How much should I pay a Filipino Housekeeper

[lucindalionheart]

Does anyone have any idea how much you should pay a filipino housekeeper (live in)?
I have looked on countless sites and can't find anything about pay rates.
I know the rules for au pairs but this lady is too old to be an au pair.

I live in central London and a very good live-in full time housekeepers are paid £350 nett per week. Although I have seen some pay less and some pay more depending on experience, accomodation and hours.

we know someone who put in a lot of effort to bring their filipina to london ... and then after one month she disappeared... they called the police etc.. finally discovered unfamiliar numbers dialled last from their land line.. called to discover another filipina who said she had no idea who they were talking about... after being told that the police will be coming to investigate ..they got a text from their filipina domestic help 'sorry for this, I will not be coming back to work'... another friend saw her filipina walk out leaving her high and dry with 4 kids one new born saying i have found another job.... hope you are luckier than that!!!

'Her Filipina'? Who knew there was a whole country breeding servants for spoilt British mummies who find themselves terribly stretched between their children, dogs and burgeoning party planning business.

You guys seem to pay way too much. There is a BBC statistics showing that if they actually have work, the average salary is USD 250 a month. We pay them around USD 600 monthly plus give them food and a room to stay - and that is considered generous.

I sincerely hope you are not paying that in the UK Theodora! Also not sure why you have arrived on Mumsnet to bump old Filipina nanny threads.

And whilst they are in the UK you should be paying them a wage that you would pay a UK national theodora, regardless of how much they get paid in other countries.

Are you bumping Filipina threads from years back to try prove your aren't exploiting a woman from a foreign country? Because the fact is, you likely are if you're paying $600 dollars a month (food and lodgings should be provided for any live-in nanny!) and she's working more than 30 hours a week!

Here in Hong Kong, the basic salary for a Filipino domestic helper is about £300 a month (3,785 HKD). The employer has to prove room and board or an extra £50 a month if they don't want them to eat the same food. They are entitled to all statutory holidays ( about twelve) and 1 day off a week. They are not allowed to work part-time for anyone else or for the extended family. Otherwise theoretically you could make them work for as many hours as you wish. They are not allowed to file for permanent residency even though all other expats who have lived here continuously for over seven years are allowed to. These conditions are regarded as about the best as anywhere in the non Western world. I've seen news reports where helpers are saying that they are earning about four times as much as they could as a teacher or nurse in the Phillippines.

It makes even the minimum wage in Western countries look very, very attractive. That said, many Western employers are seen as a 'soft touch' by helpers here compared to local employers but few and far between. We've been approached when I take the kids to the park but I can't imagine the stress of having another person we don't really know living in our 800 sq ft apartment. have heard of lots of dramas of thefts, taking out loans and debt collectors calling employers etc .I don't think it's any coincidence that the areas in which they congregate on a Sunday are filled with pawn shops