Salary For Maid/helper

[Thomas]

Remember that when a company (in any culture) pays an employee, that wage is part of the cost of doing business. The cost is passed on to the consumer and is a large deduction in determining the company's profits and therefore taxes.

Yes, the DEDUCTION possibility difference is very important when comparing, because private persons pay with TAXED money.

Even in my 1st world country there are similar examples. I have a handyman I found on Craigslist who does unskilled or semi-skilled labor for me at $20/hour. Is that the going rate if I hired a company for similar jobs? Of course not. If that was the standard I had to measure against, I could not and would not hire anyone to do such jobs. IMO, the guy gets work at $20/hour cash

I suppoused he cost less by not tell these cash pays to the tax people...  :mocking:

(But in Sweden the tax law is changed to reduce black labour. 50% of the labour costs for many domestic jobs are paid back as tax deductions to the households. I got around 3500 USD in such tax deduction myself.)

But if I have to compete with local companies, then I can't afford it and one person goes unemployed

Many Philippine companies pay LESS than the minimum salaries the law demand. E g one Filipina I know with higher exam get just over HALF of the minimum   :bash:  although she has a very responcible and sometimes dangerous work (high robbery risk).

 

You can be extremely generous with your domestic helpers, but this has unintended consequences. My wife paid them nearly double the going rate, and the aunties and cousins came around to explain that the helpers talk among themselves. It creates pressure for others to be also generous. If not relatives, your neighbors might resent it. The explanation given by the family is my wife is American so she felt obligated to pay the American rate.

Yes. It's similar between companies.

I don't remember who it was or who told it, but a bar owner got threats after he paid his staff more.

(So I suppouse I can get trrouble in Phils in my company , because I usualy pay more  - IF they work good   :)

I don't know Thomas, maybe it's a misunderstanding, along with a creative spelling of "complete" along with missing words one of which I would presume to be the word the. Other than that, probably one of your better efforts. :mocking:

OK.

(Is there any other meaning of wrong spelled "complete"?)

In OTHER forum I have got complains when I wrote the suppoused to be automatic understood words too   :)

[Thomas]

What you pay your employee is between you and them, not some meddling relatives or neighbors. You don't owe anyone an explanation. The aunties and cousins need to mind their own damn business.

This is the Philippines, the specialists of gossip  :mocking:

(But it's much gossip in villages in other countries too.)

As to the minimum wage? Well when I was in the Navy, cheap housing, free medical and all the other benefits cost. My accountant once told me that that can be "grossed" up so I guess that can be said for any benefits live-in help receive. No sure how that applies to the law in PI though.

As I understand the law, they are suppoused to get at least the minimum salary PLUS the benefits. Some such is even specified in the law as e g basic medicals. 

[Americano]

 

What has worked very well for my wife and me is whenever one of her many cousins graduates from high school we bring her up from Mindanao to Cebu. She lives with us, eats the same food as us, goes on trips with us, we buy cloths for her and a cell phone if she doesn't already have one, she watches TV with us and we teach her how to use one of our computers and let her use it some each day. We buy all the personal items she needs but we don't pay her a salary.  Being younger than us she does most of the dish washing, clothes washing and house cleaning.

Hiring relatives is a common ploy to get around the Kasambahay Law. They're much less likely to file a complaint. But if they are doing common household work on a regular basis they are still covered by the law and the requirements for contract, minimum pay, etc. still apply.

http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---ilo-manila/documents/publication/wcms_211050.pdf

 

 

Mike,

 

I don't think the law covers relatives who are visiting for a few weeks or months. The law was written to protect maids who are hired to do a full time job and paid a salary.

 

If what you said is true then when my wife's Father, Mother, Brother , Sister, Cousin, and Nephew arrive next month and live with us for 2 months and do almost all of the work then they are covered by the Kasambahay Law.  That's ridiculous to even think the law will apply to them, so what is the difference in 6 relatives visiting and one relative visiting? 

