How to Prepare a Domestic Helper’s Room Properly
It is important to offer your maid a proper living quarter so that she can gain enough rest after a long day working. But things get a tad more complicated when it comes to the accommodation arrangement as foreign maids in Singapore are required to live with their employers.
A survey conducted by an NGO in Singapore reveals that about 60% of maids in the country have their private room.
According to domestic helper accommodation requirement，
If you decide to make the leap and hire a maid, keep in mind that your maid must enjoy adequate living conditions – i.e. decent, comfortable with adequate privacy for the maid – no matter how limited the living space is.
You should：
1）Provide the helper with basic amenities
An employer should at least provide a mattress, pillow, blanket, storage space, bathroom amenities and toiletries. Some furniture stores offer clever storage solutions in the form of storage space and compartments integrated at the bottom of custom-made beds to maximize space use.
2）Provide the maid with sufficient ventilation
Most maids’ rooms have no windows – this can be problematic. There are multiple solutions to make up for the lack of proper natural ventilation and ensure that temperature is suitable.
3）Get an extendable bed for helper’s room
Given the size of maids' rooms in many Singapore homes, it is often impossible to fit in an adult-sized single bed. The good news here is that it is possible to buy an extendable bed for her. In Singapore, there are providers that you can order extendable bed like IKEA.
You should not：
1）Let your maid sleep in the living room
Some employers ask their maid to sleep on a sofa in the living room. This is not advised as the maid does not have enough privacy. If you really have no choice, you might want to partition the living room by using folding screens – they can be removed easily – or thick curtains or even blinds as temporary room dividers.
2）Let your maid share room with an adult or teenager of the opposite sex
This is against legal domestic helper accommodation requirements.
3）Install video cameras at the maid’s sleeping or changing area
Although the law does not prohibit employers from installing video cameras at home, you should inform your maid of the devices and where they are placed, even by a written record to avoid any disputes. You must not install video cameras in areas that will compromise her privacy or modesty, e.g. where she sleeps, change clothes, or the bathroom area.
Follow the above steps and you will be able to solve the problem of your maid's accommodation smoothly.
