Please submit the following supporting documents through the applicant:

Please present a copy of the employer’s Hong Kong identity card. If the employer is not a Hong Kong permanent resident, please also produce a copy of the employer’s travel document (including personal data and the number of pages with the latest Hong Kong visa and other information).

Please present your employer’s most recent tax slip (issued by the tax office);

Or the latest 3-month autopay salary account certificate to prove that the employer’s annual salary exceeds HK$180,000.- or above or monthly salary is HK$15,000.- or above;

Or pay slips in the last 3 months; or bank time deposits over HK$360,000 in the last 3 months.-

(To employ 2 helpers, the employer’s annual salary is HK$180,000 x 2 or the fixed deposit needs to exceed HK$720,000.- and so on).

Copy of marriage certificate or copy of birth certificate.

(e.g. proof of financial income or proof of address not in the same name as the applicant)

Please present the original and copy of the water/gas/rates/residential telephone/electricity or cable TV bills registered in the name of the employer in the last three months (mobile bills will not be accepted). The original documents will be returned by the applicant.

Current/past maid’s name, Hong Kong identity card number and work permit validity date.

1. You must pay the helper’s daily meal and transportation allowance on the way to Hong Kong according to the amount stipulated in the standard employment contract. You must also find out with the helper the cost of handling the various necessary documents. Please refer to Labour Department – Practical Guide to Hiring Foreign Domestic Helpers.
2. You should explain her duties to the helper. These responsibilities must be domestic responsibilities set out in the “Accommodation and Housekeeping Arrangements”* in the appendix to the employment contract.
3. You must set a date to pay the helper.
4. You must specify rest days for your helpers.
5. You must agree with the helper whether meals will be provided during the employment period. If meals are provided, the meals must be free. If you are not prepared to provide meals, you must pay the helper a monthly meal allowance according to the amount signed in the standard employment contract.
6. You must take out workers’ compensation insurance for your helper in accordance with the provisions of the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance. If you fail to do so, you are breaking the law and can be fined and jailed.

No. The Standard Employment Contract for Employment of Foreign Domestic Helpers (Form ID407) is the only formal employment contract for all foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong. Any other employment contracts entered into privately by the employer and the helper are not enforceable in Hong Kong.

No. Under the Immigration Regulations, it is an offence to ask your domestic helper to work for someone other than the employer specified in his/her visa, or to perform non-domestic chores. Employers found to be in breach of the Immigration Regulations could face prosecution.

1. All wages and other dues should be paid off, preferably by depositing the money into the helper’s account and getting a receipt.
2. The Retention Section of the Immigration Department must be notified in writing of the termination of the contract within 7 days of the termination of the contract, but the Labour Department is not required to be notified.

If the helper has worked continuously for the employer for not less than 5 years, and he/she

1. is dismissed or the contract of employment is not renewed after the expiration of the term, and the dismissal or non-renewal is not based on serious misconduct or redundancy;
2. is certified by a registered medical practitioner that she is permanently unfit for the current job and offers to resign;
3. is 65 years of age or older and resign due to old age; or
4. Died during service.

No. Helpers fired due to redundancy receive severance pay, but not long service payments.

The following calculation method applies to the calculation of severance payment and long service payment: [(last month’s salary x 2/3) x retroactive years of service]

Years of service less than 1 year shall be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

The employment contract does not provide for this, and both parties can agree on their own. However, you should consider giving the helper a ticket with no date limit to avoid your loss if the helper cannot use the ticket with a fixed date provided by you in some unpredictable circumstances.

This will depend on the time it takes to travel from Hong Kong to the helper’s original location, but the helper must take the most direct route. Generally speaking, if the helper is from Asia, 1-2 days’ allowance for meals and transportation is sufficient, usually HK$100 per day.

If the employer’s belongings or belongings are damaged or lost due to the helper’s mistake or negligence, the employer can make compensation by deducting the wages according to the value, subject to a limit of HK$300 each time. In addition, the total amount of wages deducted in these cases shall not exceed one quarter of the wages earned by the helper for that wage period.

– If the employer fails to pay wages within 7 days of the expiry of the wage period, he/she
– to pay interest to the helper on back wages; and
– Subject to prosecution, upon conviction, to a maximum fine of HK$200,000 and imprisonment for 1 year.

If the helper is not paid within one month after the payment is due, his employment contract may be terminated without notice by the employer. In this case, the employer is required to pay the helper payment in lieu of notice of dismissal and other payments for termination of the employment contract.

No. All foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong, regardless of nationality, are required to receive at least the minimum wage stipulated in the employment contract. It is an offence for an employer to pay a helper a monthly salary that is less than the prescribed minimum wage.

It is recommended that you pay your helpers by cheque or autopay. To do this, you must have the consent of your helper to be paid in this way. If your helper is not willing to pay this way, you must pay his/her wages in cash.

You are required to keep records of wages paid, such as relevant bank statements. You should also prepare receipts for wages and meal allowances and ask the helper to sign to confirm receipt of the payment.

Yes, but special arrangements need to be made to allow FDHs to perform incidental driving duties arising from domestic chores. Remember, the assistant must hold a Hong Kong driving license. Complete and submit FormID934Ato the Director of Immigration to be granted special permission for the foreign domestic helper to perform driving duties.

Local – face-to-face interviews are possible. Familiar with Hong Kong culture and local work experience, you may not need to spend too much time training domestic helpers.

Overseas – they are more open to change and accept the challenge of a new environment. And they may have worked in families in Taiwan and the Middle East, where they needed longer hours and fewer vacations. Also, helpers spend a lot of money in agency/training centers in their home countries, and they tend to face more pressure to work harder to do new jobs.

Should I hire an Indonesian or Filipino domestic helper? Which is good and suitable for your family? It really depends on your own mind. No matter where they come from, there are good and bad.

Indonesian domestic helpers – tend to be hard-working, willing to adjust to suit the employer’s needs, and their rest schedules are more flexible. Ability to speak and understand local Cantonese. Most of them are Muslims, followers of Islam and do not eat pork.

Filipino domestic helpers – tend to be better educated and have good English communication skills. So they can help teach children. They are more adapted to the modern city of Hong Kong. They are mostly Catholic and usually go to church every Sunday.

In the initial period of the foreign domestic helper, the daily work content that needs to be done is very important to the employer and the foreign domestic helper. What do you want her to do every day? I suggest that you can make house rules and work schedules. But remember, it takes time for your FDH to get used to your living environment, the modern city of Hong Kong and your language. Your assistant may be from a farm and she may not know how to use a vacuum, so be patient and give her a few months to learn and she will perform to your standards.

• The law requires all foreign domestic helpers to live with their employer
• Employment of foreign domestic helpers is valid for a contract period of two years
• To hire a helper, the employer’s household income must be not less than HKD 15,000 (US$ 1,920) per month
• Hiring foreign domestic helpers must provide free medical treatment for foreign domestic helpers
• At present, the employment of foreign domestic helpers must pay the monthly statutory minimum wage of HKD 4,520
• Employers are also required to provide FDHs with free meals, and employers may choose to use meal allowances instead
  The meal allowance will also be changed from the current monthly allowance to not less than HK$1,075. (Adjusted on September 29, 2018)
• FDHs are entitled to paid annual leave for every 12 months they work for their employers. In the first twoyears, the first two years will be 7 days each year, and one day will be added each year thereafter, with a maximum of 14 days. 12 statutory holidays are allowed each year. FDHs are entitled to 1 rest day per week

For more information, please visit the Labour Department.