Helper allegedly asked by Singaporean employer to clean elderly relative's house, work in catering business, with no extra pay

SINGAPORE: A woman recently took to TikTok to ask Singaporeans to speak up and help domestic helpers, telling the story of one particular helper who was treated badly by her employer, being asked to do extra tasks without pay and removed from her job rather abruptly.

“A lot of Singaporean employers that have maids in their households think that they treat their maids well as long as they don’t abuse them in the very traditional sense” of being physically hurt or having their food withheld, said @PrabhKY in a Sep 25 video.

However, some behaviours are unacceptable, she added, going on to tell the story of a helper she called Jess, giving her a false name to protect her identity.

Jess worked for a family with two children for two years, getting paid S$500 a month with one Sunday as her rest day. However, aside from cooking and cleaning for the family, she also ended up working for her employer’s catering business.

As Jess was the sole provider for her young son back home, she did not complain about being given extra work.

The employer also asked her to check on an elderly relative, and this allegedly turned into Jess being tasked with cleaning their home as well.

Additionally, there were days when the employer would ask Jess to work on Sundays that were supposed to be her rest day, and when Jess asked if she would be paid for working on those days, the employer told her to take note of those days, and she would get paid in the end.

After two years, the employer asked Jess if she wanted to renew her contract with them. Jess tried to negotiate, looking for a way to negotiate a higher salary or a reduction in her tasks.

Some Singaporeans don’t want to negotiate with their helpers “like they are human beings,” the TikToker said.

To Jess’ surprise, out of the blue, her employer told her one day that she had two weeks before she would be flown back home, leaving her with little time to look for a new employer.

After the employer told her they had found someone new to replace Jess, the helper showed her the list of all the dates she had worked on her rest day off.

However, the employer told her that since she ate the food they made at home on that day, that took the place of her salary. In other words, Jess would not get anything more for the days that she worked.

The TikToker found it extremely ironic that the family was religious and had Jess pray with them, but treated her so unfairly.

While the helper allegedly slept at 11:00 or 12:00 pm and woke up at 5:00 am daily and did not share in the food she prepared for the family or for the catering business, her employer seemed to see no wrong in how they treated her.

Fortunately, Jess is now with a new employer, who treats her better than her old one.

“Jess is an amazing person,” said @PrabhKY, adding, “at the end of the story, a human being is a human being.” 

Domestic helpers in Singapore are protected by the Ministry of Manpower. They are only allowed to work for their employer at the residential address declared to the ministry, perform domestic chores, and are not allowed to take on work with other employers.

“For illegally deploying helpers, employers may be liable to pay a financial penalty of up to $10,000. Errant employers may also be banned from employing helpers,” says MOM. /TISG

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