You can hire a domestic helper in Singapore in two ways: find her yourself, which is called direct hire, or go through a licensed employment agency. Both are legal. They suit different situations.
Finding candidates
Direct hire: you rely on your own network, usually a relative’s or a friend’s helper who recommends someone from home. You know something about her, but you are choosing from very few people.
Agency: you choose from many helpers, with biodata, videos and interviews, and someone who has already spoken to each of them.
Paperwork
Direct hire: you prepare and submit the Work Permit application yourself, buy the insurance and security bond, and arrange her flight, medical examination and, for a first-timer, the Settling-In Programme.
Agency: the agency does this. You fill in a form and authorise the application.
There is a middle path: you find the helper, and an agency does the paperwork for a fee. We offer this; it is the “Direct hire” package on our packages page.
Training
Direct hire: what she can do is what she already knows. You train her yourself.
Agency: many helpers receive training before they come, in housekeeping, infant care and elder care, and an agency can arrange more.
If it does not work out
This is the biggest difference.
Direct hire: you start again from the beginning, at your own cost.
Agency: a package normally includes replacement support. Ours is up to 3 replacements within 6 months with no new agency fee, as set out in the service agreement. Where MOM’s refund rules apply, 50% of the service fee is refunded.
Cost
Direct hire looks cheaper because there is no agency fee. The levy, the insurance, the bond, the flight and the medical examination cost the same either way. What you save is the fee; what you take on is the work and the risk of starting over.
Which one suits you?
Direct hire can make sense if you already know and trust the helper, and you are comfortable handling MOM’s process, or you are happy to pay only for the paperwork.
An agency makes sense if you want a choice of candidates, do not have time for the process, or want a safety net if the first match does not last.
Ask us about either route.