Terminating My Maid’s Contract. Should I Transfer Or Send Her Home?

Some things to consider before you make your final decision:

1. Think through your reason(s) for termination of your helper’s contract.Should your family still require a helper, is there any possibility of continuing with the current employment? If yes, why or why not?
2. Confirm that you will be terminating your helper’s contract.
3. Understand the costs of hiring a new helper at this point in time, should you require a helper.
4. Mutually agree on how to end the employment: As an employment contract involves two parties, have a fruitful discussion with your helper by discussing her preferences.
   
   Let her know you care.
   
   Note that if both of you have decided that she is to transfer, the transfer period is 14 days, so do sound out your maid earlier before her contract ends so that there’d be adequate time to find her a new employer.
5. Think through your costs involved, on both transfer and repatriation.
   • For transfer, you will just need to ensure she has gone for her 6months medical examination and pay her levy till her official transfer process to her new employer is completed. You may also choose to select a trusted maid agency of your choice to assist you with the transfer process and lodging of your helper in the interim.
   • For sending your helper home home, we have put together further information to ensure you are well-informed of your list of duties as an employer and for your consideration of the potential costs involved.
6. What are the things to be settled with your helper before sending her home?
   • Ensure that your helper has a valid passport (minimum 6 months validity from her departure date).
   • Check with your helper which is the international airport in her home country she needs to be repatriated to, and buy her a direct air ticket with sufficient luggage weight. This has to be nearest to your helper’s hometown.
   • If there are no direct flights and a transit is necessary for her to get home, you should discuss with her on a reasonable amount of allowance for your helper to sustain herself during her transit.
   • This should also include allowance for your helper’s journey by domestic transport to her home (if any).
   • Her departure date must be within 2 weeks after cancelling her work permit.
   • Check the airlines’ requirements for departure. For example, some airlines currently require helpers to take a pre-flight Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test due to the current Covid-19 situation and produce the medical result before flight.
   • Resolve all outstanding employment issues (e.g. salary, any previous private agreements between you and your helper).
   • If your helper is still in Singapore, you must print out a physical copy of her special pass(S-pass) after cancelling your helper’s work permit. The pass allows your helper to stay in Singapore till her final departure date. She should give this copy of S-pass to immigration when she is leaving. You must ensure your helper leaves Singapore as per her scheduled flight as her work permit has been cancelled. The security bond will take some time to discharge after your helper’s departure.

If you need help sending your maid to the airport and assisting her with the check in process, you can check out Island Maids Transport and Runner Service.