domestic helpers

How to Welcome and Manage Your New Domestic Helper

Every domestic helper is different, just like every family is. You’ll always encounter some difficulties when your new domestic helper starts. Your domestic helper may have years of experience but is not used to your way of doing things. Or you had a domestic helper who stayed with you for a long time so you worry that you’ve forgotten how to manage a domestic helper with less experience. It will ...

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When Your Domestic Helper Wants to Stay out on Rest Day

Your helper has requested to stay out on the weekend. She says that she is free to do as she pleases during her 24-hour rest period. Is your helper allowed to do this? And should you let her? This question is more common than you think. Your helper is naturally entitled to her rest day of consecutively 24 hours, but her staying out is a different issue. Every employer will have ...

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Visa Requirements For Taking Your Domestic Helper on Holiday

When you take your domestic helper on holiday, securing the right visa for your domestic helper is key. In many South-east Asian countries, your domestic helper is allowed to join you on a short stay tourist. But in many western countries, your domestic helper will need to apply for a special visa. If you want to avoid tourist issues ruining your holiday, contacting the embassy will be the best way, ...

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Where to Find a Domestic Helper First Aid Training in Hong Kong

Having a medical emergency is a worry for everyone. Especially if you are not at home and your domestic helper takes care of your children or elderly parents. You may consider sending your domestic helper to a domestic helper first aid training, but the training can be expensive and it may take you a while to find the right course.  The domestic helper has already received first aid training in her ...

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A mother's role cannot be replaced by a domestic helper

Help! My Child Prefers My Domestic Helper

Your baby is growing attached to your domestic helper and you are feeling ‘threatened’ or even ‘in competition’ with her? If you are having a tough time dealing with the situation, the following advice will – hopefully – help you get through it. Am I the only one concerned about this? Worry not, it’s a natural feeling. Obviously, everyone has their way of reacting in such situations and feels different about it, ...

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Many employers will reward their domestic helpers with a lai see/ang bao in Chinese New Year

Should You Give Your Domestic Helper a Bonus for Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year is around the corner and it is now time to get everything in order for entering the Year of the Pig! This celebration is a special time of year for many families in Hong Kong and Singapore, and is also an opportunity for us to acknowledge the hard work and contributions that domestic helpers make in our homes. CNY 2019 day is on Tuesday, 5 February Marking the turn ...

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Cooking class for domestic helpers

Passion for Food Brings Domestic Helper and Employer Closer Together

Natalia and Elsa share a happy employer-employee relationship. Their secret? Communication, learning from each other and a passion for FOOD! The employer and the domestic helper recently co-wrote a cookbook gathering both Eastern and Western recipes. Discover their inspiring story. “This is delicious!” my husband said. “What’s in it?” Elsa had just come to join us in Hong Kong as a domestic helper after 15 years in Singapore. Despite my background in ...

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HelperChoice Bank Accounts Guide for Domestic Helpers

Opening a Bank Account in Hong Kong For Your Domestic Helper: The Ultimate Guide

Maybe you just employed a new domestic helper or maybe you have been employing her for a few years. In any case, you might wonder how to pay the domestic helper's salary every month, should you give her cash directly or make a bank transfer? What are the advantages of opening a bank account for your domestic helper? In Hong Kong, many domestic helpers do not have have a bank account to ...

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Help! Since I’ve Hired a Domestic Helper My Privacy Is Gone

Your home has not felt the same since your domestic helper has been working for you. What are the common causes and what can you do about to improve both your own privacy and your domestic helper’s one? Maintaining privacy with a live-in domestic helper is not easy. When your domestic helper first started working for you, the issue of privacy may not have been so pronounced. But over time, you ...

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How to be Ready to Welcome Your New Domestic Helper?

You have just hired your new domestic helper. Now it is time to prepare your family and your house so that you can welcome your domestic helper in the best conditions. 1) Your domestic helper's living arrangement This is a crucial point. If your domestic helper feels comfortable in her own room that will translate in her work. Ideally, while you were interviewing the domestic helper, you discussed where she is going ...

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