Hiring a helper is one of the bigger decisions a household makes: someone will live in your home and care for the people you love. These seven steps keep it simple.
1. Write down what your home actually needs
Before you look at a single biodata, list the work: infant care, school-age children, an elderly parent, cooking, pets, a large house. Then mark what matters most. A helper who is wonderful with a newborn is not automatically the right person for a parent with dementia. A clear list makes every later step easier, including the interview.
2. Choose the type of helper
- Fresh: has not worked in Singapore before. A lower salary, and more teaching at the start.
- Experienced: has done this work before, here or elsewhere. Less teaching, a higher salary.
- Transfer: already working in Singapore and moving to a new employer. She can often meet you in person and start sooner.
If you have no time to teach, do not choose a fresh helper.
3. Know the full cost
There are four parts: the agency’s fee, the helper’s salary, the costs the government sets, and the helper loan.
The government’s part is the monthly levy ($300, or $60 if you qualify for the concession), medical insurance of at least $60,000 a year, personal accident insurance of at least $60,000, and a $5,000 security bond, which is a guarantee from an insurer rather than cash. The loan is several months of her salary that you advance and then recover from her pay.
Ask for every figure in writing before you commit.
4. Interview her, properly
Watch her video, then talk to her on a video call. Ask about real situations rather than yes-or-no questions: “What did you do when the baby would not stop crying?” tells you more than “Can you look after babies?”. Tell her honestly about your home: the number of people, the hours, the rest days, whether she has her own room. An honest picture now avoids a replacement later.
5. Check the requirements, yours and hers
You must be at least 21 and not an undischarged bankrupt. First-time employers complete the Employers’ Orientation Programme, about 90 minutes online. She must be 23 to below 50 years old with at least 8 years of formal education, from a source country MOM approves.
6. Get your home ready
She needs proper accommodation, enough food and rest, and a weekly rest day; at least one rest day a month must actually be taken. Decide where she sleeps, how she reaches you during the day, and what a normal day looks like, before she arrives.
7. Plan the first month
Nobody works well in a strange house on day one. Show her each task once, write the routine down, and check in every few days. Most problems in the first month are misunderstandings, and most disappear when you talk early.
Talk to us if you would like help with any of these steps, or see what our packages include.