By: Rebecca Brill
While heaps of expats have helpers here in Singapore, finding the perfect person to suit your needs isn’t always easy – or clear. Most families have live-in helpers, who do a little bit of everything, whether cooking, cleaning or looking after the kids. However, there are plenty of others who’d rather not have a maid full-time, instead hiring someone to come to the house on a part-time basis. Or perhaps mum’s got the homemaking covered, but she uses a regular baby-sitter for weekly date nights with dad. And then there are the entertainers, who have maids that specialise in whipping up brilliant dishes in the kitchen. Check out these stories to discover how much having a helper in Singapore can change expat lives.
But how does everyone find the right employees for their home – and how do they go about hiring them? While the ideal scenario would be to get a glowing recommendation from a friend who is leaving Singapore and leaving their helper behind, it doesn’t generally work that way. A lot of people rely on agencies to match up maids to expat families. Check out the shortlist below for great agencies to contact based on your requirements.
Maid Agencies
CLEANERS
A-Team Amahs and Cleaners can help you find someone who will come by your home and perform the cleaning duties you need – whether once a week or less often, on a reasonable and legal basis. They also offer part time maids, nannies and confinement nannies.
Pricing: The one-off agency fee is $338 onwards. Weekdays are from $16/hr onwards, and Weekends/Public Holidays/Weekday Nights are from $18/hr onwards.
6100 6131 or 6100 6132
LIVE-IN MAIDS
Ok Maid is the largest foreign domestic workers (FDWs) employment agency that aims to meet the needs of individual households with reliable services. It provides the service of recruitment and supply of FDWs to expats in Singapore. Conservative and service-driven Myanmar helpers are their specialty.
Pricing: The one-off agency fee ranges from $28-$988. Salaries range from $420-$550 per month.
6440 5883 | 85 Mountbatten Road, Katong Shopping Centre #02-75, Singapore 437884
Homekeeper is an experienced agency with over 30,000 customers, that aims to ensure quality domestic workers through rigorous screening and training in babysitting, housekeeping, care of children, first aid and care of the elderly or disabled.
Pricing: The one-off agency fee ranges from $800-1,200. Salaries range from $420-$570 per month.
6468 5220 | 170 Upper Bukit Timah Road, #04-60, Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, Singapore 588179
Anisya gives you the opportunity to view maids’ profiles ahead of the interview stage, so you can work towards matching up the perfect live-in helper for your needs. Salaries start from $500 per month.
Pricing: From $600 one-off fee
PART-TIME MAIDS
Domestic1 can match you up with a part-time maid who can help out with regular housekeeping, babysitting and even confinement nanny services. Each session is a minimum of four hours and, depending on the employers’ needs, the helper is expected to work at least once week.
Pricing: The one-off agency fee is $188 onwards. Hourly rates are for weekdays: $13/hr, weekends: $15/hr, Public Holidays or weekday nights: $18/hr.
6100 2388 | 40C Hong Kong Street, Singapore 059679
NANNIES AND CONFINEMENT MAIDS
The PEM Maid Employment Agency recruits foreign domestic helpers from the Philippines who specialise in infants and childcare. They are trained to provide care to a range of age groups, including new born babies, toddlers and teens. They also specialise in providing fully-trained confinement nannies for mothers and newborns. If anything sadly goes wrong during the pregnancy stages, a full refund is issued. A partial refund is issued if you decide to cancel the maid before the final trimester begins.
Pricing: Starting salary of $500 per month.
6632 7792 | 167 Woodland Street 11, #02-23, 03-23, Singapore 730167
BABYSITTERS:
Babysitters.Sg is a large, established agency that focuses on identifying and matching parents with the most suitable babysitters and nannies. You are able to meet, interview and chat to a potential sitter before employing them.
Pricing: $18/hr for regular appointments, $25/hr on an ad-hoc basis.
9487 5408
COOKS/OTHER
JPB Maid Specialist pinpoints maids and other foreign workers based on specialised services that you’re looking for. Their website allows you to request what skills you are searching for in a domestic worker, including the option of advanced cooking abilities.
Pricing: Salary ranges from $430-$520 per month.
6467 0039 | 170 Upper Bukit Timah Road, #03-49 Singapore 588179
Once you’ve tracked down the agency that works for you, you’ll want to know more about the actual process. Cue handy links! For more info on hiring someone, this article tells you all about the process, your responsibilities, pay, holiday and more. For the interview stage, have a read through these 10 recommended questions, to help discover whether the maid will gel with your lifestyle. Good luck!
For more helpful tips head to our living in Singapore section.
