My maid asked me yesterday if she could go out with other maids in the neighborhood during the Hari Raya holidays as she has been invited to follow. I could have just said a big 'no' to her but I told her to ask Sir (my hubby). Based on experience with my first maid where I had no choice but to leave her alone at home, she has had the time and luxury to go out with other maids when my hubby and I were out for work. Consequently, she turned out to be really rebellious, lazy, kept asking to go out more and one day upon the advice of my neighbor's maid, put some 'charm' and urine into my drinking water which I drank.
It is also the advice of the maid agent never to give this freedom to the maid, unless we are ready to face the consequences. It is also stated in the maid's contract that they are not allowed to go out during their 2 years' contract with the employer.
Later when my hubby was back, he told our maid that she can't go out with her friends during the holidays. He told her that we can bring her out for a feast but going out with her friends whom we don't even know is a big NO. My maid was obviously very upset with the decision, moreover my hubby told her off rather strictly. I think she later wept in the bathroom. Later, I told my hubby that he should not have been too harsh with her with his words. Feeling a little bad, my hubby then offered my maid an alternative, that is for his staff to drive her out for a shopping spree. She happily agreed and off she went to the new Giant at Bukit Jalil with my hubby's staff and his wife who is an Indonesian an hour later. My hubby even paid for all her shopping expenses, totalling RM150 for clothes and shoes. That's our Hari Raya gift to her. Tomorrow, we will also be bringing her out for a feast.
To those of you who have a maid, do you give your maid a rest day in the week though it is stated in the contract that no rest day will be allowed? For those of you who allow your maid to go out, do you see any negative impact it has brought?
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Shireen, how come yur maid got friends here??? For what i know they shouldnt have been allowed to make friends in the first place.
ReplyDeleteChin Nee... her friends are maids from the neighborhood whom she met when we bring the gals out to the playground. She also has friends from the church that we go to. I don't forbid her to mingle with these maids, though I don't really like the idea of her mixing with these maids but put yourself in her position, would you like it if your boss forbids you to talk to people outside the house? I think I'll go cuckoo.
ReplyDeleteI know my maid has changed when she started to mix with other maids as they tend to compare employers but what am I to do? Keep her at home and don't bring her out? I think she'll go crazy being cooped at home.
I think it all depends on the individual maid. All maids who work in Hong Kong are compelled by law to be given 1 rest day in a week and they go out and mix around with people whom the employers dont even know, yet most of them behave very well. My sil in HK has been having very good maids and they speak fluent Cantonese and are very efficient.
The 'cream of the crop' maids are mostly employed in countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. And they are paid very very well too. The maids we have here are all 'sub-standard' maids and we 'pay peanuts to get monkeys'!
oh freak, about the first maid, how did you find out about the urine 'water'?
ReplyDeleteunder no circumstances im allowin my maid to go out on her own with other maids. it's like a disaster waitin to happen. you and your hub did the right thing.
It's hard to compare.. coz' give them freedom.. they go crazy..! donch give them freedom.. also they go crazy..!
ReplyDeleteSo moderation is what i recommend. What your hubby and you did is a good medium.. so no need to fret about it.. and your maid should know she is here to work.. and not expert the heaven and earth to move around her.
Do what you are comfortable .. and no matter how nice you are to them.. they will still climb on your head.. and shit on it.. if they so chooses.
Shireen, u are such a good employer to work with. Hehe...I din know there are Indonesian maid in HK. Tot they are all Philiphines.Ya, it is very true like what u say. They really need some entertainment otherwise they'll go crazy. Instead of lettin her maid a chance to socialise, a fren of mine subscribe magazines for maid, buy gold presents to make their maid happy. At the same time, brain wash their mind saying the are many bad people out there, so cannot talk to other people, hehe...Wat I did last time to my MIL's maid was try be their fren such as include them into family conversation so they feel they are also a part of us. We are like sisters, it feels good. Another fren did the same to her maid too, even include her maid in OUR conversation sometimes.
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