STEPS TO HIRING A HELPER

Life in Hong Kong is fastpaced and busy, leaving little time for household tasks. And while some expats prefer to hire a part-time helper once or twice per week, for others (especially families with young children), a full-time helper can be a blessing.

Most of these helpers in Hong Kong are from the Philippines or Indonesia and are assiduous, earnest women who are working abroad to provide for their families back home. But how do you hire them? Here, the team from HelperChoice.com, a social impact start-up eradicating illegal agency placement fees by connecting employers and domestic helpers directly, runs through some of the key steps.

1 LOCAL VERSUS FOREIGN HELPERS

Local helpers can be hired for either part-time or full-time duties, but their English is often limited. Foreign helpers can legally only be employed on twoyear, full-time, live-in contracts.

2 THE COSTS

Part-time local helpers are available from around HK$85 an hour (try the Smart Living government programme). For full-time, live-in maids you need to budget at least the minimum wage of HK$4,630 per month (as of September 2020), but many expats pay more. Employers must also provide free food or a food allowance of not less than HK$1,121 per month. You must also offer suitable accommodation, insurance and free medical care, as well as pay all hiring-related costs and airfares for the biannual home leave. You may also need to budget for agency and processing fees.

3 FINDING A HELPER

The traditional way is through employment agencies, but in recent years many of these have been heavily criticised for unethical practices and overcharging of helpers. A better solution is to find a helper yourself through ethical online platforms or by personal recommendation. Be aware that the hiring procedures of a helper and the agency prices depend on her country of origin and current visa status. An employment agency must be used for paperwork, except for finished contract Filipino helpers.

4 HELPER HIRING LINGO

There are various costs and timeframes involved when hiring a helper, depending on her employment history and nationality. Understanding the below terms will help.

• “Finished contract”: Helper has completed her two-year contract

and can start as soon as she receives her new visa.

• “Terminated for relocation/financial reasons or death of employer”: Employer has dismissed the helper before the end of the two-year contract for the listed reasons. If these reasons are declared to immigration, it will be handled as a finished contract. • “Terminated for other reasons or ‘break contract’”: Employer has dismissed the helper or the helper has quit before the end of the two-year contract. The helper must leave HK before starting a new contract. It will take up to 12 weeks to process this helper’s visa. • “First timer or overseas hire”: Helper is not currently in Hong Kong and has either never worked abroad or HK. Up to 12 weeks will be needed to process this helper’s visa.

Once your life admin is sorted, it’s time to get social! There are loads of clubs and associations in Hong Kong, run by groups with national identities, charitable endeavours or social activities in common. Joining can be a great way to meet like-minded people, and develop some new hobbies and interests.

JOIN AN ASSOCIATION

A number of social associations are run by members of the expat community to reflect the culture of their home countries. They’re not exclusive and they welcome membership from all, regardless of citizenship. These associations can be a good low-cost starting point and they often host great events, field teams for dragonboat racing or share experiences for others to better understand Hong Kong culture.

Here are some popular ones.

• American Women’s Association (awa.org.hk) • Australian Association of Hong Kong

(ozhongkong.com)

• Alliance Française of Hong Kong

(afhongkong.org)

• Canadian Club (cancham.org)

• India Association (indiaassociationhk.com)

• Italian Women’s Association (iwa.org.hk)

• New Zealand Society of Hong Kong

(facebook.com/NewZealandSocietyHK/)

• South African Association of Hong Kong (saahk.org) • Spanish Speaking Women’s Association of Hong

Kong (amhh.org.hk)

• St Andrew’s Society (Scottish) (standrewshk.org/en) • St David’s Society (Welsh)

(stdavidshongkong.com)

• St George’s Society (English) (rssg.org.uk)

• St Patrick’s Society (Irish) (stpatrickshk.com)

TRY A SOCIAL OR PRIVATE CLUB

Whether your interests are sporting or cultural, there’s a wealth of clubs here to choose from. A number of exclusive recreational clubs around the city date from the colonial era. Private members’ clubs can be hard to join, with long waiting lists and prohibitive membership fees running to tens of thousands of dollars. If you’re lucky enough to have been offered club membership as part of an expat package, you can enjoy excellent sport and leisure facilities, and great dining in luxurious surroundings. • American Club (americanclubhk.com)

• American Community Theatre (acthongkong.com)

• Foreign Correspondents’ Club (fcchk.org)

• HK Cricket Club (hkcc.org)

• HK Football Club (hkfc.com.hk)

• HK Gardening Society (hkgardeningsociety.org)

• HK Welsh Male Voice Choir (you don’t have to be Welsh!)

(hkwmvc.com)

• HK Women’s Choir (thkwc.org)

• Helena May Club (helenamay.com)

• Ladies Recreation Club (lrc.com.hk)

• Royal Geographical Society (rgshk.org.hk)

• Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (rhkyc.org.hk)

• The Hong Kong Club (thehongkongclub.hk)

• YWCA (ywca.org.hk)

• YMCA (ymcahk.org.hk)

GET NETWORKING

There are also a number of business networking events, organised by the various business chambers. Some of the most active Chambers are: • AustCham (austcham.com.hk) • AmCham (amcham.org.hk) • BritCham (britcham.com) • CanCham (cancham.org) • FCCIHK (fccihk.com)

• HK General Chamber of

Commerce (chamber.org.hk)