6 How to Manage Your Maid’s Rest Day and Public Holidays

As an employer, you have the responsibility to manage your maid’s rest day and public holidays. 

These are crucial for ensuring not only compliance with Ministry of Manpower regulations but also your maid’s well-being and job satisfaction. Here’s how to manage your maid’s rest day and public holidays.

6 How to Manage Your Maid’s Rest Day and Public Holidays

1. Understanding the Legal Requirement

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) requires all employers to provide their helpers with a weekly rest day. This is meant to give helpers time off to recharge physically and mentally. A maid can work on her rest day if she agrees to do so and is compensated with one day’s wage.

Keep in mind that since 2023, MOM has made it mandatory for employers to provide their helpers with at least one rest day per month that cannot be compensated with extra pay. In other words, this mandatory rest day must be taken.

2. Scheduling Rest Days

How to manage your maid’s rest day and public holidays? Ideally, you should plan and schedule your maid’s rest days at the start of the employment contract. As time goes on, you can discuss with your maid and adjust as needed.

The rest day is commonly set on a Sunday. Note that the day doesn’t have to be Sunday. It can be any day of the week, depending on mutual agreement. To avoid disruption, plan household responsibilities around the rest day.

Use a shared calendar to mark rest days in advance and avoid misunderstandings in the future. If your maid needs to change her rest day occasionally, communicate in advance and agree on the changes.

3. Paying for Work on Rest Days

If your maid agrees to work on her scheduled rest day, you must compensate her with at least one day’s wage in addition to her monthly wages. To calculate the wage, divide her monthly salary by 26.

Do keep in mind that this only applies if the rest day in question is not the non-compensable rest day under MOM regulations.

4. Managing Public Holidays

How to manage your maid’s rest day and public holidays? When it comes to public holidays, your maid is not legally entitled to public holidays. That being said, employers are encouraged to provide paid time off during public holidays as a gesture of goodwill.

You can give your maid a day off, compensate for the public holiday with a replacement day off if she is required to work on the day in question, or pay extra wages for working on a public holiday. 

Make sure to discuss it with your maid about the arrangement. Make it as clear as possible and document it.

5. Encourage Open Communication

A lot of conflicts between employers and maids arise from misunderstandings or a lack of clear communication. This is why open communication is important. Encourage open communication. 

Talk with your maid regularly to clarify expectations and review schedules.

Listen to her feedback. When maids feel respected and valued, they are more likely to be loyal, productive, and happy.

6. Document Everything

Last but not least, document everything. Maintain clear records of rest days taken, any agreements to work on them, as well as compensation provided. 

Documentation protects both the employer and the maid. It shows good faith in employment practices and avoids future misunderstandings.

FAQs Manage Your Maid’s Rest Day and Public Holidays

What is the most important rule about my maid’s rest day?

Your maid is entitled to one rest day per week. By law, she must take at least one of these rest days off per month. This mandatory day off cannot be replaced with extra pay.

What if I need her to work on her scheduled rest day?

If it’s not her mandatory day off, you can ask her to work. If she agrees, you must pay her at least one extra day’s wage, which you can calculate by dividing her monthly salary by 26.

Is my maid legally entitled to get public holidays off?

No, legally maids are not entitled to public holidays. However, it is highly encouraged to either give her a paid day off, pay her extra if she works, or offer a replacement day off as a gesture of goodwill.

Conclusion

That’s how to manage your maid’s rest day and public holidays. Managing your maid’s rest day and public holidays properly benefits both you and your maid. It’s not only about being compliant with MOM’s regulations but also respecting her as a worker and a human being.

Maid agencies such as Your Maid Agency can help you manage your maid. We offer comprehensive services, from direct hiring of Indonesian and Myanmar maids and documentation to medical checkups and the arrangement of air tickets. If you require assistance or have any inquiries regarding our services, contact us at Your Maid Agency.