What Every Employer Should Know About Paid Home Leave for Maids

Before we talk about salary, it's essential to grasp the concept of home leave and its benefits.

Home leave is a period during which domestic helpers are allowed to return to their home country for a specified duration. 

It gives them a much-needed break to prevent burnout and to spend quality time with their family and friends - the same as any other profession.

The question is: are employers obligated to continue paying their maid's salary during this absence?

According to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) guidelines, employers aren’t legally required to pay for your domestic helper’s salary when she is on her overseas leave. 

But whatever you negotiate with your helper can be different from this essential requirement.

For instance, plenty of factors can influence if you decide to pay your domestic helper during her home leave, ultimately dictating your total cost of hiring a maid in Singapore.

Your maid might be from a poverty-stricken region in a low-income country. 

Do check with her about her financial stability, as her home leave will most likely take up a significant chunk of her savings, and her salary could be a vital support system for her family back home.

If your domestic helper is an A-star employee, she deserves to be financially rewarded for her hard work just like any other profession - this will likely boost goodwill, morale, and will incentivise her to work harder and to stay with you.

Employers also need to check and evaluate their own finances in the first place, to ensure that forking out paid home leave for your maid doesn’t put too big a dent in your savings and bank account.

If your helper is planning to take some time off to visit family abroad, ensuring a smooth process is vital. 

One thing to note is that you can either obtain a levy waiver for the duration she is away and, if necessary, postpone her 6-monthly medical examination.

Here are some critical steps to remember before your helper goes on her overseas leave:

• Check her passport’s validity
• Check immigration requirements in her home country/region with the relevant embassy
• Make sure she carries her Work Permit card and passport for seamless re-entry to Singapore.
• Ensure you have a copy of her itinerary and plane tickets

If, for whatever reason, your maid is away for extended periods of time, you can cancel her Work Permit.

But in such cases, you will need to apply for a new Work Permit to re-employ her upon her return - something a maid agency in Singapore can help you with.

While your helper is on overseas leave, the levy will continue to be charged. 

However, you can apply for a levy waiver when she returns to Singapore. 

To be eligible for the waiver, the overseas leave must span at least 7 consecutive days, and the waiver period is limited to a maximum of 60 calendar days per year.

If necessary, your helper’s 6-monthly medical examination (6ME) while she is on overseas leave can be deferred upon request.

Of course, this is one of the worst-case scenarios but if your helper doesn’t return to Singapore from her overseas leave, you can:

•  Cancel her Work Permit to stop the levy charges.
• Please retain a copy of her travel ticket or departure itinerary as proof (which is why this step is crucial).

Once MOM confirms that your helper has left without re-entering Singapore, they will initiate the security bond discharge. 

If she returns before the bond is discharged, you must send her home right away to avoid the security bond's potential forfeiture.

For the entire period of her absence, you can also apply for a levy waiver. But it would be best if you did so within a year of the levy bill. 

If you’d like to avoid paying a non-waivable levy, consider cancelling her Work Permit if she hasn’t returned after a year.

Ultimately, the question of paying your maid's salary during home leave is multifaceted. 

While legal frameworks give you a foundation, individual circumstances and contractual agreements must be taken into account. 

Always communicate openly with your maid, make sure you follow the law, so you can navigate this aspect of domestic employment with a fair and informed approach that’s beneficial to both parties.