Why FDH no need to go through a probation period !

HKITperson · 24-09-2013, 12:43 AM

Originally Posted by juergenw:

To DeletedUser: Doesnt matter how inept the interviewer is or not.
There are too many loopholes in Immigration & Labour Law for the FDH.

I am with DeletedUser on this one. It doesn't matter how many loopholes there are. Ultimately the choice to hire rests directly with the employer. He / she should have done more due diligence such as having a trial test of practical skills...etc
Everyone in a sense tells half truths to make themselves marketable and you can't blame them for that.

closedcasket · 24-09-2013, 06:13 AM

Originally Posted by juergenw:

Dear Readers,

last year after six years our helper from Philippines did not re-new her contract. That was fine with us, but surely we wanted too keep her. But she wanted to go home.

Now more than a year after that we have the 3rd helper in our home, it seems they are all cheating in the so-called profiles. For example the say cooking "good" - once they started they can just cook 3-4 dishes - thats it. Everything else seems we are asking them to be a kind of Jamie Oliver.

In the personal interview they try as much as possible to give a "good impression". But once in your home many things are very different suddenly.
Self initiative ? Completely lacking. Yes Maaaam, yes Siiiiiir - thats the main response. It seems if we dont tell them what to do they just dont do it - even it is a repeat of a repeat daily routine like setting up the table for dinner etc - very simple things !
If everything routine must be told to the helper again & again & again - is this really a helper ?

Why do people hire a FDH ? To make the life easier & not more complicated. We for example want to integrate the helper as much as possible into our family - they eat with us & eat the same as we do etc.

The contract content of the FDH contracts must be changed urgently:
Helpers need to have a probation period as every normal HKG employee also have - 3 months.

Helpers are totally protected by the HKG labour law - who is protecting the employer ?
I will contact relevant Government departments to discuss a change on that policy.

Why don't you become a FDH for a year and than see if you really think FDH are totally protected by anyone?

I think you would be surprised after being legally worked 16 hours a day for 6 days straight.

I think you would be surprised with the living conditions and lack of privacy.

Protecting the employer? Pfft. Poor baby!

Having a helper is not a birth right. It is a privilege. Very few people in the world are LUCKY enough to have live in help for so cheap. It is a great deal... I suggest you stop sounding like a spoilt kid, and be thankful you have the ability to import people from poor countries and pay them less than market value to clean your house and cook. 99% of the world does their own cooking and cleaning and manages just fine.

d-28 · 24-09-2013, 06:18 AM

Originally Posted by juergenw:

Dear Readers,

last year after six years our helper from Philippines did not re-new her contract. That was fine with us, but surely we wanted too keep her. But she wanted to go home.

Now more than a year after that we have the 3rd helper in our home, it seems they are all cheating in the so-called profiles. For example the say cooking "good" - once they started they can just cook 3-4 dishes - thats it. Everything else seems we are asking them to be a kind of Jamie Oliver.

In the personal interview they try as much as possible to give a "good impression". But once in your home many things are very different suddenly.
Self initiative ? Completely lacking. Yes Maaaam, yes Siiiiiir - thats the main response. It seems if we dont tell them what to do they just dont do it - even it is a repeat of a repeat daily routine like setting up the table for dinner etc - very simple things !
If everything routine must be told to the helper again & again & again - is this really a helper ?

Why do people hire a FDH ? To make the life easier & not more complicated. We for example want to integrate the helper as much as possible into our family - they eat with us & eat the same as we do etc.

The contract content of the FDH contracts must be changed urgently:
Helpers need to have a probation period as every normal HKG employee also have - 3 months.

Helpers are totally protected by the HKG labour law - who is protecting the employer ?
I will contact relevant Government departments to discuss a change on that policy.

Stop hiring slaves

MovingIn07 · 24-09-2013, 06:22 AM

It seems like Wbhotia's idea is the most constructive - a practical interview to see what skills she actually has. Pure "interviewing" is notoriously ineffective for many types of employee - everyone is on the their best behaviour. I have also found actually speaking to former employers to be also very useful - but you do have to be able to "read between the lines". If someone is hugely positive then that's fine, but if they say something like "she was OK" that normally means "OK on a good day but I don't want to say anything too bad" - so you have to ask good questions to find out sensible answers. Good luck with your next one.

As to probation periods, I suspect this is impractical given they come from overseas and have some fixed costs of getting here and home again. One month salary to pay to get rid of someone is not much, given the low level of the salary.

Mat · 24-09-2013, 06:57 AM

That's going to be a good one.

Sofa, checked
Beer, checked
Pop corn, checked

Fire away boys and girls.

d-28 · 24-09-2013, 07:07 AM

Originally Posted by Mat:

That's going to be a good one.

Sofa, checked
Beer, checked
Pop corn, checked

Fire away boys and girls.

You're already drunk...let me help you:

This is going to be a good one.

Sofa...check
Beer...check
Pop corn...check

Fire away boys and girls.

kimwy66 · 24-09-2013, 07:30 AM

Originally Posted by juergenw:

To pin: Regarding the last paragraph - the first helper we hired last year from Singapore (Filippina) with what we found out later "denied entry to Singapore" for 2 years (after we got her passport copy - means she was terminated in Singapore which the HK agency did surely not tell us).
She was that super stupid that we feared the safety of our son & fired her after 5 weeks - she signed a mutual agreement that she only receives half of her payment lieu in notice. She first extended her visa, then she went to the Labour Department to sue us for the balance of her month salary. Surely she WON - any of her several signatures on the mutual agreement, the final payment receipt did not count. This was by the way not about the money - this was about that we did not get what we have paid for. We also complained at the CONSUMER COUNCIL on that case against the agency - no use - waste of time. The agency surely totally rejected any wrong - doing in supporting such a complete "helpless / useless helper".

Good, then there is at least some minor victories for helpers being given less than the legal minimum by their employers, who abuse their position of power over their servants.

One month's pay in lieu of notice is a requirement by law. No amount of signatures on documents, signed when the servant is living in your house in an environment of constraint that amounts to little more than duress, will carry weight in a court.

You hired her, you accept the responsibility for ensuring she did not meet your requirements.

Mat · 24-09-2013, 07:36 AM

Am i thr only who thinks that the OP post is a major wind up?

Sent from my GT-I9210 using GeoClicks mobile app

MovingIn07 · 24-09-2013, 07:37 AM

Originally Posted by Mat:

Am i thr only who thinks that the OP post is a major wind up?

Sent from my GT-I9210 using GeoClicks mobile app

No - it read genuine to me. People can get very upset when things don't turn out the way they expect and venting on a forum is probably a better release than kicking the cat!