Live-in maid

[MikeyD]

My wife is determined to hire a live-in maid.  I have told her several times that I don’t think it’s a good idea.  While on the surface it seems affordable but I have heard many stories about them not really doing much work.  Even the local Filipinos have told my wife that it is very difficult to find a good one.  Besides all that, I am concerned with a stranger knowing our business and causing problems for us in revenge when they are let go.  Some of the local Filipinos have also told my wife to make sure to get copy of her ID and at least a barangay clearance, I guess that’s some kind of local government type of paper that says they don’t have a criminal record.

Does anyone have any tips/advice about hiring a live-in maid or perhaps how to deal with one living in your house and what to watch out for?

[hk blues]

55 minutes ago, MikeyD said:

My wife is determined to hire a live-in maid.  I have told her several times that I don’t think it’s a good idea.  While on the surface it seems affordable but I have heard many stories about them not really doing much work.  Even the local Filipinos have told my wife that it is very difficult to find a good one.  Besides all that, I am concerned with a stranger knowing our business and causing problems for us in revenge when they are let go.  Some of the local Filipinos have also told my wife to make sure to get copy of her ID and at least a barangay clearance, I guess that’s some kind of local government type of paper that says they don’t have a criminal record.

Does anyone have any tips/advice about hiring a live-in maid or perhaps how to deal with one living in your house and what to watch out for?

As far as I am aware, the Barangay clearance only confirms no issues within the Barangay - it may not confirm if a person has a criminal record in reality.  In many other countries we may get references from previous employers but I'd say good luck with that.  

[Gator]

2 hours ago, MikeyD said:

My wife is determined to hire a live-in maid.  I have told her several times that I don’t think it’s a good idea.  While on the surface it seems affordable but I have heard many stories about them not really doing much work.  Even the local Filipinos have told my wife that it is very difficult to find a good one.  Besides all that, I am concerned with a stranger knowing our business and causing problems for us in revenge when they are let go.  Some of the local Filipinos have also told my wife to make sure to get copy of her ID and at least a barangay clearance, I guess that’s some kind of local government type of paper that says they don’t have a criminal record.

Does anyone have any tips/advice about hiring a live-in maid or perhaps how to deal with one living in your house and what to watch out for?

As @hk blues pointed out a barangay clearance only confirms no local issues. Even then, if she’s politically connected to anyone she can still get a clearance issued; so basically it’s not worth very much, but still worth it to get one. Also an NBI clearance as it’s a national database. Not just references (would you give a reference of someone you’ve wronged?) but a complete work history with contact info so you can follow up. On the personal side I’d never hire a live in maid. Easier to find and possibly trust one who comes on a set schedule. 

[GeoffH]

Not seeing the problem... 

 

[OnMyWay]

2 minutes ago, hk blues said:

As far as I am aware, the Barangay clearance only confirms no issues within the Barangay - it may not confirm if a person has a criminal record in reality.  In many other countries we may get references from previous employers but I'd say good luck with that.  

They need NBI clearance for a broader coverage of all the crimes they have committed.

Funny story about this.  Not sure if I told this whole story here before.  A bit creepy.

Several years ago, we weren't really looking for a maid, but came across one.  My wife was doing a lot of gardening at that time and this maid from a neighbor use to chat her up.  Young and quite attractive.  Turns out, she worked for a wealthy neighbor who we knew a little bit because some kids in their family went to pre-school with my kids.

So the maid wanted to change jobs.  Just for a change, she said.  So my wife hired her, live-in.  Our maid's room was pretty bad, but she did not mind.  She was pretty good.  Decent cook, decent housekeeper, followed instructions, and seemed to enjoy the kids.  Really no complaints in those areas.

So one day, we were out to lunch without the maid, and the ex-employer is there.  She calls us over.  Very nicely, she says she feels obligated to tell us something about the maid.  She had been with the family for some time and was trusted.  However, there was an incident.

The maid used to go back and forth with them to their Manila house.  The maid had a boyfriend in Manila and apparently he came over often enough to know the place, which sounded like a very grand place.  As the story goes, he came in to burglarize the place one night, and the sister of the neighbor caught him and/or walked in on him where they kept the safe.  He murdered her.

The maid was a few doors away, sleeping, I think, and said she never heard a thing.  Our neighbor said there was plenty of evidence including CCTV to convict him.  And evidence of a struggle.  Hard to believe the maid did not hear anything. He was in jail awaiting trial.  She said they retained the maid so that she would be available to testify at the trial.

Of course we were nervous but did not think she had anything to do with the actual murder.  After a week or two, she said she was going away to get married.  The next day an older guy came and picked her up.  Never saw her again.

 

[hk blues]

1 hour ago, GeoffH said:

Not seeing the problem... 

 

Wait until you see him without his uniform!

[fillipino_wannabe]

I've had 3 maids since I moved here.

1st one: Was good for about 18 months then she stole money and started a fire in the storage box the money was in to try and cover it up, nearly burned the whole house down.

2nd one: Very good for 2 years then we were moving 2-3 hours away and told her we'd build her her own small house if she wanted to come, asked her about 10 times if she was certain she wanted to come, then after we spent nearly a million pesos on her house she didn't want to come anymore lol.

3rd one: Suddenly disappeared so we went and asked at her barangay, she'd been arrested for chasing her husband up and down the road with a knife. Turned out she'd given us fake police/NBI clearance and was already on probation for using shabu.

[Joey G]

the viability of a "live in maid" depends on the age.... 50+, your in the safe zone.... but any "Live-in maid" under 50, is almost the equivalent of a "live-in niece"...  both are easy enough to appear in your house if you aren't wary... and the streets are littered with the remains of expats who have gone down either path.  

[Mike J]

Have you considered a working student?

[Onemore52]

We had one for a while. Never again.

She could not cook, so we had to teach her how. 
She also nearly burned the house down. Just would put a frying pan on the stove and walk away. So when the smoke detectors went off it was too late.

I was warned about their liking shining things, so when things went missing from the kitchen we knew exactly what was going on.

Of course we had to go out sometimes to get the shopping done and when we returned she would come out to open the gates to let us in rubbing her eyes as she was asleep while we were away.

The last straw was when she had men in her room from the factory, they had cut a hole in the fence beside her room.

Our biggest mistake was to treat her with kindness, letting her eat the same food as us and letting her use the washing machine.

They are not worth the risk in my opinion.