laisees for birthday, christmas, CNY and extra time off when she has family things to take care of. we actually sent her home for 2 weeks because she suspected her husband was cheating on her! anyhow, i think for us, it is how you treat them on a day to day basis rather than a monetary thing - I have 2 helpers that would have 2 different salaries based on their experiences, etc. so I just pay them the same amount so there is no jealousy between the two. I NEED them to work well together and feel that both are treated equally as well.