Maid found smoking in living room and toilet, employer complains that if she sends helper back to the agency for a replacement, she will have to bear balance loan and lodging fees

SINGAPORE: A frustrated employer took to social media asking others for advice after she found her maid smoking in her living room and toilet.

In an anonymous post to a Facebook support group for employers and domestic helpers alike, one woman wrote that she “came home a few occasions with cigarette smell in my house and toilet and didn’t want to think that my helper would smoke in my house”.

Once she told her maid that she would be going out the whole day and would not be coming back. However, she “had a little bit of free time after settling my work and got back. To my horror, my livingroom and toilet smelled like someone just smoked in it. I searched her bag but couldn’t find anything”.

But the next morning, she found her maid’s pouch contained cigarettes.

She added that her maid had worked for her for less than two months and was still under placement loan. “Her duties include taking care of my toddler and 4 small dogs and general housework. If I send her back to the agency and wait for a replacement, I will have to bear lodging fees which in this case isn’t my fault”, the woman wrote, asking netizens for help.

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

In 2021, a domestic helper posted her woes on social media. She complained that the family she was working for was not giving her enough rest or privacy.

In a post to a help group for foreign domestic workers in Singapore, one Ms S wrote that she was very patient with her working situation.

She explained that she was required to work from 8 am to 12:30 am, with most of her work only ending at that time.

She wrote that she slept in one corner of the kitchen, with her bed placed there.

But she added that she was not able to sleep well because often, as she lay on her bed, the family came to the kitchen, and she was disturbed.

She was unsure how to handle the situation and asked other foreign domestic helpers for advice as to what to do.

Read the full story here:

Maid forced to sleep in kitchen asks for help because even after working from 8 am to 12:30 am, family still disturbs her