Hired Help: Your Rights and Hers
An information session for anyone employing Foreign Domestic
Workers in Singapore
April 22rd, 8pm Hollandse Club
‘Part of the Family?’
We treat our domestic worker as
‘part of the family’.
There are no regulations on how to treat family
members.
Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs) are not
covered by the Singaporean Employment Act
but by the Employment of Foreign Manpower
Act
FDWs as employees
As a formal employee, an FDW should benefit
from:
Regulated working hours, rest time & days off
The right to quit or change employers
Protection from exploitative conditions
Clear expectations of work load and scope
Training
Privacy and freedom outside of working hours
FDWs as employees (2)
Singapore law and the Ministry of Manpower
(MOM) offers some protection to FDWs:
General Singaporean laws apply for criminal
offences against FDWs
(in some cases enhanced penalties for abuses
committed against FDWs apply)
Details about FDW’s rights are contained in
‘Work Permit Conditions’ issued by the Ministry
of Manpower (MOM).
Work Permit Conditions
The employer must:
Provide upkeep & maintenance of FDW (including adequate food &
medical costs)
Provide safe working conditions
Provide acceptable accommodation
Bear the cost of repatriation
Pay salary, allowances & levy on time
Purchase medical insurance
Provide adequate rest
Provide a weekly day off, or payment in lieu by ‘mutual agreement’
Work Permit Conditions (2)
The employer must:
Not retain original work permit and visit pass.
Not cause or knowingly permit the foreign
employee to be engaged in any illegal, immoral or
undesirable conduct or activity.
Not ill-treat the foreign employee (including abuse,
neglect, causing of injury or abandonment).
Inform the authorities about a missing FDW within 7
days.
Work Permit Conditions (3)
A foreign domestic worker must:
Work only for the employer specified on the work permit
Perform only household and domestic duties
Reside at the residential address stated on the work permit
Undergo regular medical examinations
Not get married to a Singaporean citizen or PR without
approval from MOM.
Not become pregnant
Not be involved in any illegal, immoral or undesirable
activities, including breaking up families in Singapore
What can you do?
Discuss Work Permit conditions with your FDW and make
sure she understands them.
Explain consequences for her and you if they are breeched.
It is good to have an employment contract signed by you
and the FDW, and make sure you both have signed copies.
Be clear about your expectations.
Build mutual trust.
A day off is a day off. Would you like your employer to give
you a curfew?
Security Bond Myths
‘I heard I should make sure my helper is back
from her day off before it gets dark or I could
lose my $5000 bond - is that really true?’
‘If I let my helper go out with her boyfriend she
might get pregnant and I’ll lose my bond.’
Security Bond Facts
MOM loosened rules on forfeiture of the
security bond in 2010
Up to date information can be found on their
website: http://beta.mom.gov.sg/passes-andpermits/work-permit-for-foreign-domesticworker/eligibility-and-requirements/securitybond
Source: www.mom.gov.sg
‘The agency told me to
keep my domestic
worker’s passport. It’s for
her own good’
‘She’s never had money
before, so it is best if I
manage her finances’
Source: ‘Mutual Respect’ TWC2
Keeping an FDW’s
documents
Under WPCs and the Passport Act employers are not
allowed to keep an FDW’s passport or work permit
unless she asks them to.
A recent study by HOME of 700 FDWs showed
almost 70% of employers do this anyway.
The earnings of an FDW are hers by law.
If you keep her bankbook, or withhold her salary
for safekeeping, you risk being accused of
retaining her money illegally in a salary dispute.
Ending Work
When a FDW worker finishes her contract,
or when the employer decides to terminate
it, there are two options:
• Repatriation
– The employer is required by MOM to pay for
this.
• Transfer
– Employer needs to sign transfer papers.
Too good to be true?
Agencies
Singapore law allows recruitment agencies to charge a fee of
up to 2 months of salary for a two year contract.
When many FDWs first start working in Singapore they
have to pay up to 8 months of salary to their agency.
Agencies claim this is not a fee, but a loan that the FDW
received from the agency in their home country.
Some agencies substitute the contract that a FDW had been
shown in her country of origin (especially when they come
from the Philippines).
Salary, work conditions, type of work, day off, amount of
debt can be changed.
After arrival in Singapore, a FDW feels pressured to accept
the new contract.
HOME advocates that the
employer, not the foreign
worker, should bear the cost
of recruitment fees.
HOME is involved in
research and advocacy
projects to stop and prevent
situations like contract
substitution.
Source: ‘Mutual Respect’ TWC2
When things don’t
work out
If there have been any work permit condition or
criminal violations, MOM has the option to ban
an FDW from working in Singapore again, or an
employer from hiring again (‘blacklisting’).
If an employer has had more than 4 FDWs in
one year, they have to attend an orientation
course and interview with MOM after which
they can ultimately be banned from hiring for a
defined period.
Suspected ill-treatment
of an FDW
It is nearly always better to help the FDW to seek
advice than to take action yourself.
Sometimes, just getting care and support from
someone sympathetic can be enough.
Assess whether the FDW herself is unhappy with
the situation.
Think about:
Cultural differences
Interfering vs helping
Not giving an FDW ‘false hope’
Assess the situation
Has the FDW’s employer committed any offences?
•
•
•
Criminal offences (like physical or sexual abuse) can
be reported to the police.
Violations of Work Permit conditions can be reported to
MOM.
Gather evidence where possible.
Potential consequences of reporting offences
The FDW losing her job.
Long wait time in Singapore during investigations.
How can HOME help?
HOME can provide an FDW with:
Advice and support on filing a complaint with MOM or
the police.
Legal assistance.
Shelter.
HOME creates a community for foreign workers:
Sunday classes (HOME Academy)
Online support groups (HOME Gabriela & Kartini)
Helplines:
1800-7-977-977 (24 hour toll free)
(65) 6341 5525 (for domestic workers)
(65) 6341 5535 (other migrant workers)
HOME Sunday drop-in helpdesk (10 to 6 pm)
Lucky Plaza #06-22 Tel: (65) 6333 8356
Other sources of
information
MOM Website www.mom.gov.sg
British Chamber of Commerce ‘Expats’ Guide to
Domestic Workers in Singapore’
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