Employer asks if it’s compulsory for her to give her maid 2 weeks of paid leave at the end of 2-year contract

SINGAPORE: An employer took to social media asking if it was compulsory for her to give her maid two weeks of paid leave at the end of a contract.

In a post to a support group for domestic helpers and employers alike, the woman wrote: “i have myanmar helper, going end 2 years contract. She go continue with us new contract”. She added that the agent told them it was compulsory for the maid to be given 2 weeks of paid leave at the end of a 2-year contract.

She asked if there was such a rule for migrant domestic workers.

Must the employer pay the salary of their MDW when she is on overseas leave?

According to the Manpower Ministry: “No, the employer need not do so unless this is provided for in the employment contract”.

Earlier this year, an employer who sent her maid on “emergency leave” found out that the helper did not want to come back to return to work for her.

In an anonymous post to a Facebook support group for helpers and employers alike, the woman explained that her maid went on leave and told her she needed to go as it was an emergency. Trying to be kind, the family sent her back for a month. The woman added that after returning home, the maid asked her to cancel her Work Permit (WP) as “she wants to join another family where she used to work on her off days”.

Maid goes on emergency leave for a month and then asks employer to cancel her work permit as she wants to join another family