 

Also, its very common for relatives to live in the same house in the Philippines. For example, living with my wife's parents are a cousin and a nephew. Do you believe those 2 relatives are covered by the law?  They help do the household work but it would be ridiculous to think the law applies to them.

Edited March 30, 2014 by Americano

[Americano]

 

You can be extremely generous with your domestic helpers, but this has unintended consequences. My wife paid them nearly double the going rate, and the aunties and cousins came around to explain that the helpers talk among themselves. It creates pressure for others to be also generous. If not relatives, your neighbors might resent it. The explanation given by the family is my wife is American so she felt obligated to pay the American rate.

What you pay your employee is between you and them, not some meddling relatives or neighbors. You don't owe anyone an explanation. The aunties and cousins need to mind their own damn business.     

 

 

Mike,

 

This is one of the things I hate about the Philippines. Everyone wants to know your personal business. My wife and I can't even walk outside without people asking us where we are going. Its none of their damned business where we are going. And, since I'm an American some of them want to know how much money I receive every month and about our sex life. Those not any of their damned business either.  One of them should ask me if I like gossip.

Edited March 30, 2014 by Americano

[Americano]

 

I would do a compensation package of Full room and board, SSS and taxes paid and pocket money of 4000p per month, but that's just me. I would however be very particular in who I chose and would expect very high standards of work. This person would also have to be a good cook and shopper.  The money saved from eating in, getting the best prices from the market etc would more than make up for the wages paid so everyone wins.

That's a great concept but try finding (and keeping) people like that, especially outside major cities. More often then not, you have to compromise and take the best of you can get. If they don't steal you're ahead of the game.

 

 

There are very few Filipinos I would trust to be in my home unless either me or my wife is watching the person every minute. I can't imagine hiring someone who we don't know very well and know her family too. A few months ago a Globe employee stole a USB thumb drive from me, we can't leave anything outside and expect it to be there in the morning and earlier this week someone went into the back of our multicab and removed all of the mounting screws to our bench seats with speaker except for 2 screws. Evidently he didn't have a long screw driver which is required to reach the last 2 screws so he gave up. Maybe he plans to return another day so yesterday I cut the speaker wires and brought the benches with speakers inside our apartment. I can' imagine allowing a thief to live inside my home.

[Thomas]

One of them should ask me if I like gossip.

:lol: :thumbsup:

[JJReyes]

This is one of the things I hate about the Philippines. Everyone wants to know your personal business. My wife and I can't even walk outside without people asking us where we are going. Its none of their damned business where we are going. And, since I'm an American some of them want to know how much money I receive every month and about our sex life. Those not any of their damned business either.  One of them should ask me if I like gossip.

 

Bingo! Americano, my wife shared a similar experience. A few days after our arrival, she was asked at a social gathering how much money I made. A year later, the women folks were wondering why we still had no children. Did I have a problem or was it her?  I told my mother than certain questions are considered by Americans to be instrusive and very offensive. She spread the word through the grapevine and the questioning stopped. 

[MikeB]

This is one of the things I hate about the Philippines. Everyone wants to know your personal business. My wife and I can't even walk outside without people asking us where we are going. Its none of their damned business where we are going. And, since I'm an American some of them want to know how much money I receive every month and about our sex life. Those not any of their damned business either.

I agree but I wasn't referring to gossip. I was referring to relatives who come to your house and tell you how to run your life because they know better. Two completely different things.

[MikeB]

I don't think the law covers relatives who are visiting for a few weeks or months. The law was written to protect maids who are hired to do a full time job and paid a salary.

Correct, the law excludes "any person who performs work occasionally or sporadically and not on an occupational basis". That wasn't clear in your post.

[BrettGC]

Bingo! Americano, my wife shared a similar experience. A few days after our arrival, she was asked at a social gathering how much money I made. A year later, the women folks were wondering why we still had no children. Did I have a problem or was it her? I told my mother than certain questions are considered by Americans to be instrusive and very offensive. She spread the word through the grapevine and the questioning stopped.

 

I'll have to give that a shot!  The curiousity drives me nuts at times.