Maid currently shares Queen-sized bed with child; when they move house, her employer is still reluctant to give her a room

SINGAPORE: During the seven months since her arrival, a maid shared a bed with her employer’s child. Since the family plans to move to another house, the employer shared that she still wanted her maid to share a room with the child instead of giving her a separate room.

In an anonymous post to a support group for domestic helpers and employers alike, the employer wrote that her helper was wonderful. “Currently she shares a queen sized bed w my daughter. All of her needs are met. I always make it a point to bring her for family holidays too”, she said.

The employer shared that she was about to move to a new house, “I am just looking for advice if I should continue to share room w my child? As 3 of the rooms would be occupied. How shall i bring this topic of conversation? I do not want her to feel restricted”, she added.

Here’s what others who commented on the post said:

Earlier this year, a foreign domestic helper took to social media saying that she could only sleep around 2 am on most nights but had to wake up at 6.30 am to start work.

In a post to a Facebook group for domestic helpers, one asked others how long their break time usually was during the day and at what time they were allowed to go to bed at night. Responding to her post, other helpers commented about their schedules. It seems that most helpers were only allowed to go to bed late at night but had to wake up early, with only a few getting to nap or rest during the day.

Maid says she only gets to sleep at 2am after finishing ironing but has to wake up at 6.30am with no naps or rest in